Markets maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained higher with gains of over half a percent in late morning deals on account of hectic buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were also trading in green within the range of 0.40-0.65%. Mostly positive cues from global markets supported demotic sentiments. Traders were getting encouragement as mixed U.S. jobs data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve may skip an interest rate hike later this month. Traders took a note of report that India's service Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was recorded at 61.2 in May. Although it is lower than 62 in April, May's figure is the second-highest since June 2010. A print above 50 in the survey denotes expansion of services activity, and below that suggests contraction. India's headline figure has been in the expansion zone for 23 months since August 2021.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a debt ceiling bill that allowed the U.S. to avert defaulting on its financial obligations over the weekend. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, Auto, Utilities, Industrials, Capital Goods and Bankex witnessed the maximum gains in trade, while Realty, Oil & Gas, FMCG, Energy and Metal remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62928.77, up by 381.66 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 62751.72 and 62943.20. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.40%, while Small cap index up by 0.66%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.28%, Utilities up by 1.17%, Industrials up by 1.08%, Capital Goods up by 1.05% and Bankex up by 0.84%, while Realty down by 0.14%, Oil & Gas down by 0.14%, FMCG down by 0.06%, Energy down by 0.03% and Metal down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.36%, Axis Bank up by 2.42%, Tata Motors up by 1.81%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.42% and Sun Pharma up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.86%, Nestle down by 0.76%, Asian Paints down by 0.64%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.53% and Titan down by 0.14% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, Secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that an inter-ministerial consultation is going on to frame an e-commerce policy which would help in providing a conducive environment for inclusive and harmonious growth of the sector. He said that broadly the intention is to make the policy work along with the consumer protection rules and not in conflict with each other. 

The secretary noted that the policy aims to prepare strategies for providing a conducive environment for inclusive and harmonious growth of e-commerce sector through a streamlined regulatory framework for ease of doing business, adoption of modern technologies, integration of supply chains and enhancing exports through this medium. 

He further said that the consumer protection rules and this policy will be separate, but they will not be in conflict with each other and in fact they will be entirely in agreement with each other. The policy would act as an overarching framework as compared to the e-commerce rules. When asked about the demand for domestic retailers for a clarification in the policy of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the e-commerce sector, he said that the policy will try to address some of those issues of more effectively enforcing the norms. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18636.60, up by 102.50 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 18582.80 and 18640.15. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.36%, Axis Bank up by 2.53%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.92%, Tata Motors up by 1.80% and Grasim Industries up by 1.60%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.10%, Divi's Lab down by 1.09%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.99%, Nestle down by 0.81% and Asian Paints down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 7.52 points or 0.05% to 16,714.43, Hang Seng advanced 35.54 points or 0.19% to 18,985.48, KOSPI increased 11.95 points or 0.46% to 2,613.31, Straits Times rose 18.95 points or 0.6% to 3,185.25 and Nikkei 225 surged 666.58 points or 2.11% to 32,190.80. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 3.84 points or 0.12% to 3,226.23 and Jakarta Composite plunged 2.24 points or 0.03% to 6,631.02.