Domestic indices continue to trade in green in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices continued to trade in green in late morning deals on account of buying in HCL, Infosys and NTPC stocks. Broader indices on the BSE outperformed their larger peers. The midcap index rose 0.37%, while the smallcap index surged 0.62%. Sentiments remained positive as Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said that the government is on the same page with the Reserve Bank of India on the GDP growth forecast for the current financial year which is 6.5 per cent. Some support also came in as data released by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showing that the unemployment rate in India fell to 7.7 per cent in May due to a decline in the labour participation at 441.9 million. There were some buzz in automobile industry related stocks as a private report said that to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and ease range anxiety among customers, the Centre plans to develop a master app to check the real-time availability of charging slots nearby. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors looked forward to major central bank meetings scheduled ahead. Back home, on the sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in IT, TECK, Realty, Metal and Telecom, while selling was witnessed in Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Auto and Bankex.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62738.04, up by 112.41 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 62615.20 and 62783.65. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.37%, while Small cap index up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.39%, TECK up by 1.36%, Realty up by 1.24%, Metal up by 1.06% and Telecom up by 0.85%, while Capital Goods down by 0.42%, Consumer Durables down by 0.29%, Auto down by 0.14% and Bankex down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL up by 2.45%, Infosys up by 1.82%, NTPC up by 1.61%, Tata Steel up by 1.38% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Titan down by 1.20%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.12%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.81%, Power Grid down by 0.61% and Indusind Bank down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) in its ‘Ecowrap’ research report has said that domestic Gross domestic product (GDP) growth is now on firm footing with urban demand showing good traction, while the lagging rural demand is a cause of concern.

SBI said that the GDP growth forecast of the apex bank RBI for the current fiscal has undergone some change since April 2023. While RBI had projected GDP growth at 6.4 per cent in April, this has been slightly revised upwards to 6.5 per cent for the current fiscal, as announced in the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which concluded on June eight. Inflation for the current financial year has been pegged by 5.1 per cent by the apex bank, perceived to be above the tolerance band of RBI at four per cent.

The report said that the series of rate hikes in the recent past had resulted in falling unemployment rate, signifying that the apex bank had been able to trim the excess labour demand in the market without contraction in employment. It further said that the declining current inflation as well falling inflationary expectations for the next financial year gives a clear signal that the apex bank will be able to control the rate of price rise by a series of previous rate hikes having its lagged impact, within the tolerance band. It added that the inflation trajectory is now conditional on the spatial variation of the monsoon and possible development to EL Nino effect. The headline inflation trajectory, measure of the total inflation of an economy, is likely to be shaped by food price dynamics.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18601.90, up by 38.50 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 18559.75 and 18633.60. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL up by 2.51%, Infosys up by 1.85%, BPCL up by 1.74%, NTPC up by 1.53% and SBI Life up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Titan down by 1.19%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.02%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.83%, Power Grid down by 0.67% and Indusind Bank down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 44.27 points or 0.23% to 19,345.68, Shanghai Composite weakened 2.45 points or 0.08% to 3,228.96, KOSPI dropped 17.14 points or 0.65% to 2,624.02 and Jakarta Composite plunged 3.9 points or 0.06% to 6,690.12. However, Taiwan Weighted added 73.58 points or 0.43% to 16,959.98, Straits Times rose 3.17 points or 0.1% to 3,190.14 and Nikkei 225 surged 190.06 points or 0.59% to 32,455.23.