Bourses trade flat with negative bias in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed most of their losses and currently traded near neutral lines with negative bias in late afternoon session. However, the broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded in green. Sector wise, steel sector remained in limelight as public sector steel companies paid over Rs 692.36 crore to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in May this year, 35.6 per cent higher than the payment made in the same month last year. During April-May 2023, steel CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises) have made payment of Rs 1,321.32 crore to MSMEs, which is 23.8 per cent higher than Rs 1,067.53 crore made during the corresponding period of preceding 2022-23 fiscal.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as China growth concerns persisted and investors waited for further direction from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who will testify before Congress on Wednesday. European markets were trading mostly in red ahead Bank of England's interest-rate decision due this week for clues on the monetary policy path. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63120.73, down by 47.57 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 62801.91 and 63186.33. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.23%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.66%, Utilities up by 0.65%, Realty up by 0.56%, IT up by 0.54% and Metal was up by 0.48%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.25%, Energy down by 0.21%, Bankex down by 0.19%, Healthcare down by 0.14% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.49%, HCL Tech up by 2.27%, Power Grid up by 2.20%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.26% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.10%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.65%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.26%, Indusind Bank down by 0.76% and Sun Pharma down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in its latest provisional payroll data report has showed that 17.88 lakh new employees have been added under ESI Scheme in the month of April 2023. Around 30,249 new establishments have been registered and brought under the social security umbrella of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation in the month of April 2023, thus ensuring more coverage.

As per the data report, more jobs have been generated for the youth of the nation as out of the total 17.88 lakh employees added during the month, 8.37 lakh employees up to the age of 25 years constitute the bulk of new registrations, which is 47% of the total employees.

The report further noted that enrolment of net female members has been 3.53 lakh in April 2023. The data also showed that a total of 63 transgender employees have also got registered under ESI Scheme in the month of April 2023. ESIC is committed to deliver its benefits to every section of the society.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18754.20, down by 1.25 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 18660.65 and 18763.75. There were 24 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.52%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.51%, HCL Tech up by 2.42%, Power Grid up by 2.20% and Eicher Motors up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.12%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.83%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.20%, Sun Pharma down by 0.86% and Divi's Lab down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng declined 305.81 points or 1.56% to 19,607.08, Taiwan Weighted lost 89.65 points or 0.52% to 17,184.91, Jakarta Composite plunged 52.1 points or 0.79% to 6,633.96, Shanghai Composite weakened 15.45 points or 0.48% to 3,240.36, Straits Times fell 14.56 points or 0.45% to 3,226.61 and KOSPI was down by 4.59 points or 0.18% to 2,604.91. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 18.49 points or 0.06% to 33,388.91.

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC fell 14.71 points or 0.2% to 7,299.34 and Germany’s DAX was down by 99.71 points or 0.62% to 16,101.49. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 8.62 points or 0.11% to 7,597.10.