Domestic markets trade flat in late morning deals

Indian equity markets erased almost all of their gains and were trading flat in late morning deals on account of profit booking. Market participants were cautious as a private report said that though few fear a moderate rain deficit to impact inflation, an intense El Nino that severely disrupts the monsoon could push inflation up by 15-20 basis points by boosting food prices. Further, foreign fund outflows also dented domestic sentiments. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange shows foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,942.62 crore on June 20.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, following negative cues from US markets overnight, as investors await US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell's, semi-annual testimony to the Congress later in the day. Back home, on the sectoral front, Power, Utilities, Capital Goods, Industrials and PSU witnessed the maximum gains in trade, while Metal, Auto, FMCG and Bankex remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63393.99, up by 66.29 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 63315.62 and 63588.31. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.60%, while Small cap index up by 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.69%, Utilities up by 0.68%, Capital Goods up by 0.44%, Industrials up by 0.34% and PSU up by 0.32%, while Metal down by 1.32%, Auto down by 0.10%, FMCG down by 0.07% and Bankex down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.25%, HDFC Bank up by 1.00%, HDFC up by 0.99%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.87% and Wipro up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.03%, Tata Steel down by 1.01%, Axis Bank down by 0.97%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.79% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a labour bureau has said that retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers eased to 5.99 per cent and 5.84 per cent, respectively, in May 2023. Point-to-point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (consumer price index-agricultural labourers) and CPI-RL (rural labourers) stood at 6.50 per cent and 6.52 per cent respectively in April 2023 and 6.67 per cent and 7.00 per cent respectively during the corresponding month (May 2022) of the previous year.

It stated that food inflation stood at 6.31 per cent & 6.07 per cent in May 2023 compared to 6.67 per cent & 6.52 per cent respectively in April 2023 and 5.44 per cent & 5.51 per cent respectively during the corresponding month of the previous year. The All-India Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers for the month of May 2023 increased by 6 & 5 points to stand at 1186 points and 1197 points respectively. The CPI-AL and CPI-RL were 1180 points and 1192 points respectively in April 2023.

The major contribution towards the rise in general index of Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers came from food group to the extent of 5.29 & 4.72 points respectively mainly due to increase in prices of rice, pulses, milk, meat goat, chillies dry, garlic, ginger, vegetables & fruits, etc. The rise/fall in index varied from State to State. In case of Agricultural Labourers, it recorded an increase of 2 to 17 points in 11 States and a decrease of 1 to 5 points in 8 States while it remained stationary for Himachal Pradesh State. Tamil Nadu with 1371 points topped the index table whereas Himachal Pradesh with 918 points stood at the bottom.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18820.10, up by 3.40 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 18794.85 and 18875.90. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.25%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.51%, HDFC Bank up by 1.03%, HDFC up by 0.92% and ONGC up by 0.89%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 2.35%, Hindalco down by 2.10%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.05%, Axis Bank down by 1.04% and Tata Motors down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 17.49 points or 0.1% to 17,202.40, Jakarta Composite gained 1.9 points or 0.03% to 6,662.36, Straits Times rose 8.96 points or 0.28% to 3,229.19 and Nikkei 225 surged 218.49 points or 0.65% to 33,607.40. However, Hang Seng declined 377.64 points or 1.93% to 19,229.44, Shanghai Composite weakened 17.96 points or 0.55% to 3,222.40, KOSPI dropped 21.03 points or 0.81% to 2,583.88.