Bourses widen gains in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks widened their gains in late afternoon session despite weak globe cues. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded above half a percent. Investors continued to take support as 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. Traders took note of the World Economic Forum's annual Gender Gap Report, 2023, which said India has ranked at 127 out of 146 countries in terms of gender parity -- an improvement of eight places from last year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed with disappointment over a lack of additional stimulus in China and lingering uncertainty over Fed's interest-rate plans weighing on sentiment. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress later in the day as investors look for clues on the rate outlook. European markets were trading mostly in red after the real estate sector led declines against rising euro zone bond yields, while data affirming stubborn inflation in Britain sent London stocks lower. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63525.83, up by 198.13 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 63315.62 and 63588.31. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.71%, while Small cap index was up by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.16%, Telecom up by 1.10%, Power up by 1.03%, Oil & Gas up by 0.51% and PSU was up by 0.50%, while Metal down by 1.01%, Realty down by 0.44%, FMCG down by 0.33% and Auto was down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.93%, HDFC Bank up by 1.65%, HDFC up by 1.51%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.95% and Wipro up by 0.84%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.26%, ITC down by 1.12%, Axis Bank down by 0.79%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.62% and Nestle down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional Estimate of Net Payroll’ data report has showed that India created 1719998 new jobs in the month of April 2023. During 2022-23, EPFO has added 1.39 crore net members as compared to the net addition of 1.22 crore during 2021-22.

As per the report, the maximum jobs were created in the age bracket of 22-25 and in this bracket the top sectors which have created more fresh jobs include Expert Services; Trading-Commercial Establishments; Establishment Engaged in Manufacture, Marketing Servicing; Engineers- Engineering Contractors; Building & Construction Industry; Financing Establishment and Hospitals. In the similar age bracket, Maharashtra was the first among the States to create maximum payroll, followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi.

According to the data report, 9406 new jobs were created in less than 18 age group category, while 298156 jobs in 18-21 age group category. Further, 22-25 age, 26-28 age, 29-35 age and more than 35 age group category witnessed 395427, 249512, 387295 and 380202 new payrolls, respectively in April.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18856.85, up by 40.15 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 18794.85 and 18875.90. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 3.02%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.76%, HDFC Bank up by 1.70%, HDFC up by 1.49% and ONGC up by 1.30%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 2.02%, Hindalco down by 1.75%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.46%, ITC down by 1.31% and Axis Bank down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 186.23 points or 0.55% to 33,575.14, Jakarta Composite gained 34.5 points or 0.52% to 6,694.96, Taiwan Weighted added 17.49 points or 0.1% to 17,202.40 and Straits Times was up by 6.39 points or 0.2% to 3,226.62. On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 22.28 points or 0.86% to 2,582.63, Shanghai Composite weakened 42.46 points or 1.33% to 3,197.90 and Hang Seng was down by 388.73 points or 2.02% to 19,218.35.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 7.32 points or 0.1% to 7,561.99 and France’s CAC fell 9.47 points or 0.13% to 7,284.70, while Germany’s DAX was up by 26.18 points or 0.16% to 16,137.50.