Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, led by gains in Consumer Durables, Metal and Capital Goods stocks. Traders took some support with UK Minister for Investment Lord Dominic Johnson stating that an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is really important for both nations and it is for businesses on both sides to help drive that agenda. Johnson said he is very optimistic about an FTA even as he declined to put a timeframe to it. Some support also came as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP in the January-March quarter of FY23, mainly due to moderation in the trade deficit and a robust increase in services exports. Traders overlooked Reserve Bank of India’s data showed net profit of the manufacturing, and the IT sector moderated in 2022-23. The net profit margin of the manufacturing sector declined to 8.7 per cent in 2022-23, against 10.6 per cent in 2021-22. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders react to a batch of upbeat US economic data that could significantly impact opinions regarding whether the Fed will follow through on its forecast interest rate hikes.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63606.06, up by 190.03 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 63554.82 and 63716.00. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.76%, Metal up by 0.74%, Capital Goods up by 0.63%, Industrials up by 0.52% and PSU up by 0.52%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.25%, Titan Company up by 1.18%, SBI up by 0.98%, Reliance Industries up by 0.86% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.73%, Axis Bank down by 0.44%, ICICI Bank down by 0.22%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.11% and Nestle down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) in its latest report has said sales of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) rose by 14 per cent in volume terms to 385 million cases in FY 2022-23 (FY23) while premium products priced over Rs 1,000 per 750ml bottle grew by 48 percent.

It said that sales are almost 12 percent higher than the pre-Covid levels of FY 2019-20, indicating that the impact of Covid has fully worn off. Further, it said the industry is expected to grow in the current fiscal by 8 percent to end around 412-415 million cases (9 litres each). 

It mentioned in FY23, whisky remained the largest segment with an expected sales volume of 243 million cases, contributing 63 percent of sales of the total industry. Moreover, it added after many years of decline, Gin seems to have reversed the trend and is back in growth. According to the report, the trend of premiumisation has continued in the liquor industry as tumblers prefer for high priced offerings.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18885.70, up by 68.30 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 18861.35 and 18908.15. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 4.84%, JSW Steel up by 1.91%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.89%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.26% and Titan Company up by 1.22%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.85%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.73%, Axis Bank down by 0.37%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.16% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 48.79 points or 0.29% to 16,936.69, Straits Times rose 1.41 points or 0.04% to 3,206.76 and Nikkei 225 surged 533.26 points or 1.64% to 33,071.59. On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 25.79 points or 0.13% to 19,122.34, Shanghai Composite weakened 16.6 points or 0.52% to 3,172.84 and KOSPI dropped 18.03 points or 0.7% to 2,563.36.