Indices continue to trade flat in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets continued to trade flat with positive bias in late morning deals owing to profit booking after recent gains. Hectic buying in Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and SBI helped markets to trade higher. Sentiments got some support as provisional data by the Reserve Bank of India showed India's services exports in May climbed 7.7% on year to $27.06 billion, while imports rose 2% to $15.5 billion. There were some buzz in oil and gas industry stocks as Fitch Ratings said state-owned oil marketers are likely to turn profitable on fuel marketing in the current fiscal ending on March 31, 2024, following large losses in the previous year. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, Consumer Durables, PSU, Bankex and Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in Energy, Oil & Gas, Telecom, FMCG and Metal. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following mixed cues from global markets overnight, as traders seemed cautious and reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the pace of economic growth amid rising interest rates. Back home, in the stock specific development, Genus Power Infrastructures rallied after the company secured an order worth Rs 2,207.53 crore.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65347.37, up by 142.32 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 65171.06 and 65586.60. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.14%, while Small cap index up by 0.36%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.68%, Consumer Durables up by 0.59%, PSU up by 0.58%, Bankex up by 0.32% and Capital Goods up by 0.28%, while Energy down by 0.60%, Oil & Gas down by 0.59%, Telecom down by 0.50%, FMCG down by 0.23% and Metal down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 7.28%, Bajaj Finserv up by 5.28%, SBI up by 1.69%, Titan up by 1.55% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.64%, Reliance Industries down by 1.27%, Asian Paints down by 0.71%, Axis Bank down by 0.56% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has asked exporters to focus on potential key sectors such as food, electronics and engineering and 12 major markets to boost exports. It was also suggested to focus on organising fairs and exhibitions at global scale. 

These issues among others were discussed during a meeting called by the ministry with the industry and exporters. The meeting assumed significance as the country's merchandise exports have been contracting for the last four months due to demand slowdown in the global markets. 

The sectors which hold huge potential to increase the country's exports include food, textiles, engineering, electricals and electronics, medical devices, pharma and auto components. The main global destinations where exports could be promoted further include the US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Russia. Increasing investments will help in promoting trade through integration with global value chains.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19345.30, up by 22.75 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 19300.00 and 19413.50. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 7.42%, Bajaj Finserv up by 5.38%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.34%, SBI up by 1.58% and Titan up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 4.78%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.61%, Grasim Industries down by 1.39%, Reliance Industries down by 1.36% and ONGC down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite weakened 3.38 points or 0.1% to 3,240.60, KOSPI dropped 8.33 points or 0.32% to 2,594.14, Jakarta Composite plunged 6.74 points or 0.1% to 6,689.98, Straits Times fell 4.23 points or 0.13% to 3,202.87 and Nikkei 225 slipped 361.04 points or 1.08% to 33,392.29. However, Taiwan Weighted added 56.57 points or 0.33% to 17,140.77, Hang Seng advanced 32.82 points or 0.17% to 19,339.41.