Bulls hold grip over Dalal Street

Bulls were holding a grip over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding gains of over 0.60% each, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets along with heavy buying at Telecom and Capital Goods counters, Sentiments were positive amid reports that strong inflow in new fund offers (NFOs) and consistent SIP flow helped equity mutual funds attract Rs 8,637 crore in June, which is the highest level in three months. Besides, a private report stated that India has overtaken China as the most attractive emerging market for investing, according to 85 sovereign wealth funds and 57 central banks representing $21 trillion in assets.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher after Indonesia's consumer confidence stayed positive in June despite easing slightly from May's 1-year high. The survey data from the Bank of Indonesia showed that the consumer confidence index dropped to 127.1 in June from 128.3 in the previous month. However, a reading above 100 indicates optimism among households.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65761.63, up by 417.46 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 65517.57 and 65870.59. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 1.10%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.94%, Capital Goods up by 1.40%, Industrials up by 1.37%, FMCG up by 1.31% and Auto up by 1.24%, while Metal down by 0.18% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.69%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.65%, Sun Pharma up by 1.56%, ITC up by 1.48% and Power Grid Corporation of India up by 1.40%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 0.82%, NTPC down by 0.16%, Wipro down by 0.10%, Axis Bank down by 0.03% and SBI down by 0.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government in its latest data has indicated that power consumption grew by 4.4 per cent to 139.23 billion units (BU) in June 2023 as compared to last year. In the year-ago period, power consumption stood at 133.26 BU, higher than 114.48 BU in June 2021.

The peak power demand met, which is the highest supply in a day, rose to 223.23 GW in June 2023. The peak power supply stood at 211.72 GW in June 2022 and 191.24 GW in June 2021.

The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during the summer season. But the demand did not reach the projected level in April-May this year due to unseasonal rains. Power consumption was affected in March, April and May this year due to widespread rains in the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19485.10, up by 129.20 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 19406.45 and 19515.10. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.27%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.81%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.72%, Britannia up by 1.70% and Sun Pharma up by 1.66%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.85%, HCL Technologies down by 0.90%, JSW Steel down by 0.80%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.42% and Hindalco down by 0.29% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Taiwan Weighted added 246.11 points or 1.46% to 16,898.91, Hang Seng advanced 238.14 points or 1.29% to 18,717.86, Jakarta Composite gained 47.45 points or 0.7% to 6,778.49, KOSPI increased 41.79 points or 1.63% to 2,562.49, Shanghai Composite strengthened 17.13 points or 0.53% to 3,220.83, Nikkei 225 surged 13.84 points or 0.04% to 32,203.57 and Straits Times rose 10.11 points or 0.32% to 3,159.43.