Benchmarks manage to trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased most of their initial gains but managed to trade in green in morning deals, amid firm trend in global markets. Traders took some support with Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav’ statement that more than 1.5 crore jobs have been created in nine organised sectors, including IT, manufacturing, trade and transport, during the nine-year rule of Narendra Modi government at the Centre. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with a private report stating that that post-Covid, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) in the real estate sector saw a major dip in 2022. Investors now await domestic GDP (gross domestic product) data for the April-June quarter, scheduled to be released post-market hours on Thursday. On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data in the US, which will provide fresh insights into whether the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65029.04, up by 32.44 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 64994.97 and 65229.03. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.37%, while Small cap index was up by 0.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.70%, Utilities up by 0.65%, Power up by 0.57%, Metal up by 0.50% and Capital Goods up by 0.47%, while FMCG down by 0.11%, Bankex down by 0.05% and Telecom down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.64%, JIO Financial Services up by 1.54%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.25%, NTPC up by 0.71% and JSW Steel up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.72%, Axis Bank down by 0.87%, Indusind Bank down by 0.67%, Reliance Industries down by 0.56% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, The Plastics Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil) has said plastics exports from the country declined 14.6 per cent to $956 million in July 2023 mainly due to decreasing demand in key export markets like the US and Europe. It said the overall exports during July 2022 stood at $1.119 billion. 

It stated flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBC), plastic raw materials, packaging items, plastic films and sheets, and plastic writing instruments and stationery witnessed a major decline in exports. Further, it said cumulative plastics exports during the April-July period also dropped 14.9 per cent to $3.741 billion as against the year-ago period. 

Plexconcil Executive Director Sribash Dasmohapatra said ‘We are happy to see that consumer and houseware products, floor coverings, leather cloth, laminates, medical items of plastic... are doing really well. The Indian plastics industry is undergoing a phenomenal transformation and is experiencing accelerated growth in recent years.’  The top export destinations for Indian plastics products during this period were the US, China, the US and the European Union.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19331.65, up by 25.60 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 19313.65 and 19377.90. There were 35 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JIO Financial Services up by 1.82%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.64%, UPL up by 1.45%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.40% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.34%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.79%, Axis Bank down by 0.95%, Indusind Bank down by 0.71%, Reliance Industries down by 0.64% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.51% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 365.52 points or 1.98% to 18,496.26, Taiwan Weighted added 43.33 points or 0.26% to 16,552.59, Straits Times rose 11.13 points or 0.35% to 3,224.81, Shanghai Composite strengthened 43.18 points or 1.37% to 3,141.82, Jakarta Composite gained 33.29 points or 0.48% to 6,955.02, KOSPI increased 8.39 points or 0.33% to 2,551.80 and Nikkei 225 surged 95.47 points or 0.3% to 32,265.46.