Domestic indices erase early losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices erased all their early losses and were trading higher with marginal gains in late morning deals as buying in Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra and HCL companies’ stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE outperformed the large peers and were trading with gains in the range of 0.50-0.55%. Traders were getting some encouragement as Finance Ministry in its annual status report said India’s external debt declined to 18.9 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2023 from 20 per cent last year. Further, some support came in as Chairman, CII national committee on EXIM, Sanjay Budhia, said that negotiating trade pacts with certain G20 countries and diversifying exports to regions like Brazil and Mexico could help India boost outbound shipments and manufacturing in the years to come. However, upside remained capped as weak cues from global markets, foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, following weak cues from US markets overnight and as investors assess trade data from China and Australia. Chinese imports and exports fell 7.3% and 8.8% year on year, respectively, less than the 9% and 9.2% drops forecasted by street. Back home, traders were seen pilling up position in Capital Goods, Realty, Industrials, PSU and Energy, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Utilities and Power.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65973.07, up by 92.55 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 65672.34 and 65991.01. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.53%, while Small cap index was up by 0.50%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.26%, Realty up by 1.14%, Industrials up by 1.00%, PSU up by 0.81% and Energy up by 0.52%, while FMCG down by 0.30%, Utilities down by 0.15% and Power down by 0.02% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.07%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.43%, HCL up by 1.00%, SBI up by 0.75% and Axis Bank up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 0.81%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.75%, Infosys down by 0.63%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.61% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has said that the Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 3,760 crore viability gap funding for setting up battery energy storage system in the country. The entire Rs 3,760 crore viability gap funding will be borne by the central government. The fund will be released in five tranches till 2030-31 and help in creation of 4,000 MW hours storage. The viability gap funding will lead to an investment of Rs 9,500 crore.

The minister opined that the scheme is in sync with India's ambition to meet its 50% of energy requirements through renewable energy and non-fossil energy sources by 2030 and also help reduce carbon emission. The move is expected to bring down the cost of battery storage systems increasing their viability.

He further said designed to harness the potential of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, the scheme aims to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to the citizens. He added that this will not only enhance the integration of renewable energy into the electricity grid but also minimize wastage while optimising the utilisation of transmission networks. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19627.15, up by 16.10 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 19550.05 and 19642.00. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 4.09%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.14%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.43%, HCL up by 0.96% and SBI up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer down by 2.41%, Britannia down by 0.98%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.92%, Sun Pharma down by 0.83% and Cipla down by 0.82% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng declined 194.85 points or 1.07% to 18,255.13, Taiwan Weighted lost 108.12 points or 0.65% to 16,630.04, Straits Times fell 8.96 points or 0.28% to 3,213.92, Shanghai Composite weakened 24.74 points or 0.79% to 3,133.34, Jakarta Composite plunged 27.44 points or 0.39% to 6,968.51, KOSPI dropped 23.61 points or 0.93% to 2,539.73 and Nikkei 225 slipped 241.03 points or 0.73% to 32,999.99.