Domestic indices trade in fine-fettle in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made optimistic start on Tuesday tracking the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will halt its campaign of interest-rate hikes. Domestic indices are trading in fine-fettle with gains of around half a percent each in early deals as investors went for bargain hunting after previous session’s sharp fall. Traders took encouragement as the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data showed the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 6.6 per cent during April-June 2023 from 7.6 per cent a year ago. However, upside remained limited amid the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher as traders took note of US Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson stating the central bank needs to ‘proceed carefully to balance the risk of tightening too much’. Taiwan is closed for National Day. Back home, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in its 2023 World Oil Outlook said that India's primary energy demand will nearly more than double to 38.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d) in 2045. In stock specific movement, Tata Steel gained after Fitch upgraded its ratings with a stable outlook.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65819.29, up by 306.90 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 65662.27 and 65850.24. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index jumped 0.70%, while Small cap index was up by 1.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.92%, Telecom up by 1.59%, Auto up by 1.24%, PSU up by 1.00%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.97%, while there were no gainers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.85%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.75%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.54%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.05% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.82%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.64%, Asian Paints down by 0.26%, Sun Pharma down by 0.14%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.13% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data showed that the unemployment rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 6.6 per cent during April-June 2023 from a year ago. Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. The 19th Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed the UR for persons aged 15 years and above in April-June 2022 was 7.6 per cent in urban areas. Joblessness was high in April-June 2022 mainly due to the staggering impact of Covid-related restrictions in the country.

In January-March 2023, the unemployment rate was 6.8 per cent. It was 7.2 per cent in July-September 2022 as well as October-December 2022. It also showed that the unemployment rate among females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas declined to 9.1 per cent in April-June 2023 from 9.5 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. It was 9.2 per cent in January-March 2023, 9.6 per cent October-December 2022 and 9.4 per cent in July-September 2022. Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas dipped to 5.9 per cent in April-June 2023 compared to 7.1 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. It was 6 per cent in January-March 2023, 6.5 per cent in October-December 2022 and 6.6 per cent in July-September 2022.

Labour force participation rate in CWS (Current Weekly Status) in urban areas for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 48.8 per cent in April-June 2023, from 47.5 per cent in the same period a year ago. It was 48.5 per cent in January-March 2023, 48.2 per cent in October-December 2022 and 47.9 per cent in July-September 2022. Labour force refers to the part of the population which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities for the production of goods and services and, therefore, includes both employed and unemployed persons.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19595.20, up by 82.85 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 19565.45 and 19607.35. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.60%, Tata Motors up by 1.85%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.55% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.95%, TCS down by 0.67%, Divi's Lab down by 0.33%, Cipla down by 0.28% and Asian Paints down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 738.77 points or 2.33% to 31,733.44, Hang Seng jumped 223.08 points or 1.26% to 17,740.48, Jakarta Composite gained 38.01 points or 0.55% to 6,929.47, Straits Times rose 25.6 points or 0.8% to 3,192.11 and KOSPI up by 7.05 points or 0.29% to 2,415.78, while Shanghai Composite was down by 15.4 points or 0.5% to 3,081.52.