Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains and were trading higher by around one percent on account of hectic buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap and BSE Small cap index trading higher in the range of 1.95-2.10%. Positive cues from other Asian markets supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments got boost as Israel heeded to US's request of delaying its Gaza invasion to make time to negotiate hostage releases and keep humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza. Support also came in with India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant’s statement that the country is poised to become a $5 trillion economy. All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by PSU, Utilities, Power, Industrials and Realty.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, despite weak cues from US markets overnight, amid falling 10-year US Treasury yield. Back home, the income tax department said I-T returns filed by individual taxpayers have risen 90 per cent in 8 years to 63.7 million in AY 2021-22, indicating a widening of the taxpayer base.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63736.70, up by 588.55 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 63393.37 and 63761.90. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 2.09%, while Small cap index up by 1.98%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.45%, Utilities up by 2.06%, Power up by 2.06%, Industrials up by 1.87% and Realty up by 1.76%, while there were no losers. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.53%, NTPC up by 2.31%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.73%, Infosys up by 1.69% and HCL up by 1.66%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.17%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.17%, ITC down by 0.08% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.08% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India should not agree to take binding commitments on free cross-border data flows under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a 14-member grouping, as the move would lock its policy space. The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo. The 14 IPEF partners represent 40 per cent of global GDP and 28 per cent of global goods and services trade. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy (issues like tax and anti-corruption). India has joined all the pillars except the trade one.

GTRI stated that India has not joined the IPEF trade pillar which includes taking onerous commitments on digital trade. India should never agree to binding commitments on free cross-border data flows as it will lock in the future. It added that taking the commitments under the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA - 1) has impacted domestic manufacturing of electronic hardware. It also said that India should retain flexibility to share data with Indian firms and not big tech companies with a view to promote domestic enterprise.

It further said India had long ago foreseen potential challenges with unregulated digital trade and thus refrained from participating in the WTO e-commerce negotiations and has a conservative stand in FTAs. Suggesting not to adopt the US standards on artificial intelligence, it said India should also not agree to no tax on services offered online as the government is going to earn significant revenue with most services shifting online.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19030.40, up by 173.15 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 18926.65 and 19037.05. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 2.46%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.42%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.24%, Coal India up by 2.23% and NTPC up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.79%, Asian Paints down by 0.30%, ITC down by 0.26%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.08% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 247.47 points or 1.43% to 17,292.08, Nikkei 225 surged 357.79 points or 1.16% to 30,959.57, Taiwan Weighted added 66.62 points or 0.41% to 16,140.36, KOSPI increased 2.16 points or 0.09% to 2,301.24, Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.96 points or 0.83% to 3,013.26 and Jakarta Composite gained 58.3 points or 0.86% to 6,772.82, while Straits Times fell 6.21 points or 0.2% to 3,065.10.