Weak trade continues in Indian markets

Weak trade continued in Indian equity markets in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red, on the back of selling at TECK, Telecom and IT counters, despite positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were cautious, after a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed that India’s dependence for trade on the European Union (EU) and China is rising as global trade has seen a restructuring along the geopolitical lines in the past two years.

Strong manufacturing PMI data failed to provide relief to markets. India's manufacturing sector continued to show a stellar performance, with the HSBC India PMI climbing to a 16-year high on the back of the strongest increases in output and new orders since October 2020, parallel to the second-sharpest upturn in input inventories in the history of the survey. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 59.1 in March as against 56.9 in February.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the monetary base in Japan was up 1.6 percent on year in March, coming in at 666.240 trillion yen. That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 2.5 percent and down from the upwardly revised 2.4 percent gain in February (originally 2.1 percent). Banknotes in circulation were down 0.8 percent on year, while coins in circulation sank 1.8 percent. Current account balances added an annual 2.2 percent, including a 2.5 percent increase in reserve balances.

Back home, the automobile industry stocks were in watch, amid auto sales data for the month of March. Bajaj Auto has reported rise of 25% in total sales to 3,65,904 units in March 2024 as against 2,91,567 in the same month last year, while Hero MotoCorp has sold 4,90,415 units in March 2024. This translates into 5.57% de-growth over the corresponding month (March 2023), when it had sold 519,342 units.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73858.02, down by 156.53 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 73746.22 and 74099.78. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.90%, while Small cap index was up by 1.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.72%, Realty up by 1.50%, PSU up by 0.92%, Utilities up by 0.90% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.76%, while TECK down by 0.53%, Telecom down by 0.40%, IT down by 0.37%, Bankex down by 0.10% and Healthcare down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.61%, Tata Motors up by 1.47%, HDFC Bank up by 1.15%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.99% and Nestle up by 0.93%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.41%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.38%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.24%, Axis Bank down by 0.92% and Infosys down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's power consumption growth remained subdued at 1.4 per cent to 129.89 billion units (BU) in March 2024 as compared to the year-ago period mainly due to pleasant weather. In March 2023, power consumption stood at 128.12 BU, lower than 128.47 BU recorded in the same month a year earlier. The highest supply in a day (peak power demand) rose to 221.70 GW in March 2024 as opposed to 208.92 GW in March 2023 and 199.43 GW in March 2022. 

The power ministry has estimated around 260 GW of peak demand during summer. It had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during summer in 2023, but it did not reach the projected level in April-July due to unseasonal rainfall. 

However, peak supply touched a new high of 224.1 GW in June before dropping to 209.03 GW in July. Peak demand touched 238.82 GW in August 2023, while it was 243.27 GW in September, 222.16 GW in October, 204.77 GW in November, 213.79 GW in December 2023, 223.51 GW in January 2024 and 222.72 GW in February 2024.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22430.15, down by 31.85 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 22388.15 and 22497.60. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.80%, BPCL up by 2.36%, Adani Ports &Special up by 2.01%, Divi's Lab up by 1.49% and Indusind Bank up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.52%, ICICI Bank down by 1.47%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.46%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.32% and SBI Life Insuran down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 339.99 points or 2.06% to 16,881.41, Taiwan Weighted added 244.24 points or 1.19% to 20,466.57, Straits Times rose 8.02 points or 0.25% to 3,242.91, KOSPI increased 5.30 points or 0.19% to 2,753.16 and Nikkei 225 surged 35.82 points or 0.09% to 39,838.91, while Jakarta Composite plunged 27.04 points or 0.38% to 7,178.02 and Shanghai Composite weakened 10.19 points or 0.33% to 3,067.19.