Markets maintain gains in afternoons session

Domestic equity markets maintained their gains and were trading higher by over half a percent in afternoon session as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. Hectic buying in Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank companies’ stocks heled the markets to maintain their gains. Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in green with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.30-0.55%. Positive cues from the global markets also supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments got boost after the US data showed much stronger than expected job growth in March that pointed to a robust economy. Besides, some support came in as a recent bi-monthly survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from March 2 to March 11, 2024 showed that consumer confidence in India has soared to its highest level since mid-2019. The survey, which included 6,083 respondents, with females comprising 50.8 percent of the sample, revealed a significant uptick in consumer sentiment. On the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices on the BSE, except IT, were trading in green led by Realty, Auto, Consumer Durables, Consumer Disc and Oil & Gas. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green ahead of central bank decisions this week. Back home, in the stock specific development, Voltas surged after the company achieved highest-ever air conditioner (AC) sales of over 2 million AC units in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), becoming the first company in the domestic market to cross this landmark.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74677.28, up by 429.06 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 74410.07 and 74713.66. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 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 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.37%, Auto up by 1.66%, Consumer Durables up by 1.43%, Consumer Disc up by 1.42% and Oil & Gas up by 1.28%, while IT down by 0.06% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.50%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.89%, Reliance Industries up by 1.68%, Axis Bank up by 1.60% and JSW Steel up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.42%, Wipro down by 0.39%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.32%, SBI down by 0.26% and HDFC Bank down by 0.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that India is planning to stop importing urea by the end of 2025 as a massive push for domestic manufacturing has helped bridge the gap between supply and demand. He noted that the availability of fertilisers is very important for Indian agriculture. He also said the country has been using chemical fertilisers for the last 60-65 years to enhance crop production. He said now the government is making efforts to promote alternate fertilisers like nano liquid urea and nano liquid di-ammonium phosphate (DAP).

Talking about achieving self-sufficiency in urea production, the minister said the government has adopted a two-pronged strategy to end dependency on urea imports. He highlighted that the government has revived four closed urea plants and is reviving one another factory. He noted that India needs around 35 million tonnes of urea annually to meet domestic demand. He said the installed domestic production capacities have been increased to around 31 million tonne from 22.5 million tonne in 2014-15. He added that at present, the gap between annual domestic production and demand is around 4 million tonne.

Mandaviya further said the annual domestic production capacity of urea would reach around 32.5 million tonnes after the commissioning of the fifth plant and the target is to replace the use of 2-2.5 million tonne of conventional urea with nano liquid urea. According to the government data, imports of urea fell to 7.58 million tonne in 2022-23 from 9.136 million tonne in the previous year. Urea imports stood at 9.828 million tonne in 2020-21, 9.123 million tonne in 2019-20 and 7.448 million tonne in 2018-19.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22650.65, up by 136.95 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 22550.35 and 22651.95. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 5.55%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.55%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.04%, Shriram Finance up by 1.81% and Tata Consumer up by 1.80%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.76%, Adani Ports down by 1.66%, Nestle down by 1.35%, LTIMindtree down by 0.56% and Wipro down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 8.4 points or 0.05% to 16,732.32, Nikkei 225 surged 242.92 points or 0.62% to 39,235.00, Taiwan Weighted added 82.55 points or 0.41% to 20,420.15, Straits Times rose 2.53 points or 0.08% to 3,220.79 and KOSPI increased 5.28 points or 0.19% to 2,719.49. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 9.44 points or 0.31% to 3,059.86.