Bourses add points in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets added more points in late afternoon session amid value buying. Investors’ sentiments were up ahead of 2024 general elections. Meanwhile, traders were keenly watching out for Index of industrial production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Sector wise, automobile industry remained in focus as Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said that automobile retail sales in India saw double-digit growth in 2023-24 driven by record offtake of passenger vehicles, three- wheelers and tractors. The retail sales across segments rose by 10 per cent to 2,45,30,334 units last fiscal as compared with 2,22,41,361 units in 2022-23. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid traders weighed the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year after a forecast-busting US jobs report dented hopes for a first move in June. European markets were trading higher as investors braced of key U.K. and U.S. economic releases this week for clues on the interest rate path.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74769.76, up by 521.54 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 74410.07 and 74869.30. There were 22 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.72%, Auto up by 1.65%, Oil & Gas up by 1.48%, Energy up by 1.27% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 1.22%, while IT down by 0.19% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.71%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.97%, JSW Steel up by 2.05%, Reliance Industries up by 2.01% and Axis Bank up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.55%, Wipro down by 1.01%, Sun Pharma down by 0.46%, Titan Company down by 0.42% and HDFC Bank down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said that automobile retail sales in India saw double-digit growth in 2023-24 driven by record offtake of passenger vehicles, three- wheelers and tractors. The retail sales across segments rose by 10 per cent to 2,45,30,334 units last fiscal as compared with 2,22,41,361 units in 2022-23.

FADA said in March 2024, overall registrations saw an increase of 3 per cent year-on-year at 21,27,177 units. Passenger vehicle retails declined by 6 per cent to 3,22,345 units as compared with 3,43,527 units in March 2023. Two-wheeler registrations last month however rose 5 per cent year-on- year to 15,29,875 units from 14,50,913 units in the year-ago period. Three- wheeler sales rose 17 per cent year-on-year to 1,05,222 units in March 2024. Commercial vehicle sales declined by 6 per cent to 91,289 units in March 2024 from 96,984 units in March 2023. Similarly, tractor registrations declined by 3 per cent to 78,446 units in March 2024 from 81,148 units in the year-ago period.

FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said the Indian automobile sector achieved a commendable double-digit growth across categories with two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles (PV), tractors and commercial vehicles registering strong demand. Notably, the PV, three-wheeler and tractor segments set records, surpassing previous years' performances. PV registrations rose to 39,48,143 units last fiscal, an increase of 8 per cent as compared with 36,40,399 units in 2022-23. Factors such as improved vehicle availability, a compelling model mix and the launch of new models played pivotal roles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22672.45, up by 158.75 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 22550.35 and 22697.30. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 4.91%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.09%, SBI Life up by 2.61% and Reliance Industries up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 1.74%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.53%, Nestle down by 1.52%, Wipro down by 0.98% and Sun Pharma down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 354.96 points or 0.9% to 39,347.04, Taiwan Weighted added 80.1 points or 0.39% to 20,417.70, Jakarta Composite gained 32.48 points or 0.45% to 7,286.88, Hang Seng advanced 8.93 points or 0.05% to 16,732.85, KOSPI increased 3.44 points or 0.13% to 2,717.65 and Straits Times was up by 1.04 points or 0.03% to 3,219.30. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 22.25 points or 0.73% to 3,047.05.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 3.7 points or 0.05% to 7,914.86, France’s CAC rose 41.85 points or 0.52% to 8,103.16 and Germany’s DAX was up by 104.33 points or 0.57% to 18,279.37.