Bourses trade flat in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded near flat lines with positive bias in late afternoon session despite weak cues from global markets. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index traded in green, while Small cap index traded in red. Traders took some support as India Ratings and Research (Ind-RA) has forecasted India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the March quarter at 6.2 per cent and around 6.9-7 per cent for the 2023-24 fiscal. The Indian economy grew 8.2 per cent in the June quarter, 8.1 per cent in the September quarter and 8.4 per cent in the December quarter of 2023-24. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as a stimulus-driven China rally paused and minutes of the May 2024 Reserve Bank of Australia meeting showed the central bank considered increasing interest rates during the meeting. European markets were trading lower following losses in Asian equities, as calls from U.S. Federal Reserve officials for policy caution tempered investor enthusiasm about potential interest rate cuts this year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74016.88, up by 10.94 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 73762.37 and 74189.19. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.13%, while Small cap index was down by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.79%, PSU up by 2.00%, Utilities up by 1.77%, Power up by 1.63% and Basic Materials was up by 1.57%, while FMCG down by 0.82%, Realty down by 0.45%, IT down by 0.37%, Auto down by 0.23% and TECK was down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.66%, JSW Steel up by 3.57%, Power Grid up by 2.18%, NTPC up by 1.42% and SBI up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.65%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.02%, TCS down by 0.81%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.78% and ITC down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional payroll data’ report has showed 14.41 lakh net members have been added in the month of March 2024. The data indicated that around 7.47 lakh new members have been enrolled during March 2024. A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 56.83% of the total new members added in March 2024 indicating the majority of individuals joining the organized workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers.

The payroll data also highlighted that approximately 11.80 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, safeguarding long-term financial well-being and extending their social security protection.

Further, the month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displayed growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the industries viz. Establishments engaged in manufacture, marketing servicing, usage of computers, Restaurant, Chartered or regd. accountants, Fish processing and non-veg food preservation, Beedi making etc. Of the total net membership, around 43% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22541.55, up by 39.55 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 22404.55 and 22591.10. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.60%, Coal India up by 4.53%, Tata Steel up by 3.75%, JSW Steel up by 3.73% and Cipla up by 2.84%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.68%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.07%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.04%, SBI Life down by 0.99% and TCS down by 0.83% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Shanghai Composite weakened 13.18 points or 0.42% to 3,157.97, Straits Times fell 12.5 points or 0.38% to 3,301.55, KOSPI dropped 17.96 points or 0.66% to 2,724.18, Taiwan Weighted lost 34.88 points or 0.16% to 21,236.75, Jakarta Composite plunged 76.47 points or 1.05% to 7,190.22, Nikkei 225 slipped 122.75 points or 0.32% to 38,946.93 and Hang Seng was down by 415.6 points or 2.16% to 19,220.62.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 45.04 points or 0.54% to 8,379.16, France’s CAC fell 69.96 points or 0.86% to 8,126.01 and Germany’s DAX was down by 90.99 points or 0.49% to 18,677.97.