Sensex, Nifty trade higher with decent gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks started the session in green terrain on Monday, tracking broadly firm cues from Asian counterparts as well as the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, as some traders indulged in picking up stocks for a bargain following the recent sell-off in the markets and with eyes now on the upcoming release of key US inflation data. Sensex and Nifty are trading higher with decent gains in early deals on account of healthy buying at Realty, Telecom and Healthcare stocks. Some support came in as the latest data published by the Reserve Bank of India showed that India’s forex reserves surged by $4.54 billion to $648.7 billion as of May 17, marking an all-time high. Traders took note of the Finance Ministry’s report that the economic momentum in the April-June quarter of 2024-25 will continue with a likely boost in the merchandise exports as a result of supply chain resilience, while India’s macroeconomic buffers will help navigate through the risk of volatility in oil prices. 

However, upside remained capped amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 944.83 crore on May 24, 2024, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. On the sectoral front, stocks related to solar power industry are in foucs with a private report that India achieved a milestone by adding over 10 GW of solar capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, marking the highest quarterly installation to date. As per the report, this figure represents an almost 400 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase compared to the over 2 GW installed in Q1 2023. In stock specific development, Divis Laboratories jumped on reporting a 67 percent jump in Q4 net profit. Cochin Shipyard surged after reporting nearly seven-fold jump in its quarterly profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75581.00, up by 170.61 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 75447.87 and 75679.67. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.64%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.18%, Telecom up by 0.72%, Healthcare up by 0.70%, Bankex up by 0.58% and PSU up by 0.48%, while Power down by 0.25%, Energy down by 0.17%, Auto down by 0.11%, Oil & Gas down by 0.09% and Utilities down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.08%, HDFC Bank up by 1.00%, Indusind Bank up by 0.93%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.89% and Tata Steel up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 1.23%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.05%, NTPC down by 0.41%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.40% and Reliance Industries down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, despite strong external headwinds, the monthly economic review of the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance has said that the Indian economy closed the just-concluded financial year 2023-24 (FY24) strongly with its growth surpassing market expectations. The review report said early indications suggest a continuation of the economic momentum during the first quarter of 2024-25 (April-June). It said ‘The emerging robust trends in important high-frequency indicators of growth like the GST collections, e-way bills, electronic toll collections, sale of vehicles, purchasing managers' indices and the value and number of digital transactions attest to the growing strength of the economy’. 

Citing performance in Index of Industrial Production and Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing, it asserted that Industrial activity is gaining momentum. Concurrently, fixed investment is gathering pace on the back of the focus of the government on capital spending and the resultant crowing in of private investment. The report said ‘The forward-looking surveys of the Reserve Bank also indicate improving consumer confidence and industrial outlook’. Along with growth, it asserted that the other macroeconomic indicators are also improving. Retail inflation clocked 4.83 per cent in April 2024, the lowest in the past 11 months.

On the external front, it said despite global challenges, India's foreign exchange reserves are comfortable, and the Indian rupee has been one of the most resilient vis-a-vis the US dollar in recent months. From the fiscal angle, it noted robust trends in the capital spending of the general government during April-February of 2023-24, combined with the fiscal consolidation plans reflected in the Budget for 2024-25, have laid to rest concerns about debt sustainability. Thus, the major pillars of India's macro-economic strength, including growth, price stability and fiscal management, are directionally positive. The geopolitical tensions and volatility in global commodity prices, especially of petroleum products, present substantial multi-frontal challenges.

In context to India, the report that the expectation is that the macro-economic buffers nurtured and strengthened during the post-Covid management of the economy will help the Indian economy navigate these challenges reasonably smoothly. India's GDP grew at a massive 8.4 per cent during the October-December quarter of the financial year 2023-24, and the country continued to remain the fastest-growing major economy and is poised to maintain its growth trajectory going ahead. The size of India's GDP is currently ranked 5th, after the US, China, Germany, and Japan. It overtook the UK in 2022. Just a decade ago, Indian GDP was the eleventh largest in the world. Currently, India's GDP is estimated to be around $3.7 trillion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22997.55, up by 40.45 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 22964.10 and 23043.20. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 4.89%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.38%, Hindalco up by 1.30%, HDFC Bank up by 1.13% and Indusind Bank up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.42%, Wipro down by 1.50%, ONGC down by 1.25%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.25% and Coal India down by 1.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted surged 232.25 points or 1.08% to 21,797.59, Hang Seng rose 57.41 points or 0.31% to 18,666.35, Nikkei 225 strengthened 53.19 points or 0.14% to 38,699.30, KOSPI increased 15.90 points or 0.59% to 2,703.50, Shanghai Composite gained 11.35 points or 0.37% to 3,100.22 and Straits Times was up by 4.54 points or 0.14% to 3,321.10, while Jakarta Composite was down by 4.63 points or 0.06% to 7,217.75.