Sensex, Nifty remain firm in early afternoon deals

A sustained buying in Energy, Oil & Gas and Industrials stocks helped Indian equity markets to remain firm in early afternoon session, despite mixed cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments remained optimistic, as Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that India is positioned in a sweet spot and it is the right time to convert challenges into opportunities. He also noted that the timely sharing of data and transparency in exports and imports will encourage investors to invest more confidently. Adding some relief, a private survey report stated that India stands sixth globally for its employment outlook for the third quarter of 2024, with 30% of businesses planning to hire more staff over the next three months.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Consumer prices in China were up 0.3 percent on year in May. That was shy of expectations for 0.4 percent and unchanged from the previous month. On a monthly basis, inflation fell 0.1 percent versus forecasts for a flat reading after rising 0.1 percent in April. Producer prices slumped an annual 1.4 percent - exceeding forecasts for -1.5 percent following the 2.5 percent decline a month earlier.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76903.55, up by 446.96 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 76553.53 and 77050.53. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index jumped by 1.16%, while Small cap index was up by 1.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.51%, Oil & Gas up by 1.44%, Industrials up by 1.36%, PSU up by 1.29% and Power up by 1.29%, while FMCG down by 0.35% and Realty down by 0.26% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 1.94%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.81%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.53%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.29% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.30%, Asian Paints down by 0.53%, Titan down by 0.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.23% and Indusind Bank down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that exports from special economic zones (SEZs) rose by over 4 per cent to $163.69 billion in 2023-24 even though the country's total shipments dipped by more than 3 per cent in FY24. Exports from these zones stood at $157.24 billion in 2022-23 and $133 billion in 2021-22. 

The ministry stated that SEZs are key export hubs which contributed over one-third of the country's total outbound shipments in the last fiscal. SEZs are enclosures that are treated as foreign territories for trade and customs duties, with restrictions on duty-free sales outside these zones in the domestic market. As many as 423 such zones have been approved by the government, out of which 280 are operational as of March 31 this year. As many as 5,711 units are approved in these zones till December 31, 2023.

The data also showed that as on December 31, 2023, over Rs 6.92 lakh crore have been invested in these zones and a total of 30.70 lakh people are employed there. The major export destinations include the United Arab Emirates, the US, the UK, Australia and Singapore. To give a push to these zones, the government is considering several measures such as a flexible framework for the sale of products manufactured in SEZs in the domestic market, and streamlining approval processes for units.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23412.40, up by 147.55 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 23295.95 and 23441.95. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.37%, Eicher Motors up by 2.27%, Power Grid up by 2.15%, LTIMindtree up by 1.97% and Shriram Finance up by 1.77%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.40%, Britannia down by 1.37%, Titan down by 0.54%, Divi's Lab down by 0.46% and Tata Consumer Products down by 0.28% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite strengthened 11.07 points or 0.37% to 3,039.12, Straits Times rose 3.56 points or 0.11% to 3,312.77, KOSPI increased 22.85 points or 0.84% to 2,728.17 and Taiwan Weighted added 256.84 points or 1.16% to 22,048.96, while Hang Seng declined 208.9 points or 1.15% to 17,967.44, Jakarta Composite plunged 18.94 points or 0.28% to 6,836.75 and Nikkei 225 slipped 258.08 points or 0.66% to 38,876.71.