Benchmarks hover near unchanged lines

Sensex, Nifty jumped back and forth along the neutral lines in late afternoon session. Traders remained cautious after India’s industrial production growth slowed down to 8-month low of 2.7% in April due to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and power sectors. Moreover, the factory output growth was lower than 5.2 per cent growth in April 2024. However, downside remained capped as market participants took note of RBI’s annual report indicating the country is poised to remain the fastest growing major economy in the world even in FY26. It added that benign inflation outlook and a moderation in GDP expansion warrant the monetary policy to be supportive of growth going forward. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed after a U.S. trade court blocked President Donald Trump's Liberation Day import tariffs from going into effect, ruling that he did not have unbounded authority to tax imports from nearly every country. European equity markets were trading mostly in green after chip giant Nvidia reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81312.07, down by 0.25 points after trading in a range of 81106.98 and 81816.89. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index surged 0.23%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.40%, IT up by 0.56%, Metal up by 0.55%, TECK up by 0.45% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.37%, while FMCG down by 0.32%, Bankex down by 0.27%, Oil & Gas down by 0.26%, PSU down by 0.20% and Energy down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 2.01%, Trent up by 1.62%, Sun Pharma Industries up by 1.44%, Adani Ports up by 1.30% and Tata Steel up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.00%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.95%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.75%, ITC down by 0.62% and HDFC Bank down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has approved continuation of Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) for 2025-26 under which farmers get short-term credit at affordable rate through Kisan Credit card (KCC). The decision regarding continuation of MISS for fiscal year 2025-26 with existing 1.5 per cent interest subvention was taken by the Union Cabinet. The continuation of the scheme will cost exchequer Rs 15,640 crore. 

MISS is a Central Sector Scheme aimed at ensuring the availability of short-term credit to farmers at an affordable interest rate through KCC. Under MISS, farmers get short-term loans of up to Rs 3 lakh through KCC at a subsidized interest rate of 7 per cent, with 1.5 per cent interest subvention provided to eligible lending institutions. Additionally, farmers repaying loans promptly are eligible for an incentive of up to 3 per cent as Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI), effectively reducing their interest rate on KCC loans to 4 per cent. For loans taken exclusively for animal husbandry or fisheries, the interest benefit is applicable up to Rs 2 lakh. 

The continuation of the support is critical to sustaining the flow of institutional credit to agriculture, which is vital for enhancing productivity and ensuring financial inclusion for small and marginal farmers. Institutional credit disbursement through KCC increased from Rs 4.26 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 10.05 lakh crore by December 2024. Overall agricultural credit flow also rose from Rs 7.3 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs 25.49 lakh crore in 2023-24.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24751.10, down by 1.35 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 24677.30 and 24889.70. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 2.40%, Eternal up by 2.01%, Trent up by 1.69%, Sun Pharma Industries up by 1.43% and Adani Ports up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.38%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.24%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.04%, Shriram Finance down by 0.94% and JIO Financial Services down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 315.07 points or 1.34% to 23,573.38, KOSPI increased 50.49 points or 1.86% to 2,720.64, Shanghai Composite strengthened 23.52 points or 0.7% to 3,363.45 and Nikkei 225 surged 710.58 points or 1.85% to 38,432.98, while Taiwan Weighted lost 10.42 points or 0.05% to 21,347.30 and Straits Times fell 7.94 points or 0.2% to 3,903.98. 

European markets were trading mostly in green; Germany’s DAX gained 76.2 points or 0.32% to 24,114.39 and France’s CAC rose 41.77 points or 0.53% to 7,829.87, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 13.94 points or 0.16% to 8,712.07.