Benchmarks erase gains to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased all of their initial gains and were trading lower in morning deals, dragged down by Telecom, TECK and IT stocks. Traders turned cautious with provisional data from the NSE showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold Rs 964.47 crore shares on May 2, 2024. Some cautiousness also came with Reserve Bank data showing that India's services exports declined 1.3 per cent in March to $30 billion while imports fell by 2.1 per cent to $16.61 billion. As per RBI's data on India's international trade in services, the trade surplus during March 2024 was $13.4 billion. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as traders pulled forward expectations for the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut by a month to November.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74420.36, down by 190.75 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 74317.84 and 75095.18. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.15%, while Small cap index was down by 0.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.39%, Power up by 0.62%, PSU up by 0.60%, Healthcare up by 0.59% and Energy up by 0.43%, while Telecom down by 0.80%, TECK down by 0.77%, IT down by 0.49%, Realty down by 0.42% and Capital Goods down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 4.20%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.80%, Tata Steel up by 1.17%, NTPC up by 0.96% and Sun Pharma up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.89%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.34%, Nestle down by 0.96%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.74% and Reliance Industries down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in its latest report has said that India's imports of electronics, telecom, and electrical products soared to $89.8 billion in 2023-24 and over half of these imports are sourced from China and Hong Kong. It stated China dominates with a commanding 43.9 per cent share of India's imports in electronics, telecom, and electrical sectors. The data highlights a deep-seated dependency on these two countries that has seen a dramatic escalation over the years.

It said that reducing this dependency is crucial, not merely to boost economic resilience but to safeguard India's digital and technological sovereignty in a world that is becoming ever more interconnected.  It said ‘These sectors are integral to the daily lives of millions, enhancing communication, commerce, and information access. However, India's heavy dependence on imports, especially from China, presents formidable challenges to the nation's strategic autonomy and economic security.’

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said that this profound reliance on Chinese imports exposes severe vulnerabilities within India's supply chain and underscores the pressing necessity for strategic diversification of sources and enhancement of domestic production capabilities. In the electronics segment, the report said that integrated circuits have experienced a significant import growth from $166.1 million during 2007-2010 to $4.2 billion in 2020-2022.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22616.70, down by 31.50 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 22593.10 and 22794.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 4.13%, Coal India up by 3.00%, ONGC up by 2.51%, Tata Consumer Product up by 1.69% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.68%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.38%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.22%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.03% and Nestle down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 68.83 points or 0.34% to 20,291.27, Hang Seng advanced 189.86 points or 1.04% to 18,396.99, Straits Times rose 10.89 points or 0.33% to 3,307.78 and Jakarta Composite gained 8.23 points or 0.12% to 7,125.66.

On the flip side, KOSPI was down by 3.31 points or 0.12% to 2,680.34.