Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remain in green in morning deals, supported by positive retail inflation data. The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation eased to an 11-month low of 4.83 per cent in April 2024 as prices of some kitchen items declined though overall food basket firmed up marginally. The CPI was 4.85 per cent in March. It was 4.7 per cent in April 2023. The previous low inflation was at 4.31 per cent in May 2023. The inflation remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) comfort zone. The government has tasked the RBI to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. Traders took a note of report that the government is working on a verification system to help exporters deal with countervailing duty cases on domestic products over the RODTEP scheme. The exercise is important as countervailing or anti-subsidy duties were imposed on certain domestic units by the US and European Union (EU). However, gains remain capped due to uncertainty surrounding the general election results. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as anticipation of key U.S. inflation data deterred any major trades, while Chinese markets retreated as another major property developer defaulted on bond payments. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72866.78, up by 90.65 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 72683.99 and 73002.05. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.36%, Utilities up by 1.27%, PSU up by 0.94%, Realty up by 0.91% and Industrials up by 0.88%, while FMCG down by 0.28%, Healthcare down by 0.26%, IT down by 0.26%, TECK down by 0.19% and Bankex down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.27%, JSW Steel up by 1.79%, NTPC up by 1.31%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.13% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.31%, Nestle down by 1.19%, TCS down by 0.87%, Asian Paints down by 0.81% and ITC down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation eased to an 11-month low of 4.83 per cent in April 2024 as prices of some kitchen items declined though overall food basket firmed up marginally. The CPI was 4.85 per cent in March. It was 4.7 per cent in April 2023. The previous low inflation was at 4.31 per cent in May 2023. The inflation remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) comfort zone. The government has tasked the RBI to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its data has showed that Rural CPI (General) in April 2024 stood at 5.43 per cent over 5.51 per cent in March 2024. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 4.11 per cent in April as against 4.14 per cent in March. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 188.5, 184.7 and 186.7 respectively, in April 2024. The price data are collected from selected 1114 urban Markets and 1181 villages covering all States/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster.

The inflation in the food basket was at 8.70 per cent in April, marginally up from 8.52 per cent in March. India's vegetable inflation stood at 27.80 per cent. Inflation rate for cereals and pulses which constitutes a significant portion of India's staple diet came in at 8.63 per cent and 16.84 per cent respectively. The Fuel and light inflation rate witnessed a contraction of (-)4.24 per cent in April. For clothing & footwear and housing sector the inflation rate stood at 2.85 per cent and 2.68 per cent respectively. State wise, the highest inflation was witnessed in Odisha at 7.11 per cent and lower in Delhi at 2.17 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22137.20, up by 33.15 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 22081.25 and 22182.70. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.51%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.30%, Hindalco up by 1.96%, JSW Steel up by 1.74% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.25%, Nestle down by 1.26%, Britannia Industries down by 1.01%, Axis Bank down by 0.95% and TCS down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 25.23 points or 0.13% to 19,089.83, Jakarta Composite plunged 20.77 points or 0.29% to 7,078.49, Shanghai Composite weakened 3.87 points or 0.12% to 3,144.15 and Straits Times fell 1.94 points or 0.06% to 3,301.72.

On the flip side, KOSPI increased 1.79 points or 0.07% to 2,729.00, Nikkei 225 surged 68.72 points or 0.18% to 38,248.18 and Taiwan Weighted added 92.21 points or 0.44% to 20,949.92.