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Firm trade persists over Dalal Street in early noon deals
Jun-16-2026

A firm trade persisted over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains, amid buying at Realty, IT and FMCG counters, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets, on signs of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Sentiments were also upbeat, after Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0 (ECLGS 5.0) is likely to play a crucial role in addressing the near-term working capital increase, stemming from the impact of the West Asia conflict, for both micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and non-MSMEs (Excluding non-banking finance companies, power, telecom and select manufacturing sectors).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point on Tuesday, to its highest level since 1995. The policy board of BoJ voted 7-1 to raise the interest rate to 1.00 percent from 0.75 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76603.04, up by 338.71 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 76443.34 and 76724.62. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.94%, IT up by 0.84%, FMCG up by 0.77%, Energy up by 0.69% and TECK up by 0.50%, while Metal down by 2.07%, Basic Materials down by 0.93%, Healthcare down by 0.57%, Telecom down by 0.52% and Auto down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech. up by 2.22%, Reliance Industries up by 1.77%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.50%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.47% and NTPC up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.95%, SBI down by 1.24%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.08%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.80% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.72% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed a marginal dip in India’s unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above to 5.5% in May compared to 5.6% a year ago. The unemployment rate was 5.2% in April this year. During May, a marginal rise in unemployment rate has been seen in rural areas to 5.1% from 4.6% in April, 2026, while the urban unemployment rate eased to 6.4% from 6.6% during the same period. Compared with May 2025, the urban unemployment rate declined from 6.9% to 6.4%, marking a reduction of 0.5 percentage points in May, 2026, while the rural unemployment rate maintained the same level of 5.1% over the same period. The PLFS is conducted by National Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

In May, 2026, India’s Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) declined by 0.4 percentage points to 54.4% in May, 2026 as compared to last year. The LFPR was 55.0% in April, 2026. In rural and urban areas, LFPR registered a decline of 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points at 56.6% and 49.8%, respectively, during May 2026. The female participation stood at 32.8% in May, 2026, a marginal decline of 0.4 percentage points, from 33.2% in May, 2025. In rural areas, female LFPR was remained broadly unchanged at 36.7%, whereas LFPR for urban female recorded a decline of 0.5 percentage points at 24.8% over the year.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) recorded a marginal decline of 0.3 percentage points in both rural and urban sectors between May, 2025 and May, 2026. The overall WPR was estimated at 51.4% in May, 2026, compared to 52.2% in April, 2026 and 51.7% in May, 2025. In rural areas, WPR stood at 53.8% in May, 2026, compared to 54.9% in April, 2026. WPR in urban areas was estimated at 46.6% in May, 2026 against 46.8% in April, 2026. The survey said that the moderation in LFPR and WPR with an increase in unemployment rate indicates a softening of labour market conditions during the period. It added that while labour force participation declined marginally, employment opportunities contracted at a faster pace, leading to a rise in the proportion of unemployed persons within the labour force. Further, the decline in labour market indicators may be linked to a seasonal moderation in economic activity during May 2026.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23927.25, up by 73.35 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 23888.20 and 23977.80. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 2.52%, HCL Tech. up by 2.30%, Reliance Industries up by 1.84%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.60% and Nestle up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.92%, Tata Steel down by 1.91%, JSW Steel down by 1.89%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 1.87% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 180.62 points or 2.07% to 8,726.60, Taiwan Weighted added 412.2 points or 0.9% to 45,809.19, Nikkei 225 surged 39.5 points or 0.06% to 69,357.00 and Straits Times rose 30.72 points or 0.61% to 5,108.01, while  Hang Seng declined 392.67 points or 1.58% to 24,450.00 and Shanghai Composite weakened 4.58 points or 0.11% to 4,091.89.
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