Bourses trade lower in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade lower in late afternoon session amid weekly F&O expiry. Traders were continuously monitoring Q4FY24 earnings. Traders ignored report that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated the southwest monsoon is likely to hit Kerala on May 31. Southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about seven days. In stock specific, Mahindra & Mahindra remained in focus after reporting 31.58% rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 2,038.21 crore for fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024 under review as compared to Rs 1,548.97 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after US stocks rallied to records on hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. European markets were trading lower as softer U.S. consumer inflation data brought Fed rate cuts back into focus. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72687.86, down by 299.17 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 72529.97 and 73396.75. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.63%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 0.95%, Realty up by 0.79%, TECK up by 0.73%, IT up by 0.67% and Capital Goods was up by 0.52%, while Utilities down by 1.02%, Auto down by 0.99%, Metal down by 0.93%, Power down by 0.85% and PSU was down by 0.83% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.64%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.54%, Infosys up by 1.21%, HDFC Bank up by 0.66% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.40%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.36%, Tata Motors down by 2.50%, Power Grid down by 2.43%, SBI down by 2.21% and Indusind Bank down by 2.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J. has urged Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to bolster governance and assurance functions and maintain constant vigil against potential risks and vulnerabilities.

As per the Deputy Governor, in the highly dynamic and challenging environment in which financial entities operate, they are exposed to a multitude of risks that can impact their financial and operational resilience. He highlighted cybersecurity and operational risks; credit risks from rule-based credit models; and liquidity risks. 

In a conference organized by RBI, Swaminathan also conveyed the Reserve Bank’s Supervisory expectations from the regulated entities to ensure independent and meaningful assurance functions as well as fair and transparent conduct towards customers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank held a Conference in Mumbai for the Heads of Assurance Functions (i.e., Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Risk Officers and Heads of Internal Audit) of select Non-Banking Financial Companies. The conference was attended by about 280 participants representing more than 100 NBFCs.

 The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22097.20, down by 103.35 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 22054.55 and 22330.00. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 1.73%, LTIMindtree up by 1.58%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.50%, Infosys up by 1.33% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.39%, Tata Motors down by 2.52%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.45%, Power Grid down by 2.40% and SBI down by 2.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 161.36 points or 0.76% to 21,147.21, Jakarta Composite gained 107.98 points or 1.52% to 7,191.74, Nikkei 225 surged 29.67 points or 0.08% to 38,385.73 and KOSPI was up by 3.13 points or 0.11% to 2,730.34. On the flip side, Straits Times fell 22.28 points or 0.67% to 3,291.07, Shanghai Composite weakened 25.87 points or 0.83% to 3,119.90 and Hang Seng was down by 41.35 points or 0.22% to 19,073.71.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 33 points or 0.39% to 8,412.80, France’s CAC fell 34.29 points or 0.42% to 8,205.70 and Germany’s DAX was down by 18.43 points or 0.1% to 18,850.93.