Markets trade at fresh 52-week low in early deals on Wednesday

Prolonging their southward journey for third consecutive day, Indian equity benchmarks trading in red in early deals with frontline gauges tumbling below their crucial 23,850 (Sensex) and 7,250 (Nifty) levels,  amid weak global cues on concerns over health of the banking sector in the euro zone.  The broader markets traded in line with benchmark indices with the BSE midcap and BSE smallcap indices trading lower by 0.66 per cent each. The markets also experienced selling pressure after the rupee depreciated by 6 paise to 67.96 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on account increased demand for the American unit from importers and banks. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors remained sellers in equities worth Rs 681 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. Besides, Crisil Research has said that Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.9 per cent in the fiscal starting April, lower than earlier forecast of 8.1 per cent, due to intensifying global headwinds.

In the scrip specific development, Punjab National Bank was trading lower by around 5 per cent after posting a sharp 93% decline in net profit in the third quarter of the fiscal on account of fresh slippages arising from the steel sector besides higher provisioning requirement as part of RBI norms.

On the global front, the US markets ended marginally lower as US oil prices seesawed and investors looked ahead to Fed Chair Janet Yellen's testimony. Asian markets continued their downward trend on Wednesday, with Japan falling more than 7% in two days.

Back home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE were reeling under pressures, stocks from Realty, PSU, Banking, Oil & Gas and Metal counters were the prominent losers of the session. On the flip side, stocks from Consumer Durables, IT and TECK counter were the only gainers of the session. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 442: 1005, while 70 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 23840.06, down by 180.92 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 23833.80 and 23938.32. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were down by 0.66% each.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.15%, IT up by 0.15% and TECK up by 0.02%, while Realty down by 1.32%, PSU down by 1.20%, Bankex down by 0.96%, Oil & Gas down by 0.92% and Metal down by 0.90% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 0.68% and HDFC Bank up by 0.10%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.93%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 2.63%, ICICI Bank down by 2.51%, Adani Ports &Special down by 2.05% and ONGC down by 1.97% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Power sector is likely to get a big boost in the coming years, as the country is expected to spend a whopping $ 1 trillion (about Rs 65 lakh crore) by 2030 on ramping up its power infrastructure as one of the world’s largest energy consumers aims to provide 24/7 electricity to its citizens. Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said that power sector in the country is at an inflection point and the focus is on developing an integrated outlook with transparent policies on tariffs and fuel pricing which enhance the ease of doing business.

Goyal is leading a high-level government delegation to deliberate with Australian government and businesses on ways to increase their participation in India's power sector, said that India and Australia should come together and invest in several fields, with energy being an important dimension. India's focus is on LNG for power plants, coal mining, clean coal technologies, renewable energy, R&D as well as tie-ups with premier research institutes.

Power Minister further said that there is need for the technology transfer at affordable rates for efficient expansion of renewable energy in India. He added that India can use Australian expertise in rooftop solar as almost a third of Australian homes in some states are using rooftop solar. He said the Australian expertise in scheduling and forecasting solar generation to enable grid integration would be 'welcomed by Indian companies. Emphasising that the technology transfer needs to be affordable, Goyal said that the Australian technology can help in efficient renewable power and grid integration in India. The technology transfer should be through strong educational and research collaboration between Australian (UNSW) and Indian organisations (like National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE).

The government has set an ambitious plan to add 175 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2022. The country aims to have 100 GW of solar power by 2022 along with 260 GW of thermal and nuclear generation and 62 GW of hydro generation capacity.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7247.90, down by 50.30 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 7245.25 and 7271.85. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech. up by 1.57%, Infosys up by 0.85%,  Power Grid Corpn. up by 0.67%,  Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.17% and HDFC Bank up by 0.09%. On the flip side, PNB down by 5.64%, Bank Of Baroda down by 4.02%, Tata Motors down by 2.99%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 2.76% and Ambuja Cement down by 2.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red, Nikkei 225 decreased 385.59 points or 2.4% to 15,699.85, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 13.65 points or 0.82% to 1,648.81 and Jakarta Composite decreased 12.67 points or 0.27% to 4,755.95.