Sensex, Nifty extend losses

Key equity benchmarks extended their losses in late afternoon session, impacted by heavy selling at Energy, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas counters. Firm opening of European markets failed to provide relief to Indian equities. Major industry losers like Yes Bank, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC were seen contributing to the losses on the BSE. The market participants were taking note of a report that the Income Tax Department has confiscated assets worth Rs 6,900 crore till now as part of its action under the anti-benami transactions law. On the sectoral front, selected stocks of IT industry were trading higher, amid private report that worldwide IT spending is projected to total at $ 3.76 trillion in 2019, an increase of 3.2 percent from last year. The overall IT spending is expected to grow at 2.8 percent in 2020 to touch $ 3.87 trillion. Further, mining and minerals stocks were in limelight, with Union steel minister Chaudhary Birender Singh’s statement that to ensure that there is no massive shortage of iron ore and coal from 2020 when the captive mining leases are expiring, the government is looking at mining of these resources in the Northeastern states. Shares of oil companies also remained in focused, after the ratings agency India Ratings indicated that oil prices expected to remain range bound at $ 55-65 per barrel due to a rise in supply from the US, debt crisis in Venezuela and the limited clarity on the sanctions on Iran.

On the global front, European markets were trading green, after Finland's consumer confidence improved in January after falling in the previous month. The figures from Statistics Finland showed that the consumer confidence index rose to 17.2 in January from 16.1 in December. Traders also took note of European Central Bank’s report stating that Eurozone lending growth maintained its momentum in December, while a measure of broad money rose at the fastest pace in six months. Lending to households rose 3.3 percent year-on-year in December, same as in November. Asian markets were trading in red, as earnings concerns as well as renewed US-China tensions sapped investors' appetite for risk. Trade worries resurfaced after the US Department of Justice unsealed sweeping criminal charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35443.32, down by 213.38 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 35375.51 and 35718.90. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.10%, while Small cap index was down by 0.50%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.54%, Healthcare up by 0.48%, FMCG up by 0.26%, TECK up by 0.22% and IT up by 0.09%, while Energy down by 1.56%, Capital Goods down by 1.42%, Oil & Gas down by 1.34%, Realty down by 1.13% and Utilities down by 0.71% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.42%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.29%, TCS up by 1.16%, Asian Paints up by 0.78% and Hero MotoCorp up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.50%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.25%, HDFC down by 2.05%, Reliance Industries down by 1.88% and Coal India down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid various factors like rise in supply from the US, debt crisis in Venezuela and the limited clarity on the sanctions on Iran, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) is expecting oil prices to remain range bound at $55-65 per barrel.

As per the report, the range-bound crude price would limit large inventory gains or losses. The rating agency also expects the bulk of the subsidy to be borne by the government as against FY19, when the government, for a brief period, asked oil marketing companies to absorb marketing operations-related losses.

Further, Ind-Ra maintained a stable outlook for the oil and gas sector for FY20, on account of continued strong domestic petroleum product demand, healthy gross refining margins, petrochemical expansion by refiners to improve downstream value addition and rise in the usage of natural gas.

However, the rating agency feels that the credit profiles of public oil and gas undertakings continue to depend on government policies on subsidy sharing, shareholder payouts, and large capex for refinery upgrade and expansion into new growth areas like upstream and city gas and LNG distribution).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10596.55, down by 65.00 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 10583.65 and 10675.50. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 5.01%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.56%, Cipla up by 2.38%, Sun Pharma up by 2.38% and Zee Entertainment up by 2.25%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 6.76%, Eicher Motors down by 5.25%, Yes Bank down by 4.60%, GAIL India down by 3.83% and Larsen & Toubro down by 2.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 45.28 points or 0.16% to 27,531.68, Jakarta Composite dropped 22.23 points or 0.34% to 6,436.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 81.74 points or 0.82% to 9,931.59, Shanghai Composite declined 3.15 points or 0.12% to 2,593.83 and Straits Times trembled 7.98 points or 0.25% to 3,191.52. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 15.64 points or 0.08% to 20,664.64 and KOSPI rose 6.06 points or 0.28% to 2,183.36.

All European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC added 18.13 points or 0.37% to 4,906.71, Germany’s DAX rose 1.88 points or 0.02% to 11,212.19 and UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 67.63 points or 1.00% to 6,814.73.