Bourses extend losses in late afternoon session

Indian bourses extended their losses in late afternoon session, despite firm opening in European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader markets too remained lackluster in late noon deals, while Telecom index declined the most among sectoral indices on the BSE. Trading sentiments remained pessimistic with the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority’s (Apeda) data showing that India’s exports of agricultural commodities nosedived by up to a staggering 46 per cent in volume terms due to supply glut in the international market which prompted stockists to defer their purchase plans amid expectations of further price fall. On the sectoral front, selected stocks of textile sector were trading in green, amid reports that a major outreach programme for MSMEs in the textiles sector will be held here on February 13 to help stakeholders avail the support under 100 days programme announced by the Prime Minister. Airlines stocks were trading mixed, despite aviation consultancy CAPA India’s report showing that India's airlines are poised to cut their cumulative losses by as much as two-thirds in the financial year starting in April due to a more stable oil price, with low-cost carriers returning to profitability.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, after the Bank of France predicted a 0.4% growth for the French economy in the first quarter of this year, which is slightly faster than the 0.3% expansion in the final quarter of 2018. However, the Bank of France survey showed that the business confidence indicator for the manufacturing industry fell to 99 in January from 102 in December. The confidence measure for the services sector eased to 100 from 101, while the index for construction remained unchanged at 105. Asian markets were also trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36265.74, down by 129.29 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 36259.66 and 36465.40. 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 0.06%, while Small cap index was down by 0.34%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.67%, Energy up by 0.57%, Basic Materials up by 0.48%, Consumer Durables up by 0.20% and Capital Goods up by 0.18%, while Telecom down by 1.83%, TECK down by 0.97%, IT down by 0.94%, Realty down by 0.94% and FMCG down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.89%, Coal India up by 1.83%, Sun Pharma up by 1.39%, Vedanta up by 0.99% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.77%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.68%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.65%, Infosys down by 1.44%, HDFC down by 1.41% and ONGC down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the efforts taken by the government to enhance exports by MSMEs, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Giriraj Singh has said that the value of MSME related products’ export reached $147,390.08 million during 2017-18, as per the information received from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS).

Giriraj Singh also listed several measures initiated by the government including efforts made under Make in India Programme, Promotion of Ease of Doing Business, improved availability of credit through MUDRA, Stand up India, schemes such as ‘Merchandise Exports from India Scheme’ (MEIS) for incentivising export of specified goods to specified markets and ‘Service Exports from India Scheme’ (SEIS) for increasing exports of notified services from India, 2% interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans and increase in interest rebate from 3% to 5% for exporters who receive pre-shipment and post-shipment loans.

Meanwhile, the revenue generated through export by MSME sector in 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14 and 2012-13 stood at $137,068.80 million, $130,768.70 million, $138,896.72 million, $133,313.28 million and $127,992.76 million, respectively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10846.55, down by 42.25 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 10843.35 and 10910.90. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 3.13%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.03%, BPCL up by 1.98%, NTPC up by 1.73% and HPCL up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.62%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.12%, HCL Tech. down by 2.05%, HDFC down by 1.97% and Infosys down by 1.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 531.04 points or 2.61% to 20,864.21, Hang Seng increased 26.83 points or 0.1% to 28,170.67, KOSPI rose 9.74 points or 0.45% to 2,190.47, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 93.49 points or 0.93% to 10,097.74 and Shanghai Composite gained 13.39 points or 0.5% to 2,667.29. On the flip side, Straits Times lost 5.24 points or 0.16% to 3,201.03 and Jakarta Composite was down by 97.36 points or 1.5% to 6,397.64.

All European markets were trading in green; FTSE rose 31.98 points or 0.45% to 7,161.09, CAC jumped 40.93 points or 0.82% to 5,055.40 and DAX was up by 127.51 points or 1.16% to 11,142.10.