Sensex, Nifty remain under pressure

Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure in late afternoon session, on account of weak cues from European markets along with heavy selling at FMCG, Consumer Durables and IT counters. Domestics sentiments were pessimistic, with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data report showing that the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.119 billion to $398.122 billion in the week to February 8, due to fall in foreign currency assets. In the previous week, the reserves had surged by $2.063 billion to $ 400.24 billion. The market participants were seen taking note of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that India needs fewer banks and mega banks which are strong to help the needs of common man. He said economies of scale are of great help in the banking sector. 

On the sectoral front, shipping industry stocks were trading lower, even after the Ministry of Shipping revised its guidelines for chartering of ships by providing Right of First Refusal (RoFR) to ships built in India. Henceforth, whenever a tendering process is undertaken to charter a vessel, a bidder offering a ship built in India will be given the first priority to match the L1 quote. It is expected that this priority given to ships built in India will raise the demand for such vessels, providing them with additional market access and business support. Stocks related to the tourism industry were buzzing, amid reports that the government made series of amendments in e-visa regime, liberalizing it further and making it more tourist friendly. The Ministry of Tourism has been working very closely with Ministry of Home Affairs for easing of the Visa Regime in the country over a period of time.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, after Eurozone's merchandise trade surplus for December came in below the street expectations, as exports decreased, while imports were unchanged. According to figures from the Statistical Office Eurostat, the seasonally adjusted trade surplus fell to EUR 15.6 billion from EUR 15.8 billion in November. The street had expected a surplus of EUR 16.3 billion. However, Asian markets were trading in green, as investors pin hopes for progress in the Sino-US trade talks and await more policy stimulus from major central banks.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35562.91, down by 246.04 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 35525.96 and 35912.44. There were 9 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.90%, while Small cap index was down by 0.78%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.01% and Realty up by 0.93%, while FMCG down by 1.24%, Consumer Durables down by 1.16%, IT down by 1.05%, Basic Materials down by 0.89% and Energy down by 0.88% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 1.55%, Axis Bank up by 0.79%, Indusind Bank up by 0.54%, Tata Motors up by 0.50% and NTPC up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.83%, TCS down by 2.72%, ITC down by 1.98%, Sun Pharma down by 1.78% and Coal India down by 1.35% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, emphasizing the employment opportunities in tourism, the Union Minister of State for Tourism, Alphons Kannanthanam has said that India is the largest employer in the world in tourism sector.

The Union Tourism Minister further highlighted facts and figures, noting that most of those who get employed are poor and around 8.21 crore people in India were employed in the sector.

Meanwhile, with an aim to development of roads, facilities for tourists, footpaths and protect the flora and fauna, the government unveiled the project ‘Development of Eco Circuit: Pathanamthitta – Gavi – Vagamon – Thekkady’ in Kerala under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10656.45, down by 67.95 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 10639.50 and 10759.90. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 3.70%, ONGC up by 1.78%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.38%, Axis Bank up by 0.80% and Indusind Bank up by 0.69%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.69%, Yes Bank down by 2.63%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.00%, ITC down by 1.95% and Coal India down by 1.75% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; Hang Seng increased 469.43 points or 1.68% to 28,370.27, Jakarta Composite soared 108.73 points or 1.70% to 6,497.82, Nikkei 225 surged 381.22 points or 1.82% to 21,281.85, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 80.50 points or 0.8% to 10,145.28, Shanghai Composite gained 67.90 points or 2.53% to 2,750.29, Straits Times advanced 26.75 points or 0.83% to 3,266.49 and KOSPI was up by 14.80 points or 0.67% to 2,210.89.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 21.83 points or 0.30% to 7,214.85 and Germany’s DAX was down by 21.66 points or 0.19% to 11,278.14. On the other hand, France’s CAC was up by 3.72 points or 0.07% to 5,156.91.