Markets remain under pressure in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade in red in late afternoon session on account of profit booking by investors in stocks such as Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Indusind Bank and Axis Bank. Sentiments remained downbeat after Indian manufacturing activity growth declined sharply in the month of April 2020, amid national lockdown restrictions to help stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which in turn led to widespread business closures. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance -fell to 27.4 in April from 51.8 in March. Traders took note of report that describing infrastructure development as an enabler for growth, a finance ministry-constituted task force has observed that creating new and upgrading existing infra projects with Rs 111 lakh crore investment will be key to raising India’s competitiveness and achieving $5 trillion economy goal by 2025.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red as investors returned from a May Day break to a fresh spat between the United States and China over the coronavirus crisis that triggered losses in cyclical sectors. Back home, sector wise, sugar stocks remained in focus with ISMA’s report that India's sugar production fell 20% to 258.01 lakh tonne in the current marketing year ending September due to lower cane output, while sales plummeted during the last two months because of the lockdown.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32012.33, down by 1705.29 points or 5.06% after trading in a range of 31911.56 and 32748.14. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 3.61%, while Small cap index was down by 2.63%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 3.21% and Healthcare up by 0.79%, while Metal down by 8.03%, Bankex down by 7.20%, Realty down by 6.63%, Auto down by 6.51%, Consumer Durables down by 6.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 4.40% and Sun Pharma up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 9.31%, ICICI Bank down by 9.02%, HDFC down by 8.76%, Indusind Bank down by 8.74% and Axis Bank down by 8.33% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturing activity growth declined sharply in the month of April 2020, amid national lockdown restrictions to help stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which in turn led to widespread business closures. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance -fell to 27.4 in April from 51.8 in March.

As per the survey report, the latest reading pointed to the sharpest deterioration in business conditions across the sector since data collection began over 15 years ago. Demand conditions were severely hampered in April, amid widespread business closures. Besides, new orders fell for the first time in two-and-a-half years and at the sharpest rate in the survey's history, far outpacing that seen during the global financial crisis.

The report also noted that deteriorating demand conditions saw manufacturers drastically cut back staff numbers in April. The reduction in employment was the quickest in the survey's history. There was a similar trend in purchasing activity, with firms cutting input buying at a record pace. Besides, there was evidence of severe supply-side disruption across the manufacturing sector amid the lockdown, with input delivery times lengthening markedly.

On the price front, lower cost burdens gave manufacturers room to decrease their output prices at the start of the second quarter. The marked decline was the quickest since data collection began. Meanwhile, sentiment regarding the 12-month outlook for production ticked up from March's recent low on hopes that demand will rebound once the COVID-19 threat has diminished and lockdown restrictions eased.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9360.40, down by 499.50 points or 5.07% after trading in a range of 9342.50 and 9533.50. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.57%, Cipla up by 3.66%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.05% and Sun Pharma up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 10.71%, Tata Motors down by 10.29%, Vedanta down by 9.99%, Bajaj Finance down by 9.27% and JSW Steel down by 9.16% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.41 points or 0.13% to 5,770.47, France’s CAC decreased 156.98 points or 3.43% to 4,415.20 and Germany’s DAX was down by 312.81 points or 2.88% to 10,548.83.