Benchmarks extend losses in late afternoon session

Indian bourses extended their losses in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty trading down by 134 and 44 points respectively. Stocks from Telecom, TECK and IT counters were trading lower, while FMCG, Utilities and Power counters were supporting the markets. Sentiments were pessimistic as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that GDP growth in India will contract sharply by 4.5 percent in the fiscal year 2020-21 following a longer COVID-19 lockdown period and slower recovery than anticipated in April. Meanwhile, Nitin Gadkari launched the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Sub-ordinate Debt (CGSSD) which is also called 'Distressed Assets Fund-Sub-ordinate Debt for MSMEs'. As per the Scheme, the guarantee covers worth Rs. 20,000 crores will be provided to the promoters who can take debt from the banks to further invest in their stressed MSMEs as equity.

On the global front; Asian markets were trading lower with the dampened worries about a quick recovery in global economy amid rising number of coronavirus infections around the globe. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, GAIL India gained on reporting over 3-fold jump in Q4 consolidated net profit and SSWL jumped on securing orders for over 13,000 wheels.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34734.69, down by 134.29 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 34499.78 and 35035.87. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.14%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.07%, Utilities up by 0.72%, Power up by 0.19% and Healthcare was up by 0.13%, while Telecom down by 1.06%, TECK down by 0.92%, IT down by 0.86%, Bankex down by 0.84% and Capital Goods was down by 0.66% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.79%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.77%, Power Grid up by 0.70%, Nestle up by 0.58% and Maruti Suzuki was up by 0.41%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.14%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.69%, Infosys down by 1.67%, Indusind Bank down by 1.64% and Axis Bank was down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda has said that the development of bulk drug and medical device parks will not only reduce India's dependency on imports but will also be helpful in making it a major player in global pharma export. He said modalities of selection of locality of parks as well as of the beneficiaries under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme should be based on some well-defined objective criteria to ensure orderly development of the parks.

The Minister noted that these schemes will increase competitiveness of domestic production of bulk drugs and medical devices due to benefits available in clusters in the form of state of art common infrastructure and logistics facilities. Stating that these schemes are the need of the hour, he said that it is necessary that medicines are produced in the country at cheaper rates in line with the government’s vision of making affordable medicines available to every citizen.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet had approved schemes for supporting development of three bulk drug parks and four medical device parks on March 21, 2020 in order to reduce dependency on imports for critical healthcare needs and boost local manufacturing and employment.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10260.40, down by 44.90 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 10194.50 and 10356.05. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 3.30%, ITC up by 2.71%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.73%, Wipro up by 0.89% and Power Grid was up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.18%, Eicher Motors down by 2.36%, Asian Paints down by 2.18%, Infosys down by 1.73% and Indusind Bank was down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower; KOSPI fell 49.14 points or 2.27% to 2,112.37, Jakarta Composite lost 59.84 points or 1.21% to 4,904.90, Nikkei 225 slipped 274.53 points or 1.22% to 22,259.79 and Straits Times was down by 38.43 points or 1.46% to 2,590.19.