Sensex, Nifty remain negative in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained negative in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty continue trading in red terrain. Negative cues from other Asian markets kept key indices lower. Sentiments over the street remained negative, even after reports that having gone through a rough patch on account of the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian economy is expected to record a double-digit growth at 10 per cent in 2021-22. The economy contracted by a historic 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21 on account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The contraction, however, narrowed to 7.5 per cent in the second quarter.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, even after Taiwan's export orders rose more than expected in November. The data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that export orders grew 29.7 percent year-on-year in November. Orders for electronic products grew 37.8 percent yearly in November and demand for information and communication products gained 39.4 percent. Orders for transport equipment and optical, photogenic, cinematographic apparatus increased by 29.8 percent and 27.8 percent, respectively.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 45193.27, down by 360.69 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 45140.79 and 45938.40. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.13%, while Small cap index was down by 1.49%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.61%, IT up by 0.54%, TECK up by 0.46% and Utilities up by 0.16%, while Realty down by 1.48%, Energy down by 1.36%, Bankex down by 1.32%, Consumer discretionary down by 1.26% and Industrials down by 1.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.63%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.46%, Power Grid up by 1.40%, HCL Tech up by 1.34% and Infosys up by 0.55%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.83%, Indusind Bank down by 2.55%, ITC down by 1.90%, ONGC down by 1.89% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said the government is focusing on farm mechanisation and asked the industry to provide small machines and equipment to farmers with less landholding to boost their income.

He highlighted the government's target to double farm mechanization per hectare in 10 years and said it was only possible with the support from industry. The minister said the government's emphasis is on providing large advanced agricultural equipment to farmers for their field.

Tomar urged the members of the Tractor and Mechanization Association to provide small utility machines to small acreage farmers, so that 86 per cent of these farmers can acquire machines easily and their income can increase.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13227.35, down by 101.05 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 13192.90 and 13446.75. There were 15 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 1.58%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.51%, Power Grid up by 1.46%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.38% and Divis Lab up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.83%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.69%, Indusind Bank down by 2.63%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.90% and ITC down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 declined 148.08 points or 0.55% to 26,566.34, Straits Times lost 8.49 points or 0.30% to 2,838.03, Hang Seng fell 22.35 points or 0.08% to 26,284.33, Taiwan Weighted decreased 14.38 points or 0.10% to 14,370.58, KOSPI slipped 5.24 points or 0.19% to 2,773.41, Jakarta Composite plunged 38.76 points or 0.63% to 6,126.86 and Shanghai Composite was down by 6.74 points or 0.20% to 3,413.83.