Bourses trade under selling pressure in late afternoon session

Indian bourses were trading under selling pressure in late afternoon session, on the back of sustained selling activities by market-participants amid weak global cues. Traders were cautious even after Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics revised India's economic growth projection for 2021 to 10.2 per cent from the earlier 8.8 per cent, citing receding COVID-19 risks and the shift in the monetary policy outlook. It further said the Budget 2021-22 will create positive externalities for the private sector, and forecast slower fiscal consolidation in FY22 than the government projections. On the sectoral front, pharmaceutical sector remained in focus, as India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said that it does not expect Indian pharmaceutical companies to sustain the healthy operating margins reported during 3Q FY21 and 9M FY21. It mentioned that the India formulations business grew year-on-year (yoy) during 3Q FY21 and 9M FY21 while growth across other segments was lower both on quarter-on-quarter (qoq) and yoy basis. It witnessed stable EBITDA margins on a quarterly basis as revenue increase gained momentum in India formulations business, attributed to Covid-19 related products while product launches aided the US business' margins. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red on profit taking and growing worries about inflation. European markets were trading mostly in green as traders pored over pandemic-affected earnings updates from various sectors.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51393.29, down by 310.54 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 51186.68 and 51903.96. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.63%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 4.66%, PSU up by 3.74%, Utilities up by 3.65%, Power up by 2.13% and Metal was up by 1.11%, while Bankex down by 1.12%, Auto down by 1.05%, Capital Goods down by 0.75%, Realty down by 0.43% and Healthcare was down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 8.95%, NTPC up by 3.98%, Asian Paints up by 3.07%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.41% and Power Grid up by 2.11%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.50%, ICICI Bank down by 2.27%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.16%, HDFC down by 2.00% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, appreciating the measures taken by SEBI, especially to deal with the COVID situation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed the need for timely implementation of announcements related to the capital market made in the Union Budget 2021-22.

The minister addressed the board of SEBI in the national capital for the first time after the presentation of the Budget on February 1. After the presentation of the Budget every year, it is customary for the finance minister to address the boards of SEBI and RBI.

Meanwhile, in Union budget, Sitharaman proposed to consolidate the provisions of Sebi Act, Depositories Act, Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act and Government Securities Act into a rationalised single securities markets code. Among other announcements related to the capital markets, the minister had also proposed to introduce an investor charter as a right for all investors in all financial products.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15131.05, down by 77.85 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 15078.05 and 15250.75. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 9.63%, GAIL India up by 7.18%, BPCL up by 4.30%, NTPC up by 3.93% and Indian Oil up by 3.89%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.54%, Shree Cement down by 2.36%, ICICI Bank down by 2.31%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.21% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.12% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 489.67 points or 1.58% to 30,595.27, Nikkei 225 slipped 56.10 points or 0.19% to 30,236.09, KOSPI fell 47.07 points or 1.5% to 3,086.66, Jakarta Composite lost 27.42 points or 0.44% to 6,200.31 and Straits Times was down by 17.29 points or 0.59% to 2,903.14. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 20.27 points or 0.55% to 3,675.36 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 62.22 points or 0.38% to 16,424.51.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 3.11 points or 0.05% to 5,768.95 and Germany’s DAX was up by 27.80 points or 0.2% to 13,937.07. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 1.58 points or 0.02% to 6,709.32.