The Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their losses in late afternoon session, but continued to trade sluggish. There were no gainers on sectoral indices on the BSE. A level of pressure was seen on frontline stocks, especially Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank. Markets remained under pressure even after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that bank credit growth on a year-on-year basis improved to 6.2 percent in the December quarter (Q3FY21) from 5.8 percent in the previous three-month period. However, credit growth in Q3FY21 was lower when compared to 7.4 percent growth recorded a year ago. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed on increasing credit flow to businesses to meet the needs of a fast reflating economy and said financial products will have to be tailor-made for fintech and startups. He said that although the government’s endeavour is to promote the private sector, public sector presence in banking and insurance is also required.
On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower, as a rout in global bond markets sent yields flying and spooked investors amid fears the heavy losses suffered could trigger distressed selling in other assets. European markets were trading lower, joining a global selloff on fears that this year's expected economic recovery will fuel inflation and spark interest rate hikes.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49627.59, down by 1411.72 points or 2.77% after trading in a range of 49191.12 and 50400.31. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.41%, while Small cap index was down by 0.49%.
The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex down by 3.94%, Oil & Gas down by 2.16%, Capital Goods down by 2.14%, Auto down by 1.86% and TECK was down by 1.81%.
The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.25%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.60% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 5.20%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 5.07%, Axis Bank down by 4.44%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.32% and Bajaj Finserv down by 4.27% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the government has launched the City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform. The platform will be a significant addition to the growing innovation ecosystem of India and focuses on fostering innovative practices in cities. CiX, through an ‘open innovation’ process, engages with innovators to design-test-deliver on solutions to pressing urban challenges.
This initiative is among the ongoing efforts of the Government to realise Prime Minister’s vision of New and AtmaNirbhar Bharat, by making cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of and provide services to their citizens.Designed on the philosophy of ‘everyone is an innovator’, the platform will bring together Citizen Organisations-Academia- Businesses- Government to co-create for the future of Urban India in a transparent and sustainable manner. The Smart Cities Mission will partner and effectively collaborate with Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, AGNIi and other initiatives in the Indian Innovation ecosystem.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14647.05, down by 450.30 points or 2.98% after trading in a range of 14554.10 and 14919.45. There were 2 stocks advancing against 48 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 1.06% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.16%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 5.21%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 5.02%, ICICI Bank down by 4.60%, Axis Bank down by 4.58% and Bajaj Finserv down by 4.56% were the top losers.
All Asian markets were trading lower, Nikkei 225 slipped 1202.26 points or 3.99% to 28,966.01, Hang Seng decreased 1093.96 points or 3.64% to 28,980.21, Taiwan Weighted dropped 498.38 points or 3.03% to 15,953.80, KOSPI fell 86.74 points or 2.8% to 3,012.95, Shanghai Composite declined 75.97 points or 2.12% to 3,509.08, Jakarta Composite lost 47.85 points or 0.76% to 6,241.80 and Straits Times was down by 28.72 points or 0.97% to 2,944.82.
European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 28.67 points or 0.43% to 6,623.29, France’s CAC decreased 49.27 points or 0.85% to 5,734.62 and Germany’s DAX was down by 70.64 points or 0.51% to 13,808.69.
