Indices cut some losses in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks cut some of their losses in late morning session, however remained lower, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red terrain. Negative cues from other Asian markets impacted domestic sentiments. But, some losses got cut, as traders got some relief, after the income tax department said it has issued over Rs 1.98 lakh crore worth refunds to over 1.95 crore taxpayers so far this fiscal. Of this, personal income tax refunds of Rs 70,572 crore have been issued to over 1.92 crore taxpayers, and corporate tax refunds of Rs 1.27 lakh crore have been issued in 2.19 lakh cases.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after South Korea's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2020. That beat forecasts for an increase of 1.1 percent following the 2.1 percent gain in the previous three months. On a yearly basis, GDP was down 1.2 percent - again exceeding expectations for a decline of 1.4 percent following the 1.1 percent drop in the three months prior.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51145.80, down by 298.85 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 50539.92 and 51166.71. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.85%, while Small cap index was up by 1.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.14%, Power up by 1.09%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.71%, Consumer Durables up by 0.66% and IT up by 0.48%, while Metal down by 1.72%, Bankex down by 0.76%, Telecom down by 0.73%, Energy down by 0.60% and Capital Goods down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.21%, Sun Pharma up by 1.20%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.78% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 0.66%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 2.19%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.88%, HDFC Bank down by 1.48%, Axis Bank down by 1.45% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, for co-operation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors, the government has given green signal to a pact between India and Fiji. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Agriculture of Indian government and Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Fiji in this regard. The MoU between India and Fiji provides for cooperation in various areas including promotion of joint ventures between private sectors of both countries.

The agreement also provides for exchange of research personnel, scientific experts, specialists, and technical trainees; technology transfer; development of infrastructure for agriculture development; development of human resources through training of officers and farmers by conducting seminars and workshops. The two countries would also work together for promotion of investment in marketing and value addition/downstream processing of agricultural commodities. The agriculture ministries of India and Fiji will also promote capacity development in all areas of agriculture as well as direct trade of agriculture products through market access. They will also do joint planning and development of research proposals and execution of research projects and programmes.

The MoU also provides for establishment of Indo-Fiji Working Group for dealing phytosanitary issues, and any other form of cooperation. Under the MoU, a Joint Working Group (JWG) will be constituted to set down procedures and plan and recommend programmes of cooperation towards achieving its aims through the executing agencies of the two countries. The working gorup will hold its meeting alternately in India and Fiji once in every two years. This MoU will come into effect on the date of its signing and will remain in force for a period of five years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15150.90, down by 94.70 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 14980.20 and 15171.30. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.66%, UPL up by 2.03%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.38%, Asian Paints up by 1.23% and Sun Pharma up by 1.20%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 2.59%, HDFC down by 2.50%, Tata Steel down by 2.35%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.82% and HDFC Bank down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 278.10 points or 1.72% to 15,933.63, KOSPI fell 38.64 points or 1.25% to 3,044.35, Jakarta Composite lost 87.53 points or 1.37% to 6,289.23, Shanghai Composite declined 56.66 points or 1.58% to 3,520.24, Hang Seng decreased 762.12 points or 2.55% to 29,118.30 and Nikkei 225 slipped 645.87 points or 2.19% to 28,913.23. On the other hand, Straits Times advanced 5.29 points or 0.18% to 3,005.66.