Benchmarks trade in red in late afternoon session

Local equity benchmarks traded in red in late afternoon session, with losses of above half a percent. Energy, Oil & Gas and Realty counters were on the priority list of the sellers. The markets remained under pressure despite highlighting efforts being taken to prevent bank frauds, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is taking measures to strengthen its regulatory and supervisory capacity, and expressed hope that these steps will ensure no regulatory mishaps take place in the future. Traders also overlooked private report that direct tax collection is moving closer to the revised Budget target for 2020-21 and may get a further thrust from the last instalment of the advance tax payment. Sector wise, steel sector remained in focus, as ratings agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised its outlook on the domestic steel sector to stable from negative for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2021 (FY22). It expects the prices of iron ore, a raw material used for steel making, to increase in the coming financial year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors waited to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve will signal a faster path toward policy normalisation than previously expected. European markets were trading lower as most investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision, while German carmaker BMW jumped after forecasting significant profit growth in 2021.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50023.37, down by 340.59 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 49992.21 and 50561.12. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.90%, while Small cap index was down by 1.50%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.13% and FMCG was up by 0.08%, while Energy down by 2.75%, Oil & Gas down by 2.73%, Realty down by 2.64%, PSU down by 2.33% and Telecom was down by 2.26% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.19%, Infosys up by 0.63%, TCS up by 0.59% and HDFC up by 0.59%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.69%, NTPC down by 2.69%, Reliance Industries down by 2.65%, Asian Paints down by 2.03% and Sun Pharma down by 2.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting efforts being taken to prevent bank frauds, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)is taking measures to strengthen its regulatory and supervisory capacity, and expressed hope that these steps will ensure no regulatory mishaps take place in the future.

Sitharaman said ''We have been engaging with the RBI to ensure that the regulatory functions and supervisory function of the RBI are strengthened. I am assured by the RBI Governor that internally an institutional mechanism is being further strengthened.''

Besides, the finance minister said the capacity of the RBI's regulatory and supervisory staff is being strengthened with specially tailored courses. Responding to another query addressing gaps in bank guarantees, the minister said this aspect will be looked into as the RBI is engaging with the ministry on this matter also.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14790.95, down by 119.50 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 14779.20 and 14956.55. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 2.33%, HDFC up by 0.64%, Infosys up by 0.60%, TCS up by 0.60% and UPL up by 0.25%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 4.43%, Coal India down by 3.09%, GAIL India down by 3.00%, Adani Ports down by 2.89% and Reliance Industries down by 2.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 97.34 points or 0.6% to 16,215.82, Jakarta Composite lost 32.47 points or 0.51% to 6,277.23, KOSPI fell 19.67 points or 0.64% to 3,047.50, Nikkei 225 slipped 6.76 points or 0.02% to 29,914.33 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.18 points or 0.03% to 3,445.55. On the flip side, Hang Seng increased 6.43 points or 0.02% to 29,034.12 and Straits Times was up by 7.69 points or 0.25% to 3,113.20.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 16.29 points or 0.24% to 6,787.32, France’s CAC decreased 7.98 points or 0.13% to 6,047.45 and Germany’s DAX was down by 0.10 points to 14,557.48.