Benchmarks wipe out all gains in late afternoon session

Indian benchmarks erased all the gains to turn negative in late afternoon session. Both Sensex and Nifty were trading below their crucial 49,200 and 14,550 marks, respectively. A level of pressure was seen on frontline stocks, especially Infosys and HCL Tech. Some pessimism also spread among the investors with the private report that India's central bank may have to delay the start of monetary policy normalisation by three months amid rising COVID-19 cases, but barring the return of stringent lockdowns there is no significant threat to the economy's recovery. Sector wise, airline industry remained in focus, as Indian aviation regulator -- the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its latest data has showed that around 78.27 lakh (7.8 million) domestic passengers travelled by air in February 2021 which is 36.71 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year. Though, it is higher than 77.34 lakh people travelled by air within the country in January.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher, after US equities closed higher in light of the US central bank’s dovish stance on keeping interest rates unchanged. European markets were trading higher in the first opportunity to react to the latest Federal Reserve decision, with the big story being the sell-off in bonds the central bank did nothing to quell.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49174.15, down by 627.47 points or 1.26% after trading in a range of 49165.25 and 50296.35. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.49%, while Small cap index was down by 1.84%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.14%, while IT down by 3.21%, TECK down by 2.80%, Realty down by 1.89%, Energy down by 1.69% and PSU was down by 1.61% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.02%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.78%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.83%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.69% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 4.16%, HCL Tech down by 3.93%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 2.42%, Axis Bank down by 2.25% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.14% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, for the overall execution and monitoring of the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, the government has constituted an experts advisory committee. The committee will evaluate and select incubators for allotment of funds under the scheme, monitor progress and take all necessary measures for efficient utilisation of funds towards fulfilment of objectives of the scheme.

The committee would be chaired by H K Mittal from the Department of Science and Technology. The other representatives would include members from DPIIT, department of biotechnology, science and technology, electronics and IT, Niti Aayog, and expert members from startup ecosystem.

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has been approved for the period of next four years starting from 2021-22. It will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2021. Rs 945 crore corpus will be divided over the next four years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India. The scheme is expected to support about 3,600 startups.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14508.50, down by 212.80 points or 1.45% after trading in a range of 14502.55 and 14875.20. There were 9 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 1.94%, ITC up by 1.78%, Hindalco up by 1.42%, Grasim Industries up by 0.51% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 4.69%, HCL Tech down by 4.65%, Hero MotoCorp down by 3.31%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.98% and TCS down by 2.78% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng increased 371.60 points or 1.28% to 29,405.72, Nikkei 225 surged 302.42 points or 1.01% to 30,216.75, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 72.02 points or 0.44% to 16,287.84, Jakarta Composite soared 70.60 points or 1.12% to 6,347.83, Straits Times advanced 26.00 points or 0.84% to 3,135.65, KOSPI rose 18.51 points or 0.61% to 3,066.01 and Shanghai Composite was up by17.52 points or 0.51% to 3,463.07.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 2.16 points or 0.03% to 6,764.83, France’s CAC increased 8.38 points or 0.14% to 6,063.20 and Germany’s DAX was up by 123.60 points or 0.85% to 14,720.21.