Markets under pressure in afternoon trade

In line with Asian peers, the Indian equity benchmarks continued to show sluggish trend in afternoon session, on the last trading day of the financial year 2020-21 (FY21). Sentiments were fragile as India’s economy has bounced back amazingly from the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown over the last one year, but it is not out of the woods yet, according to the World Bank, which in its latest report has predicted that the country’s real GDP growth for fiscal year 21/22 could range from 7.5 to 12.5 per cent. Some anxiety also came as Moody's Analytics stated that India's inflation is at uncomfortably high level, which is an exception among Asian economies. Stocks from Bankex, Power and TECK counters were trading lower, while Realty, Metal and PSU counters were supporting the markets.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower even as Chinese data underpinned signs of a solid global economic recovery. Back on street, in scrip specific development, Tata Steel jumped as Moody's revised the outlook from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ on the company’s solid recovery in operations in the third quarter of current fiscal year (FY21).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49703.31, down by 433.27 points or 0.86% after trading in a range of 49561.86 and 50050.32. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.14%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.97%, Metal up by 0.96%, PSU up by 0.72%, Basic Materials up by 0.71% and FMCG was up by 0.55%, while Bankex down by 1.15%, Power down by 0.52%, TECK down by 0.36%, IT down by 0.29% and Telecom was down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.59%, ITC up by 1.23%, Sun Pharma up by 1.07%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.04% and Bajaj Finserv was up by 0.95%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 3.79%, HDFC Bank down by 3.61%, Power Grid down by 2.35%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.52% and ICICI Bank was down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog in its report titled 'Investment Opportunities in India's Healthcare Sector’ has said that healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy, in terms of both revenue and employment. It noted that the country’s healthcare industry has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 22 percent since 2016 and at this rate, it is expected to reach $372 billion in 2022. It also said the sector has the potential to generate 27 lakh jobs in India between 2017 and 2022---over 5 lakh new jobs per year.

The report outlined a range of investment opportunities in India's healthcare sector across hospitals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, home healthcare solutions and in areas of new-age technologies. It also pointed out that in the hospital segment, the expansion of private players to tier-II and tier-III locations, beyond metropolitan cities, offers an attractive investment opportunity. Besides, it indicated that FDI inflows in the healthcare sector in India increased from $94 million in 2011 to $1,275 million in 2016, a jump of over 13.5 times.  It added that the hospital industry was valued at $61.79 billion in 2016-17 and is expected to reach $132 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 16 per cent-17 percent.

According to the report, while the adoption of home healthcare solutions in India is currently at a relatively nascent stage, it has tremendous potential for growth in the future. It is on account of the rising elderly population in the country, increase in the incidence of chronic diseases, enhanced demand for constant personalised care as well as the emergence of nuclear family structures in urban areas.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14742.80, down by 102.30 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 14703.50 and 14813.75. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.74%, UPL up by 2.08%, Tata Steel up by 1.78%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.63% and SBI was up by 1.58%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.64%, HDFC down by 3.63%, Power Grid down by 2.17%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.77% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.53% were the top losers.

All Asian were trading lower; Taiwan Weighted dropped 123.77 points or 0.75% to 16,431.13, Hang Seng decreased 105.18 points or 0.37% to 28,472.32, Shanghai Composite declined 20.84 points or 0.6% to 3,435.84, Jakarta Composite lost 109.75 points or 1.81% to 5,961.69, KOSPI fell 5.50 points or 0.18% to 3,064.50, Nikkei 225 slipped 253.90 points or 0.86% to 29,178.80 and Straits Times was down by 10.49 points or 0.33% to 3,180.40.