Bourses extend losses in late afternoon session

Indian equities added losses in the late afternoon session, on account of selling in frontline counters. Selling was witnessed in Realty, FMCG and TECK sectors’ stocks. Sentiment on the street weakened after credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has revised down India’s FY22 real GDP growth forecast to 10.1 per cent, from earlier projection of 10.4 per cent, citing the second wave of COVID-19 infections and slower pace of vaccination. At a time when large parts of the country are experiencing tremendous pressure on medical infrastructure, it expects the second wave to start subsiding by mid-May. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green even after President Joe Biden will propose raising taxes on the wealthiest investors. European markets were trading lower ending the week on a negative tone as investors study a slew of corporate earnings, particularly from Daimler, and economic data releases.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 47861.83, down by 218.84 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 47743.43 and 48265.39. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 2.27%, Utilities up by 1.80%, PSU up by 0.76%, Oil & Gas up by 0.13% and Energy was up by 0.10%, while Realty down by 1.12%, FMCG down by 0.62%, TECK down by 0.61%, Healthcare down by 0.60%, Telecom down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.88%, NTPC up by 3.23%, Axis Bank up by 2.16%, Indusind Bank up by 1.48% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys down by 2.71%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.79%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.72%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.52% and ICICI Bank down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid the second wave of COVID-19 infections and slower pace of vaccination, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has revised down India's FY22 real GDP growth forecast to 10.1 per cent, from earlier projection of 10.4 per cent. It expects the second wave to start subsiding by mid-May.

As per the rating agency, the impact of the second wave will not be as disruptive as the first one, despite the daily case load touching three times of the first wave's peak, as lockdowns are set to be localised ones. Ind-Ra said that unlike the first wave, the administrative response is not abrupt, and is unfolding gradually in a graded manner.

The report noted that also, households, businesses and other economic agents are better prepared and there is a significant amount of learning by doing, which can help them withstand and navigate through the second wave of COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, the vaccine will also enhance safety and reduce the fear element among the vaccinated economic agents.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14332.40, down by 73.75 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 14319.05 and 14461.15. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 4.01%, NTPC up by 3.49%, Axis Bank up by 2.15%, SBI Life up by 1.53% and Indusind Bank up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys down by 2.73%, Britannia down by 2.52%, Grasim Industries down by 2.35%, Shree Cement down by 1.94% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 323.41 points or 1.12% to 29,078.75, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 203.30 points or 1.19% to 17,300.27, Jakarta Composite soared 22.68 points or 0.38% to 6,016.86, Shanghai Composite gained 9.06 points or 0.26% to 3,474.17, KOSPI rose 8.58 points or 0.27% to 3,186.10 and Straits Times was up by 0.06 points or 0% to 3,187.84. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by167.54 points or 0.57% to 29,020.63.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 12.84 points or 0.19% to 6,925.40, France’s CAC decreased 4.14 points or 0.07% to 6,263.14 and Germany’s DAX was down by 47.57 points or 0.31% to 15,272.95.