Sluggish trend continues on street

Indian bourses extended their losses in afternoon session with Sensex and Nifty trading down by 115 and 35 points respectively. Stocks from IT, TECK and Auto counters were trading lower, while Power, Bankex and Telecom counters were supporting the markets. Traders were worried on concern that the delta coronavirus variant is slowing the economic recovery from the pandemic. Adding more pressure, Fitch Ratings stated that India continues to lag way behind in COVID vaccination, and the negative outlook on sovereign rating signifies the rising debt-to-GDP ratio. In April 2021, Fitch affirmed India's sovereign rating at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook. The outlook was changed to 'negative' from 'stable' in June last year on grounds that the pandemic had significantly weakened the country's growth outlook and exposed the challenges associated with a high public-debt burden.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as traders are weighing the likely impact of the spread of the delta variant of coronavirus in the region and some other countries, particularly in the U.S., on the pace of economic recovery. Back home, on the sectoral front; telecom stocks were in focus ahead of the Cabinet meet scheduled later in the day. Government is likely to discuss a relief package for stressed sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58164.39, down by 115.09 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 58156.95 and 58372.94. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.55%, while Small cap index was up by 0.59%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.83%, Bankex up by 0.74%, Telecom up by 0.64%, Oil & Gas up by 0.53% and Utilities was up by 0.50%, while IT down by 0.73%, TECK down by 0.61%, Auto down by 0.54%, FMCG down by 0.40% and Healthcare was down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.34%, Axis Bank up by 0.95%, SBI up by 0.91%, Indusind Bank up by 0.77% and Sun Pharma was up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.31%, NTPC down by 1.72%, TCS down by 1.32%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.07% and Bajaj Auto was down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Consumer Affairs Secretary Leena Nandan has said that the government will take a balanced approach while finalizing the amendments proposed to the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules as ‘wide and varied’ comments have been received from stakeholders. To protect the interest of consumers, she said the government has proposed key amendments to the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, 2020 which include a ban on fraudulent flash sales and misselling.

Nandan said ‘we have received a lot of suggestions. We will now have to come out with best formulations from the consumer perspective taking into account the wide and varied diverse views received on the draft rules. It would be difficult to give a timeline as many suggestions have come and all of them require deliberations and discussions. But it is certainly a work in progress.’

Asked about the implementation of e-commerce rules so far, the secretary said e-commerce was a relevant sector last year and continues to be even now. So, there have been concerted efforts by all the e-commerce entities. However, there are always emerging areas where one could have done better like rules could be sharpened, strengthened and focused.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17326.50, down by 35.60 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 17324.00 and 17383.40. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 2.73%, UPL up by 1.83%, BPCL up by 1.73%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.42% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 2.57%, Nestle down by 2.30%, NTPC down by 1.73%, Eicher Motors down by 1.59% and SBI Life Insuran down by 1.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng decreased 52.36 points or 0.2% to 26,301.27, Straits Times trembled 31.51 points or 1.01% to 3,077.02, KOSPI fell 24.43 points or 0.77% to 3,162.99, Taiwan Weighted dropped 158.38 points or 0.91% to 17,270.49 and Jakarta Composite was down by 68.78 points or 1.13% to 6,043.62.

On the other hand; Nikkei 225 surged 265.07 points or 0.89% to 30,181.21 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.42 points or 0.01% to 3,677.01.