Sensex, Nifty remain lower in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained lower in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red terrain. Negative cues from other Asian markets impacted sentiments over the Street. Traders were worried, after India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said that salaried and wages earners will be a drag on overall economic recovery in medium term due to tepid recovery of household consumption. It said that an environment of pandemic-led uncertainty and elevated inflation can impact the level of spending, and hence the overall demand.

However, downside remained capped, as industry body Assocham said that there are signs of improved consumer confidence in several key sectors, including hospitality, of the economy. It said that activities in construction and renovation have been on a pick-up for the past few months leading to return of migrant workers for gainful deployment.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after confidence among Japanese larger companies turned positive in the third quarter. The survey data from the Ministry of Finance showed that the Business Survey Index, or BSI, of larger companies climbed to +3.3 in the September quarter from -4.7 in the June quarter. The confidence index for the fourth quarter is forecast to rise to 6.8.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58104.50, down by 200.57 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 57944.63 and 58314.64. There were 12 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.50%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.89%, Utilities up by 0.87%, Basic Materials up by 0.64%, Telecom up by 0.48% and IT up by 0.47%, while Energy down by 1.48%, Bankex down by 0.71%, Oil & Gas down by 0.47%, Auto down by 0.34% and Capital Goods down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.31%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.95%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.83%, NTPC up by 0.74% and HDFC up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.96%, ICICI Bank down by 1.87%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.97%, HDFC Bank down by 0.68% and Sun Pharma down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) has said it forecasts India's total merchandise exports to $98.45 billion for the second quarter (Q2) of FY22. According to India Exim Bank, India's merchandise exports during the second quarter of FY22 is expected to be $98.45 billion and non-oil exports to be $85.63 billion as against $74.02 billion and $66.73 billion respectively logged during the previous year corresponding period.

India Exim Bank said the rise in India's exports could be attributed largely to the low base effect, pick-up in growth in advanced economies and the resultant increase in global import demand. Increase in commodity prices have also contributed to the increase in India's exports.

Forecast of growth in India's total merchandise exports and non-oil exports are released by India Exim Bank on a quarterly basis, during the first week of the months of June, September, December, and March for the corresponding quarters. India Exim Bank said the next growth forecast for the third quarter -- October-December 2021 -- would be released during the first week of December 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17321.55, down by 47.70 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 17269.15 and 17375.50. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.53%, Hindalco up by 3.43%, TCS up by 1.36%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.90% and Wipro up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 2.00%, ICICI Bank down by 1.94%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.05%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.04% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 73.44 points or 0.24% to 30,308.40, Hang Seng decreased 519.00 points or 1.98% to 25,686.91, Taiwan Weighted dropped 36.45 points or 0.21% to 17,438.12, Jakarta Composite lost 40.05 points or 0.66% to 6,054.82, KOSPI fell 9.03 points or 0.29% to 3,116.73 and Straits Times trembled 29.62 points or 0.96% to 3,069.18. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 3.62 points or 0.1% to 3,706.73.