Benchmarks continue lackluster trade slightly in red

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade slightly in red in morning session, in the absence of any positive cues from the global front. However, losses were limited as traders found some support with domestic rating agency Crisil Ratings’ report that the monthly collection ratios of its rated securitised pools has seen improvement due to the gradual easing of COVID-19 related restrictions. The ratios had declined between April and June 2021 following the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some optimism also came with labour survey finds that employment in nine selected sectors, including construction, manufacturing and IT/BPO, was at 3.08 crore in the April-June quarter of 2021-22, reflecting a growth of 29 per cent compared to 2.37 crore reported in the Economic Census of 2013-14. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) will be extended till March 31 next year. The government had earlier extended the FTP 2015-20 until September 30 this year due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Foreign Trade Policy provides guidelines for enhancing exports to push economic growth and create jobs.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors continued to fret over China Evergrande Group's unsolved debt crisis and eyed the potential impact of a widening power shortage in China. The coronavirus situation is also denting investor sentiment. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to tourism sector remained in action as union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said his ministry is talking to various stakeholders for the recovery of the tourism sector affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while stressing that vaccination is key for its revival.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59956.68, down by 121.20 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 59899.57 and 60288.44. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.22%, Utilities up by 2.21%, Power up by 1.98%, Oil & Gas up by 1.51% and Metal up by 1.37%, while Realty down by 2.80%, IT down by 1.40%, TECK down by 1.34%, Telecom down by 0.48% and Healthcare down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 4.40%, NTPC up by 3.51%, Titan Co up by 1.81%, SBI up by 1.51% and Tata Steel up by 1.35%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.99%, Infosys down by 1.55%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.23%, Asian Paints down by 1.15% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that the monthly collection ratios of its rated securitised pools has seen improvement due to the gradual easing of COVID-19 related restrictions. The ratios had declined between April and June 2021 following the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Securitisation is the process of pooling and repackaging of homogenous illiquid financial assets into marketable securities that can be sold to investors.

According to the report, the trend in improving collection efficiencies has been seen across asset classes and in a number of segments, the levels are quite close to pre-pandemic levels. It noted that collection ratios in mortgage-backed securitisation (MBS) pools have rebounded to near-100 per cent - their pre-pandemic normal - in the pay-out months of July and August 2021.  In asset-backed securitisation (ABS) pools, collection ratios are set to reach January-March 2021 pay-out levels after dipping to 84 per cent in Q1 this fiscal.

The report further stated that median collection ratios for vehicle loan pools for August pay-out reached 100 per cent, just a tad short of the March collection ratio of 101 per cent. In the case of two-wheeler and small and medium enterprise (SME) loan pools, where collection ratios had declined to 95 per cent and 78 per cent, respectively, for June pay-out, but rose to 98 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, for August. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17840.10, down by 15.00 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 17814.75 and 17912.85. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 4.46%, Power Grid Corporation up by 4.40%, NTPC up by 3.55%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.19% and Titan Company up by 1.85%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.02%, Wipro down by 1.69%, Infosys down by 1.56%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.20% and Asian Paints down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 149.35 points or 0.86% to 17,164.42, Nikkei 225 slipped 113.09 points or 0.37% to 30,126.97, KOSPI fell 30.54 points or 0.97% to 3,103.10, Straits Times trembled 14.83 points or 0.48% to 3,085.47 and Jakarta Composite lost 2.60 points or 0.04% to 6,119.90.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 18.83 points or 0.53% to 3,601.66 and Hang Seng increased 352.97 points or 1.46% to 24,561.75.