Local equities trade deep in red in late afternoon session

Local equities traded deep in red in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty falling above 800 and 250 points, respectively. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading down. Sharp decline in global prices dragged the markets lower. Investors also squared off positions ahead of the F&O expiry later in the day. Traders shrugged off country's foreign exchange reserves surged by $58.38 billion in April-September 2021 to $635.36 billion. The forex reserves were at $576.98 billion at end-March 2021. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as investors contemplate the end of the cheap-cash era, while spiking Covid infections act as a reminder that the pandemic is far from over. European markets were trading mostly in red as investors prepared for a series of central bank meetings which are widely expected to bring the first signs of monetary policy tightening against a backdrop of persistent inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60318.91, down by 824.42 points or 1.35% after trading in a range of 60232.55 and 61081.00. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.00%, while Small cap index was down by 1.14%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods was up by 0.93%, while Realty down by 2.98%, Bankex down by 2.21%, Oil & Gas down by 2.11%, FMCG down by 1.98% and Power was down by 1.97% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.91%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.04%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.48%, Asian Paints up by 1.28% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.49%. On the flip side, ITC down by 5.37%, ICICI Bank down by 3.20%, Titan Company down by 3.08%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.03% and Axis Bank down by 2.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the proactive approach of the Narendra Modi Government in translating potential into reality, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that artificial intelligence is a kinetic enabler for the growth of Indian technology ecosystem.

Chandrasekhar also mentioned that Artificial Intelligence can be a big business for some, but for the Government of India, it means use of AI – algorithms, layers on existing stacks to improve Governance delivery, agricultural programmes, defence, security and intelligence related programmes, revenue/tax collection as well as programmes related to Justice and Law.

Besides, citing the success of the world’s largest technology driven vaccination campaign, he remarked that “For decades multiple narratives have been built around India’s rich demographic dividend to highlight India’s potential. However, over the last 7 years, we saw how combination of decisive leadership and proactive policies can convert potential into reality.”

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17946.45, down by 264.50 points or 1.45% after trading in a range of 17928.40 and 18190.70. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.85%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.97%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.49%, Asian Paints up by 1.12% and Shree Cement up by 0.56%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 7.11%, ITC down by 5.35%, ONGC down by 4.43%, ICICI Bank down by 3.43% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.25% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Nikkei 225 slipped 278.15 points or 0.96% to 28,820.09, Jakarta Composite lost 78.13 points or 1.18% to 6,524.08, Hang Seng decreased 73.01 points or 0.28% to 25,555.73, Shanghai Composite declined 43.89 points or 1.23% to 3,518.42, Taiwan Weighted dropped 32.92 points or 0.19% to 17,041.63, Straits Times trembled 16.28 points or 0.51% to 3,201.89 and KOSPI was down by 15.94 points or 0.53% to 3,009.55.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 24.78 points or 0.34% to 7,228.49 and Germany’s DAX was down by 42.27 points or 0.27% to 15,663.54. On the flip side, France’s CAC was up by 8.07 points or 0.12% to 6,761.59.