Bourses trade deep in red in late afternoon session

The key benchmark indices wiped out all their gains in late afternoon session and traded deep in red. Both Sensex and Nifty were trading below their crucial 58300 and 17,400 marks, respectively. The broader indices were trading mixed, as BSE Mid cap index declined 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.34%. Index heavweight Bajaj Finance has slipped above 3 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle and HDFC were the other major losers. Traders were concerned as RBI Governor cautioned depositors for chasing high returns amid greater risk. Some cautiousness also came with the reports that the government is unlikely to announce capital infusion for public sector banks (PSBs) in the upcoming Budget, as their financial health has improved on the back of reduction in bad loans.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed with data showing another big rise in U.S. inflation last month. Investors were relieved to see that the report was in line with expectations, and lower than some had been forecasting. European markets were trading higher as investors shrug off concerns over the new COVID-19 Omicron variant and keep their eyes peeled for the meetings of central banks around the world, including those of the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank (ECB).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58274.90, down by 511.77 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 58249.26 and 59203.37. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.34%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.31%, Utilities up by 0.19%, Basic Materials up by 0.04% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.02%, while Energy down by 1.59%, Oil & Gas down by 0.74%, Realty down by 0.73%, FMCG down by 0.73%, Telecom down by 0.66% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 2.06%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.61%, Power Grid up by 1.18%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.54% and Titan Company up by 0.19%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 3.01%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.48%, Reliance Industries down by 2.03%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.00% and Nestle down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to encourage Startup ecosystem in India, the Centre is all set to organize the first of its kind innovation week. As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, a week-long event, 'Celebrating Innovation Ecosystem', to be hosted by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), is proposed to be held in January 2022.

The key objectives of the Innovation Week will be to bring together the country’s key Startups, entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers and other national/ international stakeholders for a specially curated event on innovation and entrepreneurship and to exchange knowledge on best practices on nurturing Startup ecosystems.

The initiative aspires to encourage and inspire the youth for innovation and entrepreneurship and develop capacities of entrepreneurial ecosystem. Innovation week would help provide market access opportunities to Startups and aid and abet the mobilization of global and domestic capital for investments into Startups. The event is also set to showcase high-quality, high technology and frugal innovations from India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17365.65, down by 145.65 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 17359.00 and 17639.50. There were 11 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 1.98%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.58%, SBI Life up by 1.54%, Power Grid up by 1.18% and Wipro up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 3.00%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.49%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.05%, Reliance Industries down by 2.05% and Tata Consumer down by 1.93% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted dropped 58.66 points or 0.33% to 17,767.60, Hang Seng decreased 41.14 points or 0.17% to 23,954.58, KOSPI fell 8.57 points or 0.28% to 3,001.66 and Straits Times was down by 7.96 points or 0.25% to 3,127.65. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 9.95 points or 0.15% to 6,662.87, Shanghai Composite gained 14.73 points or 0.4% to 3,681.08 and Nikkei 225 was up by 202.72 points or 0.71% to 28,640.49.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 15.75 points or 0.22% to 7,307.53, France’s CAC increased 13.61 points or 0.19% to 7,005.29 and Germany’s DAX was up by 100.13 points or 0.64% to 15,723.44.