Benchmarks extend losses in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended losses in morning deals, mirroring weak global cues. Traders remained cautious with a private report showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in the July-September quarter of 2021-22 fell a sharp 42% on year at $13.5 billion from $23.4 billion a year ago. Some pessimism also came as preliminary data from the statistics ministry showed India's inflation accelerated again in November, driven by steep increases in food and fuel prices. The consumer price index rose 4.91 percent year-on-year following a 4.48 percent increase in the previous month. Street had forecast 5.10 percent inflation. A year ago, inflation was 6.93 percent. Meanwhile, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India has urged the government as part of its pre-budget recommendation that the benefit of lower corporate tax should be extended to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and proprietary firms as it will make funds available with a large number of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) thus speeding up private investment cycle which is instrumental to boost growth and jobs.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant rattled investors who were already on edge ahead of a slew of central bank decisions this week, including a key Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed is expected to signal a faster wind-down of its $120 billion a month bond buying programme in a move to fight high inflation, which could move it one step closer to raising interest rates.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57915.32, down by 368.10 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 57843.67 and 58187.91. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.93%, while Small cap index was down by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.72%, Utilities up by 0.39%, Healthcare up by 0.27%, Metal up by 0.13% and Capital Goods up by 0.01%, while Realty down by 1.87%, Auto down by 1.25%, Consumer Durables down by 1.12%, Bankex down by 0.97% and Consumer Discretionary down by 0.87% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 1.96%, NTPC up by 0.56%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.51%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.33% and Sun Pharma up by 0.30%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.36%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.09%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.04%, HDFC down by 1.44% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Undeterred by the repeal of farm laws, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that the government will continue to push for greater reforms across sectors. Kant stated ‘India is determined to carry out reforms. We need more and more reforms and the government will push for greater levels of reforms across sectors and make things easy and simple.’

He added ‘The basic philosophy of this government is that wealth is created by the private sector, we have to make things easy for them and the government must act as facilitator and catalyst, and we continue to push all reforms in that direction.’ He further said the focus of the government is to make India's exports competitive. He observed that India has grown in those periods when exports have grown substantially and that shows that India must be extremely competitive.

Besides, he said the economic and governance reforms undertaken in India in the last few years have addressed critical bottlenecks in India's growth story that will usher in a new era of growth and prosperity. He mentioned reforms cannot be seen in a piecemeal fashion. They must be pieces in the puzzle that forms part of the big picture.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17259.65, down by 108.60 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 17242.75 and 17343.00. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corp up by 1.96%, Cipla up by 0.92%, Hindalco up by 0.75%, NTPC up by 0.56% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.55%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.37%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.19%, Tata Motors down by 2.12%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.03% and Eicher Motors down by 1.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 301.42 points or 1.26% to 23,653.16, Nikkei 225 slipped 231.14 points or 0.81% to 28,409.35, Taiwan Weighted dropped 180.54 points or 1.02% to 17,587.06, Jakarta Composite lost 53.87 points or 0.81% to 6,609.00, KOSPI fell 19.76 points or 0.66% to 2,981.90 and Shanghai Composite declined 11.24 points or 0.31% to 3,669.84.

On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 3.67 points or 0.12% to 3,123.62.