Sluggish trade continues on Dalal Street

Indian equity benchmarks continued to show a sluggish trend in afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty trading below their psychological levels of 57,900 and 17,250, respectively. Stocks from TECK, IT and realty counters were trading lower, while Auto, Capital Goods and Bankex counters were supporting the markets. Nervousness ahead of the US Fed outcome and increasing warning calls by the World Health Organisation (WHO) against the Omicron coronavirus variant, which is now spreading faster than the Delta variant, is keeping investors on the sidelines. Traders were also worried as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 763.18 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting where it is expected to announce a speedier withdrawal of its massive financial support. Back home, in scrip specific development, One97 Communications (Paytm) tumbled as the mandatory one-month lock-in period for anchor investors expired on December 15, 2021.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57851.41, down by 265.68 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 57671.61 and 58218.25. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.50%, Capital Goods up by 0.33%, Bankex up by 0.25%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.09%, Basic Materials was up by 0.04%, while TECK down by 1.08%, IT down by 1.07%, Realty down by 0.93%, FMCG down by 0.53% and Healthcare was down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.61%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.23%, Axis Bank up by 1.08%, NTPC up by 0.95% and Maruti Suzuki was up by 0.63%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.32%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.83%, TCS down by 1.50%, HCL Tech down by 1.35% and Infosys was down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said that the Indian economy is rapidly recovering from the pandemic-induced downturn and is returning to its trajectory of rapid growth. He noted that the economic shock of the pandemic was countered by a massive fiscal and monetary support package. He also said liquidity was injected into the system through a stimulus package amounting to $408.7 billion and this is equivalent to about 15 per cent of India's GDP making it among the largest economic packages in the world.

Shringla has stated that India's trade figures are promising and that the total foreign direct investment the country received in the current financial year stood at $81.72 billion, the highest ever. He also said an ambitious target of $400 billion of exports has been set for the year 2021-22 and an unprecedented push has been given to negotiating trade pacts with various countries. He added that trade agreements are currently being negotiated with the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the European Union, Israel and several other countries.

Listing various measures to boost economic growth, Foreign Secretary said private sector participation has been given a big push in eight areas: coal, minerals, defence production, civil aviation, power distribution, social infrastructure, space and atomic energy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17242.00, down by 82.90 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 17192.20 and 17351.20. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.55%, Axis Bank up by 1.11%, UPL up by 1.06%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.01% and Larsen & Toubro was up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.32%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.02%, Divi's Lab down by 2.00%, Adani Ports down by 1.94% and HCL Tech was down by 1.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 60.73 points or 0.35% to 17,660.10, Jakarta Composite soared 38.59 points or 0.58% to 6,654.23, Nikkei 225 surged 27.08 points or 0.1% to 28,459.72 and KOSPI was up by 0.76 points or 0.03% to 2,988.71.

On the other hand; Shanghai Composite declined 6.33 points or 0.17% to 3,655.20, Straits Times trembled 6.89 points or 0.22% to 3,114.20 and Hang Seng was down by 47.30 points or 0.2% to 23,588.65.