Markets trim losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their losses in late afternoon session, but continued to trade below the neutral lines. The decline was mainly led by Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and ITC. However, the losses were capped owing to buying interest in Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti Suzuki. Traders remain concerned with private report that unemployment remained high in eight regions despite the national, urban and rural rates going down in November sequentially. Joblessness continued to be very sticky in Rajasthan (20.4%), Jammu and Kashmir (21.4%) and Haryana (29.3%). These regions have been suffering high unemployment for several months. Bihar, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand reported double-digit unemployment rates with the first three rising sequentially. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed and European markets were trading mostly in green ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve meeting, while political turmoil weighed on U.K. markets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57993.06, down by 124.03 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 57671.61 and 58218.25. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.75%, Capital Goods up by 0.61%, Bankex up by 0.38%, Consumer Durables up by 0.35% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.22%, while Realty down by 1.34%, TECK down by 0.87%, IT down by 0.84%, Oil & Gas down by 0.69% and PSU was down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.35%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.87%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.65%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.32% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.60%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.04%, ITC down by 1.45%, TCS down by 1.28% and HCL Tech down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid sharp uptick in shipments, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed optimism that India's merchandise export is set to touch an all-time high of $400 billion during the current financial year.

Commerce and Industry Minister further said that India's imports too are growing and thus providing opportunities to other countries to expand business and international trade with India. He said ‘India on its part is showing sharp economic recovery and various indicators are pointing to a bounce back in our work in our industry, manufacturing sector, agriculture, technology and also shaping up of preparing a platform for a decade of huge growth.’

Besides, Goyal said that India tried its best to meet all international commitments and supported countries through supply of vaccines, medical supplies, and masks, among others. Goyal stressed that India is ready to support every friendly country with vaccines, or medical supplies. He also invited investments from other countries to India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17275.25, down by 49.65 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 17192.20 and 17351.20. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 2.55%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.80%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.49%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.45% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.68%, ONGC down by 2.04%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.02%, Adani Ports down by 1.94% and Indian Oil down by 1.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 60.73 points or 0.35% to 17,660.10, Nikkei 225 surged 27.08 points or 0.1% to 28,459.72, Jakarta Composite soared 10.62 points or 0.16% to 6,626.26 and KOSPI rose 1.44 points or 0.05% to 2,989.39. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 4.58 points or 0.15% to 3,116.51, Shanghai Composite declined 13.90 points or 0.38% to 3,647.63 and Hang Seng was down by 215.19 points or 0.91% to 23,420.76.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 40.27 points or 0.58% to 6,935.58 and Germany’s DAX was up by 49.23 points or 0.32% to 15,502.79.  On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 14.74 points or 0.2% to 7,203.90.