Markets continue to trade deep in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded deep in red in late afternoon session as bears tightened their grip on Dalal Street. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading lower. India VIX was up 17%. ONGC, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBIN were the top losers, as each down between 4-6 per cent. The overall market breadth was negative as 2767 shares were declining and 659 were advancing, while 120 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Sentiments remained down-beat, as India’s forex reserves dipped by $77 million to reach $635.828 billion for the week ended December 10. India’s forex reserves declined for the third consecutive week. In the previous week, the reserves had slid by $1.783 billion to $635.905 billion. Traders overlooked Retailers Association of India (RAI) in its latest report has showed that retail sales in India in November grew by 9 per cent over the pre-pandemic levels of the same month in November 2019.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower amid concern about the coronavirus's latest variant and tighter Federal Reserve policy. European markets were trading lower as the rapid spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant triggers stricter containment measures across the continent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55625.48, down by 1386.26 points or 2.43% after trading in a range of 55132.68 and 56538.15. There were 2 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged. 

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 3.73%, while Small cap index was down by 3.50%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 5.52%, Metal down by 4.12%, Oil & Gas down by 4.11%, PSU down by 3.77% and Energy was down by 3.70%.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.80%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.47% and Power Grid Corp up by 0.02%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.46%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.76%, Indusind Bank down by 4.75%, SBI down by 4.09% and NTPC down by 3.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, signaling improvement in business albeit worries around Omicron variant spread and the third wave of the pandemic, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) in its latest report has showed that retail sales in India in November grew by 9 per cent over the pre-pandemic levels of the same month in November 2019

The industry body RAI further said that West India signaled 11 per cent increase, followed by East and South India at 9 per cent while North India indicated a growth of 6 per cent each as compared to sales levels in November 2019.

According to the report, in terms of categories, consumer durables and electronics, which did not show great growth in October, showed a good growth of 32 per cent in November as compared to the same month in 2019 on the back of Diwali sales, while the sports goods category reported a growth of 18 per cent and apparels indicated a consistent growth at 6 per cent compared to November 2019.

Besides, RAI said that food and groceries, and quick service restaurants (QSR) continue to indicate growth, while other categories such as footwear, beauty, wellness and personal care, and furniture are inching towards recovery.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16550.35, down by 434.85 points or 2.56% after trading in a range of 16410.20 and 16840.10. There were 3 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The only gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 2.61%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.78%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.50% and Power Grid up by 0.01%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 6.42%, Tata Steel down by 5.47%, Tata Motors down by 4.96%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.79% and Hero MotoCorp down by 4.68% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Nikkei 225 slipped 607.87 points or 2.13% to 27,937.81, Hang Seng decreased 447.77 points or 1.93% to 22,744.86, Taiwan Weighted dropped 143.48 points or 0.81% to 17,669.11, Jakarta Composite lost 54.82 points or 0.83% to 6,547.11, KOSPI fell 54.73 points or 1.81% to 2,963.00, Shanghai Composite declined 38.76 points or 1.07% to 3,593.60 and Straits Times was down by38.76 points or 1.25% to 3,072.87.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 138.04 points or 1.9% to 7,131.88, France’s CAC decreased 136.96 points or 1.98% to 6,789.67 and Germany’s DAX was down by 384.60 points or 2.48% to 15,147.09.