Key indices add some losses in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks added some losses in morning deals amid weak trend in Asian Markets. Traders remained cautious as private report stated that the ongoing third wave of the coronvirus pandemic has dragged business activity almost back to the pre-pandemic levels. Traders overlooked the Commerce Ministry indicating that exports of engineering goods rose 54 per cent to $81.8 billion during April-December 2021-22 as compared to $52.9 billion in the corresponding nine-month period of 2020-21. The sector accounted for over 27 per cent in India’s total exports basket during the period. In entire 2020-21, exports from the sector was $76.62 billion. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India conducted an overnight variable rate repo auction under liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) Monday for an amount of Rs 75,000 crore. The date of reversal is on January 25, 2022.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red as traders sell-off stocks amid fears of inflation and policy tightening by the US Fed. Concerns over the continued spike in domestic Covid-19 cases also dented market sentiment. Back home, on the sectoral front, textile industry’s stocks remained in watch as ICRA ratings in its report stated that Indian cotton spinners are likely to report double-digit revenue growth and all-time high profits in 2021-22, mainly driven by high demand and realisations. It added while the growth is primarily being led by all-time high realisations, which have sustained for much of the year, volumes are also estimated to be better than the pre-COVID levels.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57212.65, down by 278.86 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 56409.63 and 57626.95. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.47%, while Small cap index was up by 0.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.90%, Utilities up by 1.81%, Telecom up by 1.67%, PSU up by 1.40% and Metal up by 0.82%, while Energy down by 1.32%, Consumer Durables down by 0.95%, IT down by 0.42%, TECK down by 0.07% and Consumer Discretionary down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 5.40%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.49%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.20%, Indusind Bank up by 2.08% and SBI up by 1.98%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.36%, Reliance Industries down by 2.22%, Wipro down by 1.89%, HDFC down by 1.75% and HDFC Bank down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings has said India's fuel demand will continue to recover through the current quarter of current financial year (Q4FY22) as the easing of Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions boosts economic activity. The recovery should support higher throughput at most oil marketing companies and strong prices are expected to improve the financial profiles of upstream oil and gas companies.

However, the rating agency stated that recovery expectations remain subject to further restrictions due to the risk of a resurgence of COVID cases in India with the emergence of new variants.

It stated ‘We expect improved demand for petroleum products to reach pre-pandemic levels in 4QFY22 (January-March 2022), but the full financial year's demand is still 2-4% below that in FY20.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17081.35, down by 67.75 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 16836.80 and 17201.45. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 5.45%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.51%, Indusind Bank up by 2.16%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.03% and SBI up by 1.98%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.32%, Reliance Industries down by 2.22%, Wipro down by 1.97%, HDFC down by 1.81% and HDFC Bank down by 1.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 305.08 points or 1.24% to 24,351.38, Jakarta Composite lost 97.86 points or 1.47% to 6,557.31, KOSPI fell 78.96 points or 2.83% to 2,713.04, Straits Times trembled 37.66 points or 1.15% to 3,245.69, Shanghai Composite declined 39.31 points or 1.12% to 3,484.80, Taiwan Weighted dropped 304.42 points or 1.69% to 17,684.62 and Nikkei 225 slipped 609.06 points or 2.21% to 26,979.31.