Markets trade deep in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded deep in red in late afternoon session, breaching their crucial below 57,500 (Sensex) and 17,200 (Nifty) levels. Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank were top Sensex laggards. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading in red. The markets remained under pressure after country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $4.531 billion to stand at $629.755 billion in the week ended January 28. In the previous week ended January 21, the reserves had decreased by $678 million to $634.287 billion. In scrip specific development, State Bank of India traded higher as it has reported a rise of 51.39% in its net profit at Rs 9691.96 crore for third quarter ended December 31, 2021 as compared to Rs 6402.16 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Sector wise, auto sector remained in focus, as Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest data has said that passenger vehicle retail sales dropped to 2,58,329 units in January 2022, down 10.12 per cent from 2,87,424 units in January 2021, as the companies continued to suffer production loss amid semiconductor shortage.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid stunningly strong U.S. jobs data soothed concerns about the global economy but also added to the risk of an aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve. European markets were trading mostly in red as investors took stock of the outlook for monetary policy ahead of key inflation data later this week. Treasury yields and the dollar were stable.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57445.65, down by 1199.17 points or 2.04% after trading in a range of 57299.05 and 58707.76. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.15%, while Small cap index was down by 0.69%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.74%, PSU up by 0.60% and Power was up by 0.46%, while Capital Goods down by 2.44%, Telecom down by 2.17%, FMCG down by 2.01%, Bankex down by 1.84% and TECK was down by 1.71% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 1.48%, SBI up by 1.26%, NTPC up by 1.12% and Tata Steel up by 0.24%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.82%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.48%, Larsen & Toubro down by 3.42%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.28% and Hindustan Unilever down by 2.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest data has said that passenger vehicle retail sales dropped to 2,58,329 units in January 2022, down 10.12 per cent from 2,87,424 units in January 2021, as the companies continued to suffer production loss amid semiconductor shortage. It said in spite of good demand, passenger vehicles continue to face the brunt of semiconductor shortage, resulting in the absence of a healthy inventory.

According to the data, Two-wheeler sales in January 2022 declined by 13.44 per cent to 10,17,785 units, compared to 11,75,832 units in January 2021. It said rural distress coupled with price rise and omicron wave led to a drop in the sales in the segment. Tractor sales stood at 55,421 units in January 2022, down 9.86 per cent from 61,485 units in January 2021. Three-wheeler retail sales also grew by 29.8 per cent to 40,449 units in January 2022 as compared to 31,162 units a year ago.

However, it said commercial vehicle sales witnessed a growth of 20.52 per cent in January 2022 at 67,763 units, as against 56,227 units in the year-ago month. With the revival in the economy, the commercial vehicle segment continues to show year-on-year growth, especially in the HCV category. With increased infrastructure spending by the central as well as state governments, the overall CV segment remains in momentum.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17178.70, down by 337.60 points or 1.93% after trading in a range of 17119.40 and 17536.75. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 1.68%, Power Grid up by 1.41%, SBI up by 1.33%, NTPC up by 0.97% and Tata Steel up by 0.48%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.83%, Larsen & Toubro down by 3.43%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.38%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.33% and Bajaj Finserv down by 3.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 225.90 points or 1.28% to 17,900.30, Jakarta Composite soared 73.55 points or 1.09% to 6,804.94, Shanghai Composite gained 68.14 points or 2.03% to 3,429.58, Straits Times advanced 22.90 points or 0.69% to 3,354.31 and Hang Seng was up by 6.26 points or 0.03% to 24,579.55. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 5.20 points or 0.19% to 2,745.06 and Nikkei 225 was down by 191.12 points or 0.7% to 27,248.87.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 3.39 points or 0.05% to 7,513.01 and France’s CAC was down by 4.15 points or 0.06% to 6,947.23. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was up by 8.59 points or 0.06% to 15,108.15.