Sensex, Nifty slip into negative terrain in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were now trading in red with losses of over half percent in morning deals, tracking losses in index majors Tata Motors, SBI, ONGC and Indusind Bank amid a mixed trend in global markets. Traders turned cautious with Fitch Ratings’ statement that higher fiscal deficits and lack of clarity on consolidation plans in the Budget add risks to its projection of lowering of India's debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. Market participants overlooked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India will be the fastest-growing economy this year and by the next year, the country will be the fastest-growing economy among the large economies. On the sectoral front, banking stocks remained in focus as Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the gross bad loans of the banks have declined to a little over Rs 8 lakh crore by end of the September 2021 quarter from over Rs 9.33 lakh crore at the end of March 2019. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders looked ahead to the release of the U.S. inflation data and the minutes of the U.S. Fed Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, for directional cues.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57323.17, down by 298.02 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 57259.47 and 57925.82. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.86%, while Small cap index was down by 1.77%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Telecom up by 0.05%, while Utilities down by 2.57%, Power down by 2.24%, PSU down by 1.65%, Realty down by 1.58% and Industrials down by 1.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.36%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.86%, Titan Co up by 0.57%, Asian Paints up by 0.48% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.45%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.96%, Indusind Bank down by 1.89%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.68%, NTPC down by 1.33% and TCS down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said India is witnessing increasing digitisation with people getting greater and easier access to financial services, which has led to a shift in consumers' financial behaviour from cash to e-wallets and UPI.

Further, Kumar said the rise of fintech has accelerated financial inclusion. He also noted that the expansion of digital payments is an important pivot for creating a more equitable, prosperous and financially inclusive India.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government believes in creating open platforms, such as CoWin and UPI, for healthcare, logistics and other sectors. He added an open platform is created using public investment, wherein numerous private entrepreneurs, start-ups and developers can join to create new solutions.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17110.20, down by 103.40 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 17102.40 and 17306.45. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.41%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.92%, Cipla up by 0.91%, Titan Co up by 0.57% and Britannia Industries up by 0.55%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.50%, SBI down by 2.39%, ONGC down by 2.15%, Indusind Bank down by 1.86% and Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 132.96 points or 0.74% to 18,033.26, Nikkei 225 surged 72.16 points or 0.26% to 27,321.03, Straits Times advanced 19.16 points or 0.57% to 3,385.64 and KOSPI rose 8.27 points or 0.3% to 2,753.33.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 9.47 points or 0.14% to 6,795.47, Shanghai Composite declined 30.86 points or 0.9% to 3,398.72 and Hang Seng decreased 377.36 points or 1.54% to 24,202.19.