Benchmarks continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, in line with weakening global sentiments amid the worsening Russia-Ukraine crisis. Traders awaited official data on India's GDP for the October-December period due later in the day. Traders also remain concerned with a private report stating that foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows into India in the third quarter of FY22 shrank almost 44% to $12 billion from $21.46 billion in the year-ago period. Market participants overlooked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India's post-pandemic economic recovery will be driven by the transition to green energy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as oil prices soared over 5 percent in the international markets amid heightened Russia-Ukraine tensions. Tensions escalated as Western nations unveiled harsher sanctions on Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert, citing aggressive statements by leading NATO countries. Back home, stocks related to Gem and Jewellery industry were in watch as the GJEPC said the CEPA signed between India and the UAE, will boost the gems and jewelry industry and help the sector achieve the target of $52 billion exports in 2022-23.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55165.41, down by 693.11 points or 1.24% after trading in a range of 54833.50 and 55329.46. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.84%, while Small cap index was down by 0.57%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.79%, Utilities up by 0.52%, PSU up by 0.36%, Oil & Gas up by 0.33% and Basic Materials up by 0.16%, while Bankex down by 2.00%, Auto down by 1.49%, FMCG down by 1.48%, Telecom down by 1.41%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.38% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.87%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.51%, NTPC up by 0.65% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.03%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.48%, Axis Bank down by 2.42%, Asian Paints down by 2.24%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.12% and Maruti Suzuki down by 2.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said India is at a stage where growth and the focus on development have got to be strengthened from every side and intellectual property rights (IPRs) have an important role in it. Sitharaman mentioned that 28,000 patents were granted last year as opposed to 4,000 in 2013-2014 and the last year also witnessed registration of 2.5 lakh trademarks and over 16,000 copyrights, which will have a very strong ripple effect on the economy.

She stated ‘So, these are not small numbers. This is the strength of the economy, in supporting such innovations and copyrights, all of which when scaled up are going to have a very strong ripple effect into the economy itself and that would generate its own ecosystem and revenues.’ She stated that the central government encouraged start-ups while protecting their IPRs as the boost would not have been possible with only giving up restrictions.

She also highlighted the importance of innovation for the economy and said that ‘if general manufacturing and general production give you a level of 3 (on a scale of 10), innovative activities bring in about 7 to 8.’ She added ‘As we were removing restrictive rules and regulations, we were also making sure that we give a framework within which they can work. Not just start-ups, but we were also supporting R&D in this country.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16470.95, down by 187.45 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 16356.30 and 16506.10. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.02%, Hindalco up by 2.24%, BPCL up by 2.13%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.08% and Coal India up by 1.74%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.08%, Eicher Motors down by 2.96%, HDFC Bank down by 2.58%, Axis Bank down by 2.48% and SBI Life Insuran down by 2.37% were the top losers. 

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite declined 4.97 points or 0.14% to 3,446.44, Straits Times trembled 69.51 points or 2.11% to 3,224.96, Nikkei 225 slipped 80.89 points or 0.31% to 26,395.61 and Hang Seng decreased 315.02 points or 1.38% to 22,452.16.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 2.97 points or 0.11% to 2,679.73.