Benchmarks continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, led by losses in Banking, Telecom, Auto and Realty stocks. Traders remained cautious with data showing that investments in the Indian capital market through Participatory notes (P-notes) dropped to Rs 87,989 crore at the end of January and experts believe that foreign investors will continue with their negative stance amid the Ukraine crisis. Some cautiousness also came as India Ratings said the ongoing geopolitical risks arising from the Russia-Ukraine war would push India's import bills higher for items such as mineral oils and gas, gems and jewellery, edible oils and fertilisers. As a result, merchandise imports may cross $600 billion in FY22, up from $492.9 billion in the first 10 months. However, losses remain capped as the Indian manufacturing sector continued to expand in February, with the sector's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 54.9 from 54 in January. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity, while a sub-50 print is a sign of contraction. According to IHS Markit, February saw 'strong increases' in new work orders. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55491.25, down by 756.03 points or 1.34% after trading in a range of 55272.22 and 55755.09. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 4.90%, Oil & Gas up by 1.92%, Basic Materials up by 1.69%, Utilities up by 1.33% and Power up by 1.10%, while Bankex down by 2.45%, Telecom down by 1.30%, Auto down by 1.20%, Realty down by 1.02% and Consumer Discretionary down by 0.78% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 5.37%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.03%, Titan Company up by 1.21% and Reliance Industries up by 0.53%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 3.70%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.52%, HDFC Bank down by 3.28%, Asian Paints down by 3.08% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.89% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that aggregate sales of 1,701 listed manufacturing companies recorded a growth of 27.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2021-22 (Q3FY22) on an annual basis, aided by high sales growth in petroleum, non-ferrous metals, iron and steel, chemicals and textiles industries.  RBI released the data on the performance of the private corporate sector during the third quarter of 2021-22 drawn from abridged quarterly financial results of 2,744 listed Non-Government Non-Financial (NGNF) companies.

It showed that sales of listed private non-financial companies increased (y-o-y) by 25.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2021-22 as compared with 31.8 per cent in the previous quarter and 4 per cent in the corresponding quarter a year ago. In value terms, the sales of manufacturing companies stood at Rs 8,87,137 crore in the third quarter as against Rs 6,79,462 crore (1,685 companies). Their net profits stood at Rs 88,167 crore during October-December period of 2021-22 as against Rs 73,789 crore in the year ago quarter. Maintaining their growth momentum, information technology companies recorded 20.7 per cent increase (y-o-y) in sales during the third quarter of 2021-22. Further, sales of non-IT services companies expanded (y-o-y) by 22 per cent in the October-December period of 2021-22.

Besides, it mentioned telecommunication companies, which account for nearly a fourth of this broad category, witnessed a marginal decline in sales but non-telecom companies recorded good growth. On expenditure, it said that in tandem with increase in sales, manufacturing companies' expenditure on raw material increased year-on-year by 37.1 per cent. Expenses on raw material accounted for 63.3 per cent of their total expenditure. It stated with rising expenditures, operating profit growth decelerated across sectors in the third quarter of 2021-22. Also, pricing power in terms of operating profit and net profit margins remained stable for manufacturing and IT companies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16617.05, down by 176.85 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 16545.50 and 16678.50. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 6.20%, Coal India up by 5.60%, Tata Steel up by 5.39%, ONGC up by 4.11% and JSW Steel up by 4.11%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 3.73%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.54%, Bajaj Auto down by 3.32%, HDFC Bank down by 3.28% and Asian Paints down by 3.16% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 445.69 points or 1.66% to 26,399.03, Hang Seng decreased 243.53 points or 1.07% to 22,518.18, Jakarta Composite lost 40.39 points or 0.58% to 6,881.05, Taiwan Weighted dropped 36.07 points or 0.2% to 17,862.18, Straits Times trembled 16.50 points or 0.5% to 3,262.13 and Shanghai Composite declined 14.38 points or 0.41% to 3,474.45.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 13.10 points or 0.49% to 2,712.28.