Local equity markets continue to reel under pressure in late afternoon session

Local equity markets continued to reel under pressure in late afternoon session amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Losses in financial and auto stocks pulled the headline indices lower. Besides, oil prices surged over 7% on Tuesday to their highest since 2014, as a global agreement to release crude reserves failed to calm fears about supply disruptions from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, Petrol and diesel price hikes are likely to resume after state elections get over next week to bridge the Rs 9 a litre gap created by international oil prices soaring past $100 a barrel. Traders remain concerned after 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.

On the global front, Asian markets and European markets were trading mostly in red as nervous investors shifted money into bonds amid renewed concerns about Russia's escalating war on Ukraine. It is feared that the Ukraine tensions may push up the commodity prices and peg the global economic recovery.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55,084.47, down by 1162.81 points or 2.07% after trading in a range of 55020.10 and 55755.09. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.42%, while Small cap index was down by 0.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 4.74%, Energy up by 1.42%, Utilities up by 1.33%, Oil & Gas up by 1.20% and Power was up by 1.06%, while Bankex down by 3.05%, Auto down by 2.77%, Telecom down by 2.11%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.83%, Realty down by 1.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 6.26%, Titan Company up by 1.43%, Reliance Industries up by 1.24%, Nestle up by 0.59% and Power Grid up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 6.13%, Asian Paints down by 5.25%, HDFC Bank down by 4.60%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 4.41% and ICICI Bank down by 4.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturing activity improved in the month of February, as firms responded to strong increases in new work intakes by lifting production, input buying and stocks of purchases. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - surged to 54.9 in February from 54.0 in January.

The report further noted that central to the expansion was a faster uplift in new business inflows. Similarly, demand from international clients rose moderately and at the quickest pace for three months. Sustained sales growth supported a further upturn in manufacturing sector output in February. The rise in production was the eighth in successive months and quickened from that seen in January.

However, there were some signs of capacity pressures at Indian manufacturers, with backlogs rising marginally. Despite this, and a pick-up in demand, employment decreased. With pandemic restrictions and supply issues persisting, delivery times lengthened again. The extent of the deterioration in supplier performance was, however, only mild.

On the price front, February's survey showed a further increase in average input costs faced by Indian manufacturers. Purchase price inflation was sharp, but softened to a six-month low. Part of this additional cost burden was passed on in the form of higher selling charges, though the rate of increase was modest.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16,499.95, down by 293.95 points or 1.75% after trading in a range of 16478.65 and 16678.50. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 8.02%, Tata Steel up by 6.43%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 5.10%, SBI Life up by 4.99% and Hindalco up by 4.36%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 6.18%, Asian Paints down by 5.44%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 4.72%, HDFC Bank down by 4.60% and Bajaj Auto down by 4.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 451.69 points or 1.68% to 26,393.03, Hang Seng decreased 417.79 points or 1.84% to 22,343.92, Jakarta Composite lost 53.04 points or 0.77% to 6,868.40, Taiwan Weighted dropped 30.65 points or 0.17% to 17,867.60, Straits Times trembled 29.49 points or 0.9% to 3,249.14 and Shanghai Composite was down by 4.64 points or 0.13% to 3,484.19. On the flip side, KOSPI was up by 4.34 points or 0.16% to 2,703.52.

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC decreased 9.98 points or 0.16% to 6,386.51 and Germany’s DAX was down by 19.29 points or 0.14% to 13,885.56. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 57.80 points or 0.79% to 7,388.00.