Markets trade slightly lower in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued their weak trend on Tuesday with slightly negative start as the ongoing concerns on the Russia-Ukraine conflict coupled with soaring crude oil prices continued to weigh market sentiment. Markets are trading lower with marginal cut of around 0.30% each in early deals. Some cautiousness came in as rating agency Icra said the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia will burden domestic steelmakers with high input costs. However, broader indices -- BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices -- are outperforming larger peers with gains of around half a percent each. Losses remained capped in the markets with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that goods exports will exceed the ambitious target set for the current fiscal and touch $410 billion, despite the supply-side disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading lower following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on concerns about the outlook for inflation following crude oil's sharp uptick to 14 year high amid fears of a ban on Russian oil by the U.S. and its Western allies. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also preparing to raise interest rates by at least a quarter point at its monetary policy meeting next week. Back home, sugar industry stocks were in focus as trade body AISTA said Indian mills have signed sugar export deals for supply of 62 lakh tonnes so far in the current 2021-22 marketing year that started from October 1. In scrip specific development, Natco Pharma rose after it launched the first generic version of Revlimid in the US market.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52690.88, down by 151.87 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 52410.39 and 52876.71. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.85%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 2.49%, Utilities up by 2.31%, IT up by 0.85%, TECK up by 0.77%, Telecom up by 0.46%, while Metal down by 1.98%, Bankex down by 1.17%, Auto down by 1.11%, Basic Materials down by 0.85%, Realty down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.85%, NTPC up by 2.35%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.30%, TCS up by 1.23% and Sun Pharma up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.40%, HDFC Bank down by 2.24%, Tata Steel down by 2.17%, Axis Bank down by 1.78% and Asian Paints down by 1.35% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over exports growth of India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the country’s irrespective of geopolitical disturbances. The country's merchandise exports during April-February 2022 stood at $374.05 billion, an increase of 45.80 per cent over $256.55 billion in the year-ago period.

Goyal said ‘So I do believe that irrespective of problems we have in the northern parts of Asia (and) Europe, we are well on track not only to achieve $400 billion, I am hoping closer to $410 billion (during this fiscal)’. He also said services exports would cross $250 billion. He noted that ‘If we want to be a $5 trillion economy, our exports of goods and services will have to be $1 trillion each, ideally 25% but at least 20%. I say 25% because we need to support our import of oil and therefore our exports will have to go up leaps and bounds so that we can continue to finance our imports and strengthen the rupee in days to come’.

He added ‘I believe a strong currency reflects the strength of a nation and will always be good for exports because India is a net importer of goods. A strong currency supports the Indian economy’. The minister also urged the industry to consider three points -- exploring ways to fully utilise free trade agreements implemented by India; instilling a feeling of pride for Made In India products; and focusing on development requirements of aspirational districts or tier 2 and 3 cities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15806.30, down by 56.85 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 15747.40 and 15864.55. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 4.11%, NTPC up by 2.77%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.87%, TCS up by 1.72% and Tata Consumer Products up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.62%, Tata Steel down by 2.39%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.38%, HDFC Bank down by 2.17% and JSW Steel down by 2.00% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 233.86 points or 0.93% to 24,987.55, Straits Times declined 24.69 points or 0.77% to 3,163.13, Hang Seng fell 66.05 points or 0.31% to 20,991.58, Taiwan Weighted plunged 347.79 points or 2.02% to 16,830.90, KOSPI lost 16.05 points or 0.61% to 2,635.26 and Shanghai Composite was down by 67.03 points or 1.99% to 3,305.83. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite was up by 12.91 points or 0.19% to 6,881.98.