Markets trade flat with negative bias in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were now trading flat with a negative bias in morning deals, taking cues from the global markets. Traders turned anxious with Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that India has been very good at managing its finances but the surge in global energy prices is going to have a negative impact on its economy. She observed that the war has posed a challenge to economies around the world, including India. Some concern also came with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showing that India Inc's direct overseas investment declined 67 per cent to $753.61 million in February 2022. The domestic investors had invested over $2.28 billion in overseas ventures as part of the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in February 2021. Meanwhile, the Income Tax department said refunds worth over Rs 1.86 lakh crore have been issued to more than 2.14 crore taxpayers during the current financial year. This includes refunds of Rs 67,442 crore in 2,11,76,025 cases under the personal income tax category and corporate tax refunds of Rs 1,19,235 crore in 2,31,654 cases.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading in red after the fastest U.S. inflation in four decades and a hawkish European Central Bank (ECB) bolstered expectations for more aggressive rate hikes, hammering sentiment already stung by the Russia-Ukraine war. Back home, banking stocks remained in focus with RBI data showing that bank credit grew by 7.9 per cent to Rs 116.27 lakh crore and deposits rose by 8.6 per cent to Rs 162.17 lakh crore in the fortnight ended February 25.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55416.25, down by 48.14 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 55049.95 and 55833.95. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.47%, Healthcare up by 0.21%, Basic Materials up by 0.21%, Bankex up by 0.16% and PSU up by 0.02%, while Auto down by 1.16%, Consumer Durables down by 0.69%, Industrials down by 0.58%, FMCG down by 0.54% and Power down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.44%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.74%, Axis Bank up by 0.65%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.63% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.32%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.42%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.19%, Nestle down by 1.18%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.02% and NTPC down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its data has said that India Inc's direct overseas investment declined 67 per cent to $753.61 million in February 2022. The domestic investors had invested over $2.28 billion in overseas ventures as part of the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in February 2021.
It stated that of the total invested amount during the last month, $237.84 million was in the form of equity infusion, $230.06 million as loan and $285.72 million by way of issuance of guarantees.

Besides, it mentioned that comparing month-on-month, the investment fell 56 per cent from $1.71 billion in January 2022. Among the major investors were: ONGC Videsh $47 million in a joint venture in Russia; Madhurima International $40.91 million in a JV in the US; Titan Company $29.5 million in a WoS in UAE; Imagine Marketing $26.06 million in a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore and KEC International $15.99 million in a JV in Saudi Arabia.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16585.25, down by 9.65 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 16470.90 and 16694.40. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 2.09%, Sun Pharma up by 1.47%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.84%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.74% and BPCL up by 0.73%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.23%, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.95%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.47%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.45% and Nestle down by 1.29% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 667.47 points or 3.2% to 20,222.79, Nikkei 225 slipped 648.23 points or 2.52% to 25,042.17, Taiwan Weighted dropped 162.43 points or 0.93% to 17,270.77, KOSPI fell 30.57 points or 1.14% to 2,649.75, Shanghai Composite declined 71.17 points or 2.16% to 3,224.92, Straits Times trembled 0.40 points or 0.01% to 3,240.33 and Jakarta Composite lost 33.50 points or 0.48% to 6,890.51.