Indian equities continue to trade under pressure in afternoon session

Indian equities continued their weak trade in afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. Traders were worried as India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $9.646 billion to $622.275 billion in the week ended March 11, the sharpest decline in nearly two years, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) heavily sold dollars to prevent the slide in the value of rupee. Oil prices jumped after Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vershchuk stated that there was no chance that the country's forces would surrender in the besieged eastern port city of Mariupol also impacted traders’ sentiments. With little sign of easing the conflict, the focus returned to whether the market would be able to replace Russian barrels hit by sanctions. Meanwhile, India's crude imports rose in February to 4.86 million barrels per day (bpd), their highest since December 2020, as refiners cranked up runs to meet increasing demand on better refining margins. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as investors clung to hopes for an eventual peace deal in Ukraine, but the fighting raged on with no sign of stopping.

Back home,the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57643.00, down by 220.93 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 57569.85 and 58127.95. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.83%, Basic Materials up by 1.25%, Consumer Durables up by 1.05%, Healthcare up by 0.88% and Energy was up by 0.31%, while Utilities down by 1.48%, Power down by 1.36%, Bankex down by 0.87%, FMCG down by 0.65% and Capital Goods was down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.58%, Titan Company up by 2.04%, Tata Steel up by 1.80%, Sun Pharma up by 1.59% and Wipro was up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.94%, SBI down by 1.69%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.62%, Indusind Bank down by 1.52% and Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, RBI in its article has said that notwithstanding the geopolitical crisis created by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, India is making steady progress on the domestic front as it recovers from the third wave of pandemic though downside risks remain. Observing that India's macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong, it said 'unfolding global developments nevertheless pose downside risks in terms of spillovers. It also said that the ongoing geopolitical crisis has heightened the uncertainty clouding the global macroeconomic and financial landscape even as the world economy struggles to recover from the pandemic.

The article noted that services sector outlets such as restaurants and cinema halls are gradually resuming normal operations, and mobility indicators show significant improvement in March 2022, compared to a year ago. It said with the improvement in mobility and opening up of services sector outlets, electricity generation picked up in March, exceeding the levels of the preceding month and also pre-pandemic levels. Also, the generation of E-way bills remained above pre-pandemic levels. Toll collections also rose in February 2022, despite the waning of base effect.

It further said the resumption in mobility spurred diesel and petrol consumption in February 2022, although a dip in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) dampened total petroleum consumption. Retail sales of automobiles continued to stagnate, with high delivery times impeding registrations. It also pointed out that the gross fiscal deficit plummeted to an all-time low of 58.9 per cent of Revised Estimate (RE) in the Budget during April-January 2021-22.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17230.20, down by 56.85 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 17209.05 and 17353.35. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.31%, Hindalco up by 3.16%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.48%, Titan Co up by 1.98% and ONGC was up by 1.85%. On the flip side, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.28%, Britannia Industries down by 2.12%, Eicher Motors down by 2.04%, Power Grid down by 2.03% and Tata Consumer Products was down by 1.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Shanghai Composite declined 0.39 points or 0.01% to 3,250.68, KOSPI fell 18.84 points or 0.7% to 2,688.18, Hang Seng decreased 147.52 points or 0.69% to 21,264.88 and Jakarta Composite was down by 14.64 points or 0.21% to 6,940.33. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 103.84 points or 0.59% to 17,560.36 and Straits Times was up by 8.58 points or 0.26% to 3,339.21.