Benchmarks trade lower in noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks are trading in red terrain in noon deals with Sensex and Nifty trading down by 209 and 72 points, respectively, as investors opted to book some of their profits. Sentiments were dented as rating agency Fitch in its Global economic Outlook-March 2022 has slashed India's growth forecast for the next fiscal to 8.5 per cent from 10.3 per cent. The agency slashed India's growth forecast on account of sharply higher energy prices. Traders were worried as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,962.12 crore on Monday. Besides, depreciation in Indian rupee too weighed down the sentiment. The rupee depreciated 19 paise to 76.37 against the US currency in noon deals due to higher demand for the dollar from importers.

On the global front, Most of the Asian Markets were trading in green, with the increased risk appetite in the market followed by the US Federal Reserve‘s aggressive stance on monetary policy to tackle the peaking inflation. Closer home, the market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1196:2070 while 124 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57083.37, down by 209.12 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 56930.30 and 57340.42. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.92%, while Small cap index was down by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.13%, Energy up by 1.03%, Oil & Gas up by 1.00%, TECK up by 0.89% and Telecom was up by 0.09%, while Realty down by 2.36%, Consumer Durables down by 1.80%, FMCG down by 1.77%, Bankex down by 1.34%, Consumer Discretionary was down by 1.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.65%, Reliance Industries up by 1.65%, Power Grid Corp up by 1.02%, TCS up by 1.01% and Infosys was up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 3.66%, Nestle down by 3.18%, Axis Bank down by 2.28%, SBI down by 2.18% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary panel has suggested that the government should extend the period of repayment of loans under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector. The Parliamentary standing committee on industry has also asked the government to digitize the GST system to ensure paperless refund of claims.

The committee noted that under ECLGS, the repayment period of 3-4 years, including the moratorium period, is a very short period for MSMEs, which are struggling to survive after the second COVID wave. Therefore, it recommends that the repayment period should be extended up to 7-8 years with at least two years of moratorium on the principal amount. With respect to the interest, moratorium for interest from March 1, 2020 onwards should be announced by the RBI.

Noting that a number of MSME-oriented products presently being imported can be manufactured in India, the panel suggested that a Central Market Intelligence Centre be set up for import-related products and components in the country. Further, the committee said the Centre may be entrusted with the task of putting out a list of products which are being imported along with their specifications. It should also spread awareness of the same through electronic, print and social media to attract interested entrepreneurs to set up new manufacturing enterprises in the MSME sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17045.45, down by 72.15 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 17006.30 and 17143.15. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.58%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.88%, Reliance Industries up by 1.65%, Indian Oil Corp. up by 1.23% and Power Grid was up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 3.67%, Nestle down by 3.29%, Britannia Inds down by 3.03%, Cipla down by 2.46% and SBI was down by 2.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Shanghai Composite gained 1.29 points or 0.04% to 3,254.98, KOSPI rose 26.09 points or 0.97% to 2,712.14, Hang Seng increased 406.95 points or 1.92% to 21,628.29, Jakarta Composite soared 24.91 points or 0.36% to 6,980.09 and Nikkei 225 was up by 396.68 points or 1.48% to 27,224.11. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted dropped 0.65 points or 0% to 17,559.71 and Straits Times was down by 3.72 points or 0.11% to 3,351.79.