Bourses continue to move downward in late afternoon session

Indian equities continued to move downward in late afternoon session even as global cues remained encouraging. Among individual stocks, Paytm hit a new low of Rs 531.20 on the BSE. Traders were concerned, as Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas released its monthly production report for February 2022 showed that crude oil production failed to meet target while also lower in terms of year-on-year (YoY) data for the period; while natural gas production was higher in YoY terms, but still lower than the monthly target. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green tracking a rally in New York, on optimism that the Federal Reserve's plan to hike interest rates will help bring inflation under control. European markets were trading higher despite news that UK inflation hit the fastest rate for about 30 years. Back home, Petrol and diesel prices on Wednesday were hiked by 80 paise a litre each for the second day in a row since the ending of an over four-and-half month hiatus in rate revision.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57778.97, down by 210.33 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 57568.59 and 58416.56. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.44%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.46%, Utilities up by 1.33%, Power up by 1.20%, Healthcare up by 0.73% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.47%, while Auto down by 0.82%, Bankex down by 0.48%, Capital Goods down by 0.46%, TECK down by 0.40% and Industrials was down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.81%, Tata Steel up by 2.32%, ITC up by 0.92%, Reliance Industries up by 0.69% and Indusind Bank up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.09%, HDFC down by 2.01%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.75%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.47% and Asian Paints down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underlining that sustained supply of coal to the power sector is of paramount importance, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi has said that the Coal Ministry is likely to approach the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for certain relaxation in norms so that overall coal production can be further increased. He pointed out that with steep hike in international prices, domestic demand for coal has gone up considerably.

The Minister urged Coal India (CIL) and the Ministry of Coal officials to deliberate upon immediate measures required to enhance coal production. The Minister asked Coal India to complete 35 First Mile Connectivity projects as per the set deadlines.

Besides, Minister of State for Coal, Mines and Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve said while enhancing production, environmental concerns need to be addressed. Pro-people initiative is equally important. Also, Secretary Ministry of Coal Anil Kumar Jain said that investments need to be utilized properly within stipulated time to give more momentum to mechanised transportation of coal. He further said that Indian Railways will be requested to increase rake availability as per requirement.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17248.65, down by 66.85 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 17199.60 and 17442.40. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.82%, Tata Steel up by 2.65%, Divi's Lab up by 2.28%, Hindalco up by 2.00% and JSW Steel up by 1.54%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 2.20%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.11%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.89%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.83% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.62% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 816.05 points or 3% to 28,040.16, Hang Seng increased 264.80 points or 1.21% to 22,154.08, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 171.66 points or 0.98% to 17,731.37, KOSPI rose 25.05 points or 0.92% to 2,735.05, Straits Times advanced 16.47 points or 0.49% to 3,366.64, Shanghai Composite gained 11.17 points or 0.34% to 3,271.03. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 4.70 points or 0.07% to 6,996.12.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 26.01 points or 0.35% to 7,502.73, France’s CAC increased 10.24 points or 0.15% to 6,669.65 and Germany’s DAX was up by 24.78 points or 0.17% to 14,497.98.