Bourses slip into red terrain in noon trade

After moving between red and green, markets entered in red terrain in afternoon deals as concerns about rising inflation and slower economic growth weighed traders’ mood. The mood of the markets turned soured as expressing concerns over the country’s bilateral trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the government is in continuous dialogue with exporters to address the problems and challenges that are emerging due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and could lead to some kind of disruption in trade. On the BSE sectoral indices, Metal, Healthcare and TECK counters were the top gainers, while Banking, Consumer Durables and Auto counters were the top losers of the session. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed due to technical buying after the tumble on worries over economic ramifications of Russian Ukraine war, which shows no signs to end.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57451.28, down by 233.54 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 57138.51 and 57827.99. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.27%, while Small cap index up by 0.14%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.55%, Healthcare up by 0.97%, TECK up by 0.72%, Basic Materials up by 0.71% and IT was up by 0.49%, while Bankex down by 1.46%, Consumer Durables down by 1.36%, Auto down by 0.38%, Capital Goods down by 0.36% and Industrials was down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 3.70%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.31%, NTPC up by 1.20%, Tata Steel up by 1.09% and Sun Pharma was up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.90%, ICICI Bank down by 1.89%, HDFC Bank down by 1.89%, Titan Co down by 1.87% and HDFC was down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the cement industry is expected to record an 18-20 per cent volume-based growth to around 355 million metric tonnes and even to surpass pre-COVID levels by 6 per cent in the current fiscal (FY22), driven by continued strong rural housing demand and pick-up in infrastructure activity. However, it said high input costs on account of inflationary pressure are resulting in a decline in operating margins by 440-480 basis points to around 19.8-20.2 per cent in FY2022.

The report said that despite the increase in the net sales realisations by 5 per cent, the Operating Profit Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (OPBITDA) per metric tonne declined by 10 per cent Y-o-Y in the first 9 months of FY2022 to Rs 1,124. It said this is 'primarily due to increase in input prices - the raw material, power & fuel and freight expenses which are higher by 12 per cent, 31 per cent and 5 per cent Y-o-Y respectively. For the full year, the continued elevated costs would push down the OPBITDA/MT by 16-18 per cent to Rs 1,030-1,050/MT.

According to the report, all-India cement production registered a growth of 25 per cent at 290 million metric tonnes in the first 10 months of FY2022 compared to the year-ago period. It was higher by 4 per cent when compared to pre-Covid levels of 10M FY2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17181.55, down by 64.10 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 17091.15 and 17291.75. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 3.75%, Hindalco up by 2.56%, Cipla up by 1.98%, Coal India up by 1.94% and Ultratech Cement was up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.95%, HDFC Bank down by 2.18%, ICICI Bank down by 1.95%, Titan Co down by 1.91% and Eicher Motors was down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite declined 17.22 points or 0.53% to 3,253.81, KOSPI fell 5.39 points or 0.2% to 2,729.66, Hang Seng decreased 24.68 points or 0.11% to 22,129.40 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 32.31 points or 0.18% to 17,699.06.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 70.23 points or 0.25% to 28,110.39, Straits Times advanced 27.12 points or 0.81% to 3,391.38 and Jakarta Composite was up by 42.33 points or 0.61% to 7,038.45.