Key benchmarks continue sluggish trend in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued their sluggish trade in morning session, taking cues from weak Asian counterparts. Sentiments were down-beat with a private report stating that the Reserve Bank of India will delay its first interest rate rise by at least four months to August at the earliest, as the central bank must now start worrying about inflation. Traders failed to get any sense of relief with a private survey showed India's services sector expanded at its fastest pace so far this year in March as an easing of COVID-19 restrictions boosted demand, but elevated inflationary pressures clouded business confidence. The S&P Global India Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.6 in March from 51.8 in February. The index remained above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for an eighth straight month, input costs rose at the sharpest pace in 11 years. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading in red after Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to serve as the Fed's vice chairwoman, called the task of reducing inflation pressures 'paramount' and indicated an aggressive approach to shrinking the Fed's balance sheet. Back home, banking stocks were under pressure despite rating agency ICRA in its latest report said that the outlook for banks is expected to be stable amid improvement in credit growth of 8.9-10.2 per cent and decline in provisions in the current fiscal (FY23).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59685.89, down by 490.61 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 59612.08 and 59941.57. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 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 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.08%, Utilities up by 1.79%, Power up by 1.68%, Oil & Gas up by 0.88% and Energy up by 0.71%, while Bankex down by 1.24%, Realty down by 1.04%, IT down by 1.04%, TECK down by 0.83% and Auto down by 0.73% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.95%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.10%, Tata Steel up by 1.07%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.98% and Sun Pharma up by 0.90%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.21%, HDFC down by 1.80%, Axis Bank down by 1.71%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.54% and TCS down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, automobile dealers' body, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said domestic passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales in March 2022 declined by 4.87 per cent to 271,358 units, as compared to the same month last year. PV sales stood at 285,240 units in March 2021. FADA President Vinkesh Gulati noted ‘Passenger vehicles continue to see high demand and long waiting periods as semiconductor availability still remains a challenge, even though supplies slightly improved from previous month.’

He stated the Russia-Ukraine war and China lockdown would further dent supplies and hit vehicle deliveries. Two-wheeler sales declined by 4.02 per cent to 1,157,681 units last month, as compared to 12,06,191 units in the year-ago period. The two-wheeler segment was already a non performer due to rural distress. It saw further dampening due to rise in vehicle ownership cost coupled with rising fuel cost

However, commercial vehicle sales were up 14.91 per cent to 77,938 units in March, as compared to 67,828 units in March last year. Three-wheeler sales were also up 26.61 per cent to 48,284 units last month, as compared to 38,135 units in March 2021. Total sales across categories, though, declined by 2.87 per cent to 1,619,181 units last month, as against 1,666,996 units in the same month last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17824.15, down by 133.25 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 17805.30 and 17901.00. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.88%, Coal India up by 2.63%, UPL up by 1.81%, Tata Steel up by 1.14% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.10%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.41%, HDFC down by 2.11%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.78%, Axis Bank down by 1.65% and TCS down by 1.61% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 320.45 points or 1.42% to 22,181.86, Nikkei 225 slipped 417.36 points or 1.5% to 27,370.62, Jakarta Composite lost 50.98 points or 0.71% to 7,097.32, Shanghai Composite declined 7.27 points or 0.22% to 3,275.45, KOSPI fell 21.76 points or 0.79% to 2,737.44, Straits Times trembled 14.36 points or 0.42% to 3,430.65 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 130.14 points or 0.74% to 17,495.45.