Domestic indices trade lower in early deals; IIP, CPI eyed

Indian equity benchmarks extended their previous session’s losses with gap-down opening on Tuesday amid weak global cues. Covid-19 scare in China and rising bond yields dented the sentiment. Markets are trading lower with cut of over half a percent each in early deals ahead of macro-economic data with the CPI and IIP numbers for March and Feb, respectively, slated to be released later in the day. As per a private report, India's retail inflation likely sped up to a 16-month high of 6.35% in March, well above the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance band for a third straight month, in part due to a sustained rise in food prices. Though, downside remained capped as data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed India Inc's direct overseas investment increased 8.5 per cent year-on-year to $3.34 billion in March 2022.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading lower following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with technology and energy stocks leading the way lower to mirror their peers on Wall Street. Back home, telecom industry stocks were in focus as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has set the stage for next-gen spectrum auction by slashing the reserve price of 5G airwaves in the 3300-3670 MHz band by around 36 per cent. In scrip specific development, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was trading higher reacting to its Q4 numbers. The company has reported 7.29% rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 9,959 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 9,282 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58597.96, down by 366.61 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 58482.03 and 58743.50. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.51%, while Small cap index was down by 1.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.43%, Utilities up by 1.39%, while Metal down by 3.14%, Realty down by 2.01%, Basic Materials down by 1.83%, Energy down by 1.52%, PSU down by 1.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.31%, HDFC up by 0.38%, TCS up by 0.31%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.26% and HCL Technologies up by 0.25%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.57%, SBI down by 1.56%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.49%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.46% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that India Inc's direct overseas investment increased 8.5 per cent year-on-year to $3.34 billion in March 2022. The Indian companies had invested $3.1 billion in their overseas fully-owned subsidiaries (WOSs) and joint-ventures (JVs) in the same month a year ago. In the preceding month (February 2022), the outward foreign direct investment was $940.62 million.

As per the data, of the total amount invested in March 2021-22, $1.31 billion was in the form of issuance of guarantee; $1.2 billion as loan and $866.93 million was infused in the form of equity. The RBI said the data is provisional and subject to change, based on the reporting by authorised dealer banks. Major investors who infused capital in their overseas ventures included Tata Communications $690 million in Singapore; Jindal Steel and Power $366 million in Mauritius; Wipro $204.96 million in Cyprus; and Jindal Saw $64.50 million in the United Arab Emirates. All of them invested money in their WOS companies.

Restaurant Brand Aisa and Lupin put in $141.34 million and $131.25 million in their JVs in Indonesia and the US, respectively. the data showed while Reliance New Energy invested $87.73 million in WOS in Norway; Mohalla Internet pumped $86 million in a fully-owned unit in Mauritius and ONGC Videsh infused $83.31 million in a joint-venture in Russia.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17544.05, down by 130.90 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 17511.05 and 17594.40. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.36%, HDFC up by 0.36%, HCL Technologies up by 0.21%, TCS up by 0.21% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.25%, Coal India down by 3.67%, Tata Motors down by 2.63%, JSW Steel down by 2.59% and Tata Steel down by 2.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 429.58 points or 1.60% to 26,391.94, Straits Times declined 28.68 points or 0.85% to 3,334.88, Hang Seng plunged 123.95 points or 0.58% to 21,084.35, Taiwan Weighted fell 64.83 points or 0.38% to 16,983.54, KOSPI lost 27.96 points or 1.04% to 2,665.14 and Shanghai Composite was down by 21.02 points or 0.66% to 3,146.11, while Jakarta Composite rose 15.11 points or 0.21% to 7,218.90.