Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended on a lower note on Tuesday. The start of the trading day was in red terrain, as the research wing of rating agency Crisil in its latest report said that companies are not able to pass on the pressure from rising input costs to buyers, and this is likely to result in a compression in corporate profit margins for the March quarter (Q4FY22). It said operating profit margins for companies are set to fall by as much as 3 percentage points compared to the year-ago period, and up to 0.60 per cent as compared to the preceding December quarter.

Bears held a grip over the Dalal Street during the trading session, as domestic sentiments remained negative, amid a report stating that a sharp rise in prices of essential commodities over the past few months coupled with the latest burden of steep hike in fuel rates have made life difficult for almost every section of the society across the country, with people finding it hard to manage their household budget. Adding more worries among traders, the World Trade Organization projected that Russia's war in Ukraine could almost halve world trade growth this year and drag down global GDP growth too.

However, in the last hour of the trade, markets stage some recovery to end at off day’s low points, taking some support with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest data showing that India Inc's direct overseas investment increased 8.5 per cent year-on-year to $3.34 billion in March 2022. Besides, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has said India is on its way to become a global energy superpower in terms of consumption and production. Though, Puri said India had the resources, exploration and production of fossil fuel and gases remain stagnant.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower, as traders monitored heavy selling in the banking sector. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday, after Malaysia's industrial production grew at a softer pace in February, mainly due to the rise in manufacturing and electricity output. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that industrial production rose 3.9 percent year-on-year in February, after a 4.3 percent increase in January.

The BSE Sensex ended at 58576.37, down by 388.20 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 58298.57 and 58794.78. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.45%, while Small cap index down by 1.47%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Bankex up by 0.50%, while Metal down by 3.50%, Energy down by 2.78%, Realty down by 2.66%, Oil & Gas down by 2.47% and Basic Materials down by 2.16% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.60%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.21%, Power Grid up by 0.82%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.60% and ICICI Bank up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.63%, Wipro down by 2.18%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.12%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.06% and Reliance Industries down by 1.91% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, keeping in view the principles of proportionality, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced certain principles, standards and procedures for mid and large non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The revised regulatory framework for NBFCs, issued in October 2021, had indicated that such entities in the Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and Middle Layer (NBFC-ML) would be required to have an independent Compliance Function and a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).

As per the latest notification released by the RBI, NBFCs in the upper layer and middle layer should treat the prescriptions in the circular as a set of minimum guidelines only and accordingly frame their guidelines taking into account their corporate governance framework, the scale of operations, risk profile and organisational structure, among other factors,

Besides, RBI said that compliance function should ensure strict observance of all statutory and regulatory requirements for the NBFCs, including standards of market conduct, managing conflict of interest, treating customers fairly and ensuring the suitability of customer service.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17530.30, down by 144.65 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 17442.35 and 17595.30. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 1.58%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.03%, Power Grid up by 0.95%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.70% and SBI Life Insurance up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 5.90%, Coal India down by 5.30%, Grasim Industries down by 3.55%, Tata Motors down by 3.04% and Tata Steel down by 2.77% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 44.87 points or 0.59% to 7,573.44, France’s CAC decreased 76.89 points or 1.17% to 6,478.92 and Germany’s DAX was down by 183.89 points or 1.3% to 14,008.89.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday, tracking negative cues from Wall Street overnight as investors grew increasingly concerned about soaring Treasury bond yields and tightening monetary policy by the US central bank to counter inflation. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting crucial US inflation data and the ECB policy meeting. Concerns over Russia-Ukraine war and a surge in Covid-19 cases across different Chinese cities also weighed on market sentiments. Japanese shares settled lower, with index heavyweight technology stocks leading declines on worries about stretched valuations. However, Chinese shares ended sharply higher after the country's securities watchdog wants listed companies to repurchase their own shares and their major shareholders to support stock prices amid efforts by Beijing to stabilize China's sluggish stock markets.