Markets extend losses; Sensex down 225 points

Indian equity markets extended losses in the noon session with S&P BSE Sensex was down 225 points, while Nifty down by 51 points. Sentiments were dented as consumer price-based inflation jumped to 6.95 per cent in March, mainly on account of costlier food items. The inflation in the food basket was 7.68 per cent in March, up from 5.85 per cent in the preceding month. Traders were also worried as foreign institutional investors continued to offload shares worth Rs 3,128.39 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. However, downfall remain capped as Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran expressed hope that the private sector is expected to accelerate capital expenditure from the second half of the current fiscal and he also asserted that the economic situation is likely to improve during the year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as traders’ sentiments got bolstered after the US inflation data came in better than the worst projections.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58350.89, down by 225.48 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 58340.17 and 59003.82. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.36%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.47%, Oil & Gas up by 0.47%, Basic Materials up by 0.41%, Energy up by 0.37% and PSU was up by 0.25%, while Auto down by 0.68%, Telecom down by 0.67%, Consumer Durables down by 0.47%, Bankex down by 0.41%, Consumer Discretionary was down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 0.99%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.87%, Indusind Bank up by 0.63%, NTPC up by 0.62% and HCL Tech was up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.02%, Asian Paints down by 1.81%, Titan Company down by 1.79%, HDFC down by 1.75% and HDFC Bank was down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has pitched for taking the textiles exports of the country to $100 billion by 2030 as the sector is recording a healthy growth. He noted that the textiles exports last fiscal year stood at $43 billion as against $33 billion in the previous year. He said the exports would get a boost as the sector would get zero duty access in the UAE and Australia and India has signed a trade pact with both these countries.

The minister has stated that India is also trying to get zero duty access in the markets of the European Union, Canada, the UK and member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). India is negotiating free trade pacts with these countries. He said ‘we will leave no stone unturned to achieve this aggressive growth and substantial target’. He added that the current geopolitical situation is changing and it provides huge opportunities for the industry to boost exports.

He further emphasized on the need to promote cotton production in the country as the current figure of about 500 kilogram per hectare is half of the world's average. He said the price of cotton is high today and the government is keeping constant control over that, and added that there is a need to maintain the right balance so that farmers and the industry both get cotton at right prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17478.75, down by 51.55 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 17471.60 and 17663.65. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.49%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.27%, UPL up by 1.81%, JSW Steel up by 1.10% and Sun Pharma was up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.02%, Titan Co down by 1.85%, Asian Paints down by 1.71%, HDFC down by 1.64% and Tata Motors was down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Nikkei 225 surged 508.51 points or 1.93% to 26,843.49, KOSPI rose 49.73 points or 1.86% to 2,716.49, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 310.74 points or 1.83% to 17,301.65, Straits Times advanced 23.03 points or 0.69% to 3,353.28, Jakarta Composite soared 23.02 points or 0.32% to 7,237.80 and Hang Seng was up by 144.60 points or 0.68% to 21,463.73. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 5.64 points or 0.18% to 3,207.69.