Sensex, Nifty cut some losses

Cutting some of their losses, Indian equity benchmarks staged some recovery in late morning session. Losses got cut, as the RBI data showed that bank credit grew by 10.09 per cent to Rs 119.88 lakh crore and deposits by 10.06 per cent to Rs 167.42 lakh crore in the fortnight ended on April 8. However, negative cues from other Asian markets kept Indian equities in red terrain. Traders were cautious, as amid concerns over minorities being targeted in India, former Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan cautioned that an 'anti-minority' image for the country can lead to loss of market for Indian products and may also result in foreign governments perceiving the nation as an unreliable partner.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.4. That's down from 54.1 in March, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57634.60, down by 277.08 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 57244.83 and 57689.24. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.49%, Industrials up by 0.37%, Capital Goods up by 0.20% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.04%, while Bankex down by 1.31%, Metal down by 1.03%, PSU down by 0.63%, Healthcare down by 0.62% and Basic Materials down by 0.58% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech. up by 1.98%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.65%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.78%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.59% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.30%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.05%, Axis Bank down by 1.96%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.61%, ICICI Bank down by 1.35% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that India's fertiliser subsidy is likely to touch an all-time high of Rs 1.65 lakh crore this financial year (FY23) against the budget estimate of Rs 1.05 lakh crore due to an unprecedented rise in the cost of raw materials and fertilisers globally. It said an additional subsidy and revision in the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) rates are crucial in order to sustain the credit profiles of fertiliser makers.

The report said ‘our assessment assumes 3 per cent year-on-year growth in demand for fertilisers and a moderation of raw material and fertiliser prices in the second half of this fiscal. If demand is higher than expected, or input prices do not soften even in the second half, the subsidy bill may inch up to Rs 1.8-1.9 lakh crore. According to the report, in the past two fiscals, the government has paid an additional Rs 1.2 lakh crore and increased the budgeted subsidy. However, it said the steep rise in raw material prices has been negating this and another intervention may be needed in 2022-23.

According to the report, over 85 per cent of the subsidy arrears could be contributed by urea. This is because pooled gas prices - a blend of domestic gas and imported LNG considered for billing to fertilisers plants - had shot up more than 75 per cent last fiscal, and is expected to remain elevated for most part of 2022-23, because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It noted that at the same time, retail prices of urea have stayed put, increasing the government's subsidy burden. It said this would be despite some respite likely from the commissioning of new domestic capacities that could potentially halve India's import dependence for urea from nearly 28 per cent in fiscal 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17292.90, down by 99.70 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 17196.05 and 17314.00. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.53%, HCL Tech. up by 1.98%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.44%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.67% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.16%, Cipla down by 2.06%, SBI down by 2.05%, Axis Bank down by 2.03% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 459.94 points or 1.67% to 27,093.12, Taiwan Weighted dropped 122.20 points or 0.71% to 17,005.75, Hang Seng decreased 114.27 points or 0.55% to 20,567.95, Jakarta Composite lost 70.65 points or 0.97% to 7,205.54, KOSPI fell 21.49 points or 0.79% to 2,706.72 and Shanghai Composite declined 2.01 points or 0.07% to 3,077.80. On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 2.70 points or 0.08% to 3,351.16.