Bourses widen losses in late afternoon session

Equity markets widened their losses in late afternoon session. The overall market breadth was negative as 1922 shares were declining and 1436 were advancing, while 130 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Sentiments remained down-beat as private report stated that UBS has downgraded its GDP growth forecast for India for the current financial year from 7.7 to 7.0 percent, adding that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) risks failing to meet its inflation mandate. High global commodity prices, slower global growth, hit to domestic demand from the income shock of high fuel prices and elevated inflation, and the risk of the central government diverting money from capital expenditure towards subsidies will cause the Indian economy to grow at a slower clip this year than previously expected.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red trailing Wall Street losses triggered by the US Federal Reserve boss’ signal of an aggressive monetary policy tightening cycle and the ongoing economic impact of Covid-19 restrictions in China. European markets were trading lower as traders ramped up interest rate hike bets following hawkish comments from central bank officials, while German software giant SAP and French luxury goods company Kering dropped after glum first-quarter results.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57349.42, down by 562.26 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 57244.83 and 57689.86. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.54%, while Small cap index was down by 0.22%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.06%, Telecom up by 0.05% and Utilities was up by 0.05%, while Bankex down by 2.03%, Metal down by 1.87%, Healthcare down by 1.64%, Basic Materials down by 1.32% and Realty was down by 1.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.01%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.94%, HCL Tech. up by 0.36%, ITC up by 0.33% and Reliance Industries up by 0.04%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.01%, Axis Bank down by 2.68%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.56%, Indusind Bank down by 2.43% and Bajaj Finserv down by 2.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to deliver healthy growth in the services sector, India is seeking greater market access for its 'AMITY' (Ayush, medicine, IT, textiles and yoga) sectors and a number of goods in the proposed free trade agreement with the UK. India is also looking at mutual recognition of educational degrees in the two countries.

Besides, in goods, the country is seeking greater market access to labour-intensive sectors that can boost India's exports and can be mutually beneficial for both nations. Earlier, India and the UK in March concluded the second round of talks for the proposed free trade pact (FTA), which aims to further strengthen the economic ties.

The negotiating teams of both sides will hold the third round of talks next week. Meanwhile, the country recently signed economic cooperation and trade agreements with Australia and the UAE to boost trade. Both the pacts would help in promoting trade in services as well.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17222.20, down by 170.40 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 17189.10 and 17315.30. There were 6 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports up by 3.67%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.10%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.98%, HCL Tech up by 0.40% and ITC up by 0.33%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.45%, Cipla down by 3.59%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.98%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 2.79% and Grasim Industries down by 2.77% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 447.80 points or 1.63% to 27,105.26, Taiwan Weighted dropped 102.86 points or 0.6% to 17,025.09, Jakarta Composite lost 50.58 points or 0.7% to 7,225.61, Hang Seng decreased 43.70 points or 0.21% to 20,638.52 and KOSPI was down by 23.50 points or 0.86% to 2,704.71. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 7.11 points or 0.23% to 3,086.92 and Straits Times was up by 12.41 points or 0.37% to 3,360.87.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 23.78 points or 0.31% to 7,604.17, France’s CAC decreased 78.83 points or 1.17% to 6,636.27 and Germany’s DAX was down by 162.15 points or 1.12% to 14,340.26.