Markets cut some losses in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks cut some losses in late morning session, but remained in red terrain on the back of mixed cues from other Asian markets. Losses got cut, after India's manufacturing sector activities witnessed faster growth in April amid quicker increases in production as well as factory orders, and renewed expansion in international sales. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 54.0 in March to 54.7 in April, as a retreat of COVID-19 restrictions continued to support demand.

However, weak trade continued over the Dalal Street, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the Report on Currency and Finance for 2021-22 stated that the country’s economy may take more than a decade to overcome the losses emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report has estimated the output losses during the pandemic period at around Rs 52 lakh crore. The Report said ‘the perturbations from repeated waves of COVID-19 have come in the way of sustained recovery and the quarterly trends in GDP essentially followed the ebbs and flows of the pandemic’.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.5. 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 56720.30, down by 340.57 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 56412.62 and 56821.85. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.85%, while Small cap index was down by 0.96%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.15%, Oil & Gas up by 0.05% and Energy up by 0.03%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.87%, IT down by 1.78%, Telecom down by 1.73%, Capital Goods down by 1.72% and TECK down by 1.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.86%, NTPC up by 1.76%, Power Grid up by 1.32%, HDFC up by 1.30% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.92%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.65%, SBI down by 2.65%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.34%, Titan Co down by 2.30% and Larsen & Toubro down by 2.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the growth of eight core infrastructure industries slowed down to 4.3 per cent in March against 12.6 per cent in the year-ago period due to a decline in the output of coal and crude oil. Though for the full 2021-22 fiscal, the core sector recorded a 10.4 per cent expansion as compared to a contraction of 6.4 per cent in 2020-21. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight increased by 7.6 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 19.2 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 6.2 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 8.9 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Fertilizers production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 15.3 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 0.7 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 3.7 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 16.9 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 8.8 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 20.8 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 4.9 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 7.8 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year.

On the flip side, Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight declined by 0.1 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021, while its cumulative index increased by 8.5 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over corresponding period of the previous year. Crude Oil production having 3.4 per cent weight declined by 3.4 per cent in March, 2022 over March, 2021 and its cumulative index declined by 2.6 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16995.75, down by 106.80 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 16917.25 and 17024.25. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.01%, HDFC up by 1.29%, Power Grid up by 1.25%, Coal India up by 1.01% and UPL up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 3.24%, Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 3.15%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.86%, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.76% and Wipro down by 2.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 55.01 points or 0.2% to 26,902.91, while KOSPI fell 9.45 points or 0.35% to 2,685.60.