Selling pressure drift benchmarks towards day's low points

The Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in deep sea of red in the late afternoon session amid mounting fears of an economic downturn. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading with steep losses. The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2562 shares were declining and 723 were advancing, while 114 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Selling in IT and TECK counters pulled down the markets lower. Traders were cautious after cooking gas LPG price hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after U.S. retail giants Target and Walmart missed earnings expectations by wide margins and issued back-to-back profit warnings, raising concerns over downside risks to growth. European markets were trading lower as investors fret over the impact of the prolonged Ukraine-Russia war, higher interest rates and China's zero-COVID policy on global growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52821.15, down by 1387.38 points or 2.56% after trading in a range of 52802.42 and 53356.04. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.78%, while Small cap index was down by 2.30%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were IT down by 5.29%, TECK down by 5.14%, Metal down by 4.83%, Telecom down by 3.26%, Basic Materials down by 3.09%, while there were no losers on sectoral indices on the BSE.

The only gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.75% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.72%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.92%, Wipro down by 5.74%, Tech Mahindra down by 5.61%, Tata Steel down by 5.27% and HCL Tech. down by 5.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, emphasizing that the revolutionary PM GatiShakti initiative would help solve the problem of haphazard development of infrastructure in the country, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has said that it will help build a secure, sustainable, scalable and collaborative approach towards infrastructure planning.

The Minister further expressed confidence that Information Technology and last mile digital connectivity will have an impact on every sector and would be the foundation of India's growth story in the years to come. He added that Digital India would form the foundation for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The Minister underlined the momentous role that digital connectivity had played in combating the COVID-19 pandemic by enabling quick and easy access to health infrastructure and other support systems the world over. He expressed his appreciation for the rapid pace at which education went online during the pandemic and switched over to edtech. The Minister also highlighted that India had earned the title of being a trusted partner to the world by not letting down a single international commitment.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15809.70, down by 430.60 points or 2.65% after trading in a range of 15809.25 and 15984.75. There were 2 stocks advancing against 48 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 3.45% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 5.95%, Infosys down by 5.92%, JSW Steel down by 5.87%, Tech Mahindra down by 5.62% and Tata Steel down by 5.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 523.60 points or 2.54% to 20,120.68, Nikkei 225 slipped 508.36 points or 1.89% to 26,402.84, Taiwan Weighted dropped 276.54 points or 1.7% to 16,020.32, KOSPI fell 33.64 points or 1.28% to 2,592.34 and Straits Times was down by 32.57 points or 1.01% to 3,192.78. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 10.98 points or 0.36% to 3,096.96 and Jakarta Composite was up by 29.93 points or 0.44% to 6,823.34.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 154.00 points or 2.07% to 7,284.09, France’s CAC decreased 107.42 points or 1.69% to 6,245.52 and Germany’s DAX was down by 247.42 points or 1.77% to 13,760.34.