Key gauges continue to trade in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in red terrain in morning deals, following weak trend in Asian markets. Unabated foreign fund outflows also played spoilsport for the markets. As per exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,701.21 crore on Tuesday. However, losses remain capped as Minister for commerce and industry and textiles -- Piyush Goyal expressed hope that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom will be concluded by Diwali. Total trade between India and the UK stood at $16 billion in FY22 (Apr-Feb). Meanwhile, markets regulator Sebi has permitted mutual funds to again invest in foreign stocks within the aggregate mandated limit of $7 billion for the industry. This came in the wake of a major correction in global markets that brought down the valuation of international stocks.

All the Asian markets are trading in red, failing to extend Wall Street's rally, as persistent worries about interest rates and inflation remained a key focus for investors, while the Japanese yen hit a fresh 24-year low against the dollar. Back home, power industry stocks remained in watch as Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that new equated monthly instalment scheme introduced by power ministry can help electricity distribution companies (discoms) save a quarter of their additional payouts and clear around Rs 20,000 crore payments to generation firms (gencos) this fiscal (FY23).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52023.08, down by 508.99 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 51879.78 and 52272.85. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.30%, while Small cap index was down by 0.75%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Auto up by 0.07%, while Metal down by 4.05%, Basic Materials down by 2.27%, Oil & Gas down by 2.00%, Energy down by 1.65% and Capital Goods down by 1.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 0.88% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.14%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.59%, Titan Company down by 2.68%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.66%, Indusind Bank down by 2.58% and Bajaj Finserv down by 2.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister for commerce and industry and textiles -- Piyush Goyal has expressed hope that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom will be concluded by Diwali. Total trade between India and the UK stood at $16 billion in FY22 (Apr-Feb). The UK was India's 17th largest trading partner during the period. A free trade agreement is a trade pact according to international law to form a free trade area between the cooperating states.

Goyal said the government is moving ahead on free trade pacts with Canada, European Union, and the UK. Moreover, he said that Australia, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperation Countries have expressed interest to forge Free Trade Agreements with India, along with Eurasia and Brazil.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Gulf. It was established in 1981 and its six members include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Besides, he stated that apparel, fashion jewelry and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) are three industries where India has to grow.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15463.95, down by 174.85 points or 1.12% after trading in a range of 15426.60 and 15565.40. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.43%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.12%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.94%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.07% and TCS up by 0.02%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 5.67%, Hindalco down by 5.20%, UPL down by 5.13%, Tata Steel down by 3.82% and ONGC down by 3.02% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 17.95 points or 0.07% to 26,228.36, Hang Seng decreased 275.88 points or 1.28% to 21,283.71, Taiwan Weighted dropped 330.34 points or 2.1% to 15,398.30, Jakarta Composite lost 31.11 points or 0.44% to 7,012.96, Straits Times trembled 10.52 points or 0.34% to 3,106.96, KOSPI fell 46.68 points or 1.94% to 2,362.25 and Shanghai Composite declined 13.18 points or 0.4% to 3,293.54.