Markets trade in red in early deals on weak global cues

Indian equity benchmarks have made negative opening and are trading in red in early deals on Tuesday, tracking weak cues from global markets, amid rising crude oil prices. Traders were concerned with private report stating that American brokerage has cut its FY23 real GDP expansion estimate for India by 0.40 per cent to 7.2 per cent on slower global growth. It said the GDP growth will slow down to 6.4 per cent in FY24, adding that this is lower by 0.30 per cent compared to the earlier estimate. Further, there was also cautiousness in the markets as the ministry of food and public distribution has said that rice stocks in the central pool are likely to plunge below the buffer norm by 2.2 million tonne (MT) or 16%, if the free ration scheme - Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) - is extended to the whole of the second half of the current financial year. The ministry said running the scheme for October-March FY23 with the current grain composition will cost the exchequer a massive Rs 90,000 crore if not higher. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly lower following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continued to worry about the economic outlook ahead of next week's US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. The US markets ended lower on Monday after bank stocks erased earlier gains and Apple shares fell on a report saying the company plans to slow hiring and spending growth next year.

Back home, broader indices on BSE are trading with gains in the range of 0.35-0.45%. On the sectoral front, traders were seen piling up position in Auto, Metal, Healthcare, Basic Materials and PSU, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Bankex, Consumer Durables, TECK and IT.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54462.14, down by 59.01 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 54232.82 and 54474.73. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.36%, while Small cap index up by 0.45%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.74%, Metal up by 0.73%, Healthcare up by 0.56%, Basic Materials up by 0.47% and PSU up by 0.32%, while FMCG down by 0.33%, Bankex down by 0.23%, Consumer Durables down by 0.17%, TECK down by 0.15% and IT down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.47%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.45%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.00%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.63% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.89%, HCL Tech. down by 0.80%, Nestle down by 0.71%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.65% and Infosys down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has said that the government has taken several supply-side measures to tame rising inflation. Chaudhary stated the price situation of major essential commodities is monitored by the government on a regular basis and corrective action is taken from time to time. Several supply-side measures have been taken by the government to address inflation and to ensure that the poor do not have to bear the extra financial burden.

He said these include reduction in import duties and cess on pulses, rationalization of tariffs and imposition of stock limits on edible oils and oil seeds, maintenance of buffer stock for onion and pulses, the inclusion of soya meal as an essential commodity in the schedule of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 up to June 30, 2022 and imposition of a stock limit on soya meal up to June 30, 2022.

In addition, he said, measures especially directed towards the poor include the Targeted Public Distribution System, under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) which is the largest public food-security program in the world covering around 80 crore people in the country. Moreover, he said the food security response of the government through Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) combined with the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) serves as a lifeline for the people. The PMGKAY, under which five kg of additional food grains per person per month is provided free of cost to NFSA beneficiaries, is being implemented in various phases since its start in April 2020. Phase VI of the scheme is under implementation till September 2022.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16253.25, down by 25.25 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 16187.05 and 16267.30. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 1.69%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.64%, Tata Steel up by 1.45%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.05% and Eicher Motors up by 0.82%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.04%, HCL Tech. down by 0.97%, Tata Consumer Produc down by 0.93%, SBI Life Insuran down by 0.85% and Nestle down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Straits Times trembled 9.46 points or 0.3% to 3,112.30, KOSPI fell 8.54 points or 0.36% to 2,366.71, Taiwan Weighted dropped 25.63 points or 0.17% to 14,694.01, Shanghai Composite declined 9.58 points or 0.29% to 3,268.52 and Hang Seng was down by 245.83 points or 1.18% to 20,600.35.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 187.58 points or 0.7% to 26,976.05 and Jakarta Composite was up by 41.40 points or 0.62% to 6,700.65.