Benchmarks trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were trading lower in morning deals, dragged by IT, Telecom and TECK stocks. Traders turned cautious as Finance Ministry in its report on ‘India's external debt’ has said that India's external debt rose by 8.2 per cent year-on-year to USD 620.7 billion as of March 2022. It stated while 53.2 per cent of it was denominated in the US dollar, Indian rupee-denominated debt, estimated at 31.2 per cent, was the second largest. Some concern also came as exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 811.75 crore on Monday. However, losses remain capped as some support came as union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted India's stable economic conditions during COVID-19 pandemic and said that the country has emerged as the trusted partner of the world. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green following China's commitment to step up its economic stimulus efforts, with investors hoping for more clarity ahead of several central bank meetings.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59035.02, down by 210.96 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 59033.89 and 59566.67. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.03%, while Small cap index was down by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.91%, Utilities up by 0.81%, Healthcare up by 0.30%, Oil & Gas up by 0.27% and Energy up by 0.16%, while IT down by 0.82%, Telecom down by 0.60%, TECK down by 0.58%, FMCG down by 0.47% and Bankex down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.42%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.78%, NTPC up by 0.46%, Reliance Industries up by 0.37% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.25%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.28%, Nestle down by 1.27%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.23%, Asian Paints down by 1.12% and Wipro down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Ministry in its report on ‘India's external debt’ has said that India's external debt rose by 8.2 per cent year-on-year to USD 620.7 billion as of March 2022. It stated while 53.2 per cent of it was denominated in the US dollar, Indian rupee-denominated debt, estimated at 31.2 per cent, was the second largest.
It mentioned ‘India's external debt continues to be sustainable and prudently managed. As of end-March 2022, it stood at USD 620.7 billion, growing by 8.2 per cent over the level a year ago. External debt as a ratio to GDP was 19.9 per cent, while reserves to external debt ratio were 97.8 per cent.’ Foreign currency reserves as a ratio to external debt stood slightly lower at 97.8 per cent as of end-March 2022 than 100.6 per cent a year ago.

Further, it said the long-term debt estimated at USD 499.1 billion constituted the largest chunk of 80.4 per cent, while the short-term debt at USD 121.7 billion accounted for 19.6 per cent of the total. The short-term trade credit was predominantly in the form of trade credit (96 per cent) financing imports. Moreover, it stated the sovereign debt at USD 130.7 billion rose higher by 17.1 per cent over its level a year ago, mainly because of the additional allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during 2021-22.

The non-sovereign debt, on the other hand, grew 6.1 per cent to USD 490.0 billion over the level as of end-March 2021, it said, adding commercial borrowings, NRI deposits and short-term trade credit are the three biggest constituents of the non-sovereign debt, accounting for as much as 95.2 per cent. While NRI deposits declined by 2 per cent to USD 139.0 billion, commercial borrowings at USD 209.71 billion and short-term trade credit at USD 117.4 billion rose by 5.7 per cent and 20.5 per cent, respectively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17600.60, down by 65.20 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 17588.50 and 17764.65. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 2.18%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.46%, Cipla up by 1.27%, Power Grid Corp up by 0.94% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.30%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.20%, Nestle down by 1.16%, Britannia Industries down by 1.00% and Asian Paints down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 20.03 points or 0.14% to 14,681.13, Straits Times advanced 10.42 points or 0.32% to 3,225.90, Nikkei 225 surged 3.57 points or 0.01% to 27,623.18, KOSPI rose 1.90 points or 0.08% to 2,405.58, Shanghai Composite gained 32.33 points or 1.01% to 3,232.24 and Jakarta Composite soared 8.24 points or 0.11% to 7,240.12, while Hang Seng decreased 80.85 points or 0.42% to 19,144.85.