Domestic indices trade with over half percent cut in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued their previous session’s bearish trade with negative start on Friday tracking weakness on Wall Street overnight coupled with lackluster trade in Asian counterparts. Markets are trading lower with over half a percent cut in early deals amid concerns over the country’s economic growth. India Ratings cut the forecast to 6.9 per cent from 7 per cent, joining other institutions who have cut their projections to below 7 per cent since the release of the April-June quarter GDP data. The agency expects the slowdown in the growth of government final consumption expenditure (GFCE) and worsening of net exports to weigh on the FY23 GDP growth. Foreign fund outflows continue to dampen sentiments in markets. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 1,270.68 crore on September 15, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Though, downside remained capped as Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that India is on the path to becoming a 10 trillion-dollar economy in 2030 and the third largest economy in the world by 2047.

On the global front, all the Asian markets are trading lower following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as weak crude oil and bullion prices weigh on energy and materials stocks. Traders also pause to assess the impact of the proposed aggressive interest rate hikes by global central banks in their bid to reign in surging inflation. Back home, aviation industry stocks were in focus as rating agency Icra said domestic air passenger traffic rose 5 per cent to 1.02 crore in August and a fast-paced recovery in the traffic is expected this fiscal on the back of normalcy in flight operations and widening vaccination coverage. In stock specific development, Tata Metaliks gained after the Phase-1 launch of their ductile iron pipe plant at Kharagpur.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59572.89, down by 361.12 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 59395.81 and 59720.56. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.09%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.37% and Healthcare up by 0.19%, while IT down by 1.19%, TECK down by 1.14%, Auto down by 0.85%, Metal down by 0.76%, Telecom down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.88%, Sun Pharma up by 0.97%, Asian Paints up by 0.53%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.51% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.28%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.25%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.21%, TCS down by 1.67%, Wipro down by 1.32% and HDFC down by 1.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s economic growth, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has said that the country is on the path to becoming a 10 trillion-dollar economy in 2030 and the third largest economy in the world by 2047. Puri said that despite the unique challenges posed by the current global setting, India is wedded to the concept of net zero and is committed to making a transition from the world of hydrocarbons to a world where green and sustainable energy will be determining our energy needs.

The Minister also noted that India's progress in ensuring energy security for its citizens and outlined the Government's plans to make the country's energy mix more sustainable and environmentally friendly. He said ‘In the wake of global crises, India has fared extremely well on three fronts - energy, food and fuel. The country was able to navigate out of the crises brought by global headwinds with a degree of confidence, assuring energy availability and affordability. The country's per capita energy consumption is one-third of the global average now and will surpass it in the years to come. India is on becoming to become a 10 trillion-dollar economy in 2030 and the third largest economy in the world by 2047 and therefore there is a growing need to change the energy mix’.

Highlighting the progress in the Energy sector, he said that now a day’s modernization and digitization have become an imperative rather than a choice. He further said ‘By May 2022, India already attained 10% biofuel blending and is on course to reach the 20% mark in a year or two. The Government's attitude has always been positive and supportive and assured that whenever attention is drawn to any area where there is scope for a more supportive environment, interventions required to produce the same will be made’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17775.00, down by 102.40 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 17716.10 and 17820.05. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.36%, Cipla up by 1.38%, Sun Pharma up by 1.02%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.57% and UPL up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.38%, Tata Consumer Products down by 2.33%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.26%, TCS down by 1.72% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.44% were the top losers.
 
All the Asian markets are trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 288.68 points or 1.04% to 27,587.23, Straits Times fell 2.95 points or 0.09% to 3,265.03, Hang Seng dropped 76.13 points or 0.40% to 18,854.25, Taiwan Weighted lost 130.55 points or 0.89% to 14,539.49, KOSPI declined 25.31 points or 1.05% to 2,376.52, Jakarta Composite plunged 120.22 points or 1.65% to 7,185.38 and Shanghai Composite was down by 30.78 points or 0.96% to 3,169.14.