Markets continue to trade in red amid global sell-off

Indian equity markets continued to trade lower in late morning deals on the back of selling by funds and retail investors. Sentiments remained downbeat as recession worries gripped world markets after Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates by 75 bps for the third consecutive time and forecast they would reach 4.6 percent in 2023, stepping up their fight to curb inflation that's persisted near the highest levels since the 1980s. The market sentiment was further being weighed down by the weakness in rupee which fell by 51 paise to 80.47 against the US dollar. In stock specific development, Aptus Value Housing Finance India rallied even as the broader markets remained under pressure owing to global cues.

On the global front, Asian markets were mostly trading in red following the negative cues from US markets overnight, after the US Fed raised interest rates by another three-quarter of a percentage point to their highest level since early 2008. Back home, on the sectoral front, FMCG, IT, Auto, Industrials and TECK witnessed the maximum gains in trade, while Bankex, Oil & Gas, Energy, Power and Utilities remained top losers on the BSE sectoral space.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59094.96, down by 361.82 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 58973.07 and 59403.05. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.33%, while Small cap index down by 0.05%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.86%, IT up by 0.21%, Auto up by 0.17%, Industrials up by 0.15% and TECK up by 0.13%, while Bankex down by 1.30%, Oil & Gas down by 1.04%, Energy down by 1.00%, Power down by 0.84% and Utilities down by 0.84% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.46%, ITC up by 1.45%, Nestle up by 0.91%, TCS up by 0.75% and Asian Paints up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.99%, Power Grid Corp down by 2.25%, HDFC down by 1.70%, Axis Bank down by 1.68% and ICICI Bank down by 1.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the apex body of India's export promotion councils, has stated that Indian exports to the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) grew by 44 per cent to about $43.9 billion in 2021-22 fiscal year compared to previous fiscal's $27.8 billion with the UAE leading the trade with a remarkable 68 per cent growth.

FIEO said paper and allied products exports to the GCC touched $638 million in 2021 with the UAE taking a major share in the trade at $386 million. In the case of the paper industry, India has a 16 per cent market share in GCC and the target is to corner a 25 per cent market share by 2027 with the signing of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with other Gulf countries. India and the UAE signed the CEPA in February 2022 which came into force on May 1, 2022. The cumulative demand for paper and allied products in the GCC market is estimated to be over $3.8 billion.

It further said that the export prospects will further scale up since zero-duty access for Indian products to the UAE is expected to expand over 5-10 years to 97 per cent of UAE tariff lines, or 99 per cent of Indian exports by value. FIEO has been aggressively pushing to enhance India’s exports to the GCC region. In the current financial year, FIEO has planned various activities for the development of India’s export to the region, including exhibitions, B2B delegations, interactive sessions and capacity building programs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17585.20, down by 133.15 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 17580.40 and 17708.25. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.43%, ITC up by 1.42%, Eicher Motors up by 1.30%, Nestle up by 0.64% and Asian Paints up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.15%, SBI Life Insuran down by 2.67%, Power Grid Corp down by 2.66%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.82% and Axis Bank down by 1.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets were mostly reading in red; Nikkei 225 fell 138.15 points or 0.51% to 27,174.98, Straits Times dropped 7.83 points or 0.24% to 3,254.03, Hang Seng plunged 369.36 points or 2.00% to 18,075.26, Taiwan Weighted lost 152.86 points or 1.06% to 14,271.66, KOSPI declined 12.66 points or 0.54% to 2,334.55 and Shanghai Composite was down by 12.41 points or 0.40% to 3,104.77. However, Jakarta Composite rose 14.71 points or 0.20% to 7,203.02.