Indian bourses continue to trade under pressure

In line with Asian peers, Indian bourses remained under heavy selling pressure in morning session, on the back of sustained selling activities by market-participants. Sentiments remained downbeat as ASSOCHAM said India Inc is bracing itself for yet another policy rate hike by the RBI Monetary Policy Committee in the range of 35-50 basis points as the move seems unavoidable in the wake of the global monetary tightening to limit the impact of inflation. Market participants overlooked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government was making efforts to keep inflation under 4 per cent and steps were being taken to ensure people get essential goods at fair price and on time.  Meanwhile, Capital markets regulator Sebi has allowed emerging investment vehicles, Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), to issue commercial papers.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading lower on concerns about the impact the aggressive rate increases will have on the global economy. Back home, stocks related to Telecom industry remained in watch as Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, has released the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, under which it has proposed a provision to waive off fees and penalty of telecom and internet service providers. The ministry has proposed provision for refund of fees in case a telecom or internet provider surrenders his license.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58524.32, down by 595.40 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 58406.43 and 59143.32. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.14%, while Small cap index was down by 0.99%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.67%, TECK up by 0.45% and Healthcare up by 0.29%, while Bankex down by 2.03%, Auto down by 1.59%, PSU down by 1.55%, Utilities down by 1.53% and Power down by 1.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.54%, Tata Steel up by 1.40%, HCL Technologies up by 1.13%, Sun Pharma up by 0.45% and ITC up by 0.33%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 3.54%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.12%, Indusind Bank down by 2.70%, HDFC down by 2.56% and Axis Bank down by 2.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said the government is investing nearly $30 billion to ensure last-mile network accessibility for 4G and 5G in every village across the country and build a robust digital infrastructure in the rural areas. Vaishnaw said the government has reached out to over 1.5 lakh gram panchayats to date.

He emphasized ‘We are now creating a whole ecosystem of village entrepreneurs, channelising the energies of youngsters to take good quality, high-speed data connectivity to every village in the country while making them a part of the growth journey.’ He added ‘We have tested this model and approximately 80,000 new connections are now being facilitated every month.’

He said there are three key areas in fintech for the government - building a robust digital infrastructure and a digital regulatory framework, along with social inclusion and the societal imperatives around it.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17455.50, down by 174.30 points or 0.99% after trading in a range of 17419.30 and 17642.15. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 1.68%, Infosys up by 1.62%, Tata Steel up by 1.45%, HCL Technologies up by 1.11% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 3.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.08%, Indusind Bank down by 2.71%, HDFC down by 2.49% and Axis Bank down by 2.40% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading lower; Hang Seng decreased 153.66 points or 0.85% to 17,994.29, Taiwan Weighted dropped 128.37 points or 0.9% to 14,156.26, KOSPI fell 38.86 points or 1.67% to 2,293.45, Straits Times trembled 27.16 points or 0.83% to 3,235.91, Shanghai Composite declined 33.58 points or 1.08% to 3,075.33 and Jakarta Composite lost 31.04 points or 0.43% to 7,187.87.