Benchmarks trade lower amid feeble global cues

Pressurized by feeble global cues, domestic indices were trading lower with cut of over half percent in morning deals amid selling pressure in Bankex, Consumer Durables, IT and FMCG sectors. Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar weighed down on sentiments. Rupee weakened by 38 paise to 81.78 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market. Further, surging crude prices in the international market also impacted the domestic sentiments. Traders also remained concerned as the government data showed that the output of eight core infrastructure sectors grew 3.3 per cent in August -- the lowest in nine months -- as against 12.2 per cent in the year-ago period. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from US markets on Friday, as nervousness persists among investors about the impact of steep rate hikes on economic growth.  Back home, stock specific development, HFCL surged as it has launched 5G Lab-as-a-Service to accelerate rollout of 5G solutions and services.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57042.63, down by 384.29 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 56875.05 and 57454.84. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.06%, while Small cap index up by 0.19%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.41%, Telecom up by 1.25%, Oil & Gas up by 1.22%, Energy up by 1.02% and PSU up by 0.39%, while Bankex down by 1.05%, Consumer Durables down by 1.01%, IT down by 0.84%, FMCG down by 0.76% and Capital Goods down by 0.73% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.56%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.41%, Sun Pharma up by 1.17%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.55% and Reliance Industries up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.25%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.92%, HCL down by 1.49%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.47% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the output of eight core industries grew 3.3 per cent in August 2022 -- the lowest in nine months -- as against 12.2 per cent in the year-ago period. The previous low was in November 2021 at 3.2 per cent. It stood at 4.5 per cent in July 2022. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The production growth of eight infrastructure sectors was 9.8 per cent during April-August this fiscal, compared to 19.4 per cent a year ago.

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 7.6 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 22.7 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery Products–Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 7.0 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 10.8 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Fertilizers production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 11.9 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 11.4 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 2.2 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 5.8 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 1.8 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 10.6 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 0.9 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 10.5 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.

However, crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 3.3 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index declined by 1.1 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight declined by 0.9 per cent in August, 2022 over August, 2021. Its cumulative index increased by 2.6 per cent during April to August, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16995.30, down by 99.05 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 16947.05 and 17114.65. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 5.76%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.36%, Divi's Lab up by 2.02%, NTPC up by 1.75% and Cipla up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.32%, Indusind Bank down by 2.10%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.86%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.66% and HCL Tech. down by 1.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times fell 12.22 points or 0.39% to 3,118.02, Hang Seng slipped 204.21 points or 1.19% to 17,018.62, Taiwan Weighted declined 103.65 points or 0.77% to 13,320.93, KLSE Composite dropped 3.15 points or 0.23% to 1,391.48 and Jakarta Composite was down by 22.32 points or 0.32% to 7,018.48. However, Nikkei 225 rose 126.48 points or 0.49% to 26,063.69.