Indian equity markets traded near neutral lines with negative bias in late afternoon session amid higher treasury yields continued jitters over sharp rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading lower. Traders took note of report that negotiations for the proposed trade pact between India and the UK are moving in the right direction, and both sides are expected to reach an agreement soon. India and the UK are negotiating the pact to boost trade and investments between the countries. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as looming central bank rate meetings cast a shadow over largely resilient corporate earnings so far which have failed to dispel downbeat investor sentiment. European markets were trading mostly in green as investors assessed new German economic data, a sharp rise in bond yields, and political chaos in the U.K. Back home, IndusInd Bank continued to trade lower even after it has reported 57% rise in Q2 consolidated net profit.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59048.62, down by 58.57 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 58791.28 and 59123.58. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.79%, while Small cap index was down by 0.27%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.94%, TECK up by 0.93%, IT up by 0.82%, Energy up by 0.67% and Telecom was up by 0.60%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.03%, Bankex down by 0.81%, Auto down by 0.69%, Realty down by 0.66%, Capital Goods down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech up by 1.78%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.55%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.17%, Nestle up by 1.14% and Infosys up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.37%, Asian Paints down by 2.56%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.46%, HDFC down by 1.32% and Axis Bank down by 1.03% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings in its latest report has said that India's external buffers are sufficient to cushion risks associated with rapid monetary policy tightening in the US and high global commodity prices, and risk to the sovereign rating from external pressure is limited. It expects the country's foreign exchange reserves to remain robust and current-account deficit (CAD) to be contained at a sustainable level and reach 3.4 percent of GDP this fiscal year, up from 1.2 percent in the last financial year.
According to the report, risk to India's sovereign rating from external pressures is limited. It said public finances remain the key driver of the rating and India is relatively insulated from global volatility due to the sovereign's limited reliance on external financing. India's foreign reserves fell by almost $101 billion in January-September 2022, but are still large at around $533 billion.
Fitch said the decline has reversed much of the reserve accumulation that occurred during the pandemic and reflects valuation effects, a widening CAD, and some intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to support the rupee's exchange rate. Reserve cover remains strong at about 8.9 months of imports in September.
This is higher than during the ‘taper tantrum’ in 2013, when it stood at about 6.5 months, and offers the authorities scope to utilise reserves to smooth periods of external stress. Large reserves also provide reassurance about debt repayment capacity. Short-term external debt due is equivalent to only about 24 per cent of total reserves.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17511.05, down by 1.20 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 17421.00 and 17524.65. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 4.17%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.87%, HCL Tech up by 1.76%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.60% and ONGC up by 1.53%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.34%, Asian Paints down by 2.45%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.75%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.50% and HDFC down by 1.34% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 250.42 points or 0.92% to 27,006.96, Hang Seng decreased 231.06 points or 1.4% to 16,280.22, Taiwan Weighted dropped 30.66 points or 0.24% to 12,946.10, KOSPI fell 19.35 points or 0.86% to 2,218.09 and Shanghai Composite was down by 9.33 points or 0.31% to 3,035.05. On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 2.04 points or 0.07% to 3,024.84 and Jakarta Composite was up by 120.23 points or 1.75% to 6,980.65.
European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 1.26 points or 0.02% to 6,926.25 and France’s CAC was up by 8.43 points or 0.14% to 6,049.15. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 65.88 points or 0.52% to 12,675.53.
