Benchmarks trade marginally lower in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks gave up initial gains and were trading marginally lower in late morning deals as heavy losses in Telecom, Utilities and FMCG stocks. Traders were concerned on private report stated that the government will not infuse any capital into public sector banks (PSBs) this financial year (FY23). This will happen for the first time since FY08. Some cautiousness also came as foreign investors have pulled out close to Rs 6,000 crore from the Indian equity markets so far this month in the wake of strength in the US dollar against the rupee. With this, the total outflow by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) has reached Rs 1.75 trillion so far in 2022, data with the depositories showed.  However, lower side remained capped as the rupee appreciated 26 paise to 82.62 against the US dollar. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher following the broadly positive cues from US markets overnight. The Japanese markets traded higher with gains in technology and financial stocks. Reports about the US Fed slowing down the pace of rate hikes are also aiding markets’ sentiment. Back home,  there were some buzz in infrastructure related stocks as the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its latest report has said that as many as 384 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 4.52 lakh crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59793.77, down by 37.89 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 59752.34 and 60081.24. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.07%, while Small cap index down by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.62%, Capital Goods up by 0.48%, Metal up by 0.42%, PSU up by 0.39% and Industrials up by 0.33%, while Telecom down by 0.88%, Utilities down by 0.55%, FMCG down by 0.52%, Power down by 0.50% and Realty down by 0.44% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.68%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.64%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.47%, SBI up by 1.01% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.95%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.59%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.52%, Axis Bank down by 1.36% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) Chief Scientist -- Dr Soumya Swaminathan has said that it is very important for India to have a strong regulatory system to remain a leader in the generic medicine and vaccines space. She mentioned ‘I think it's going to be very important for the reputation and ultimately for India to remain as a leader in the generic medicine and vaccines space to prove beyond doubt that we have a very strong regulatory system.’

India has sought more information from WHO about the initial illness, symptoms and treatment provided to the Gambian children who died allegedly after consuming contaminated cough syrups manufactured by a Sonepat-based company. Soumya said pharmaceutical contamination is a serious issue and should be taken seriously.

She stated ‘WHO actually provided the report based on the investigation that was done to prove that it was because of the Diethylene glycol (DEG) contamination, it's a serious issue, I think it has to be taken very seriously.’  She added 'We have the central and the state regulators. We need to look at the rules of operation and see how we harmonise these.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17724.50, down by 6.25 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 17708.75 and 17811.50. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 1.71%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.70%, JSW Steel up by 1.52%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.46% and Grasim Industries up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.92%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.63%, UPL down by 1.53%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.50% and Axis Bank down by 1.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 312.45 points or 1.16% to 27,287.35, Hang Seng increased 132.53 points or 0.87% to 15,313.22, KOSPI rose 4.33 points or 0.19% to 2,240.49, Straits Times advanced 18.08 points or 0.61% to 2,988.03 and Shanghai Composite gained 21.99 points or 0.74% to 2,999.55. However, Taiwan Weighted dropped 149.79 points or 1.17% to 12,707.19 and Jakarta Composite lost 7.15 points or 0.1% to 7,045.89.