Markets expand losses in late morning deals

Indian equity markets expanded their losses in late morning deals tracking weakness from US markets. Meanwhile, the session was also proving weak for broader indices which were trading with losses in the range of 0.35-0.50%. Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 36 paise to 81.62 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks. Traders overlooked report that the commerce ministry has stated that India's exports to the UAE, with which a free trade agreement was implemented on May 1, rose by 17.6 per cent to about USD 18 billion during April-October this fiscal (FY23).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as traders closely followed the developments on the geopolitical front following a missile blast in Poland. Back home, in stock specific development, Paytm plunged on reports that Softbank is selling stake worth $200 million in the company via a block deal. However, Timken India soared after the company is planning to set up new manufacturing facility at Bharuch, Gujarat, in order to manufacture Spherical Roller Bearings (SRB), Cylindrical Roller Bearings (CRB), and other components.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61826.14, down by 154.58 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 61768.96 and 62050.80. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.50%, while Small cap index down by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.20%, Industrials up by 0.63%, Consumer Disc up by 0.05% and  Basic Materials up by 0.02%, while Metal down by 1.39%, Consumer Durables down by 1.33%, Auto down by 1.07%, IT down by 0.87% and TECK down by 0.66% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.52%, ICICI Bank up by 0.44%, Power Grid Corp up by 0.32%, ITC up by 0.29% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.22%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 1.85%, Tata Steel down by 1.69%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.63%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.56% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government is all set to increase the regional air connectivity levy charged from airlines operating on major routes to Rs 10,000 per departure from January 1, a move that could push the airfares higher. Currently, the levy is Rs 5,000 per departure and the amount will further go up to Rs 15,000 from April 1 next year.

To fund the regional air connectivity scheme -- UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) -- the civil aviation ministry has been collecting the levy since December 2016. As many as 451 UDAN routes were operational till November 1 this year and more such routes are expected to be added in the coming months. The fares could rise by up to Rs 50 per person once the higher levy comes into force.

Since at least half of the seats in UDAN flights are offered at subsidised fares, the participating carriers are provided a Viability Gap Funding (VGF). The levy is collected towards the VGF, which is shared between the Centre and the states concerned.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18354.95, down by 54.70 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 18350.30 and 18417.60. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.48%, Tata Consumer Products up by 2.05%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.86%, UPL up by 0.57% and ICICI Bank up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.43%, Titan Co down by 1.92%, Tata Motors down by 1.73%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.68% and Tata Steel down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng decreased 405.96 points or 2.22% to 17,850.52, Shanghai Composite declined 24.50 points or 0.79% to 3,095.48, KOSPI fell 27.36 points or 1.1% to 2,450.09 and Nikkei 225 slipped 96.96 points or 0.35% to 27,931.34. However, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 3.03 points or 0.02% to 14,540.38, Straits Times advanced 14.51 points or 0.44% to 3,280.68 and Jakarta Composite soared 2.89 points or 0.04% to 7,017.27.