Benchmarks add some losses in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks added losses in morning deals, amid weak global cues. Traders remained cautious as S&P Global Ratings in its latest report has stated that polarization in the performance of Indian banks may persist in 2023 as many large public-sector banks are still saddled with weak assets, high credit costs, and poor earnings. Similarly, the agency expects a mixed-bag performance for finance companies (fincos). It said the asset quality of these fincos is often weaker than that of major private-sector banks. Some concern also came as a private report said taking binding commitments on new issues like environment, labour and sustainability in the proposed free trade agreements (FTA), being negotiated by India, may hamper the country's exports in the future. Meanwhile, according to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 618.37 crore on November 17.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as hawkish comments from a top U.S. Federal Reserve official and signs of continued labor market tightness led some investors to worry about more aggressive interest rate hikes in the United States. Back home, stocks related to gems and jewellery industry remained in watch as ICRA in its latest report has said that the domestic jewellery industry, which recorded healthy sales during the festival period, is expected to witness 12 per cent growth during this financial year compared to the previous fiscal. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61607.84, down by 142.76 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 61566.22 and 61929.88. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.40%, while Small cap index was down by 0.09%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Bankex up by 0.23%, while, Consumer Durables down by 0.76%, Auto down by 0.59%, Power down by 0.47%, TECK down by 0.43% and Utilities down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.78%, Axis Bank up by 0.62%, Asian Paints up by 0.40%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.36% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.27%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.19%, NTPC down by 1.01%, Titan Co down by 0.93% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry has said that it is planning to amend the guidelines for the allocation of slots for airlines, wherein it has proposed to review the allocation every six months. A slot authorises an airline to operate a flight at a particular airport during a specific time.

Under the proposal, the ministry has proposed changing the frequency of review of the slot allocation every six months from the current practice of one year. As per the proposed change, historic precedence is only granted for a series of slots if the airline can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the coordinators that the series was operated at least 80 per cent of the time during the period allocated in the previous season.

The ministry has sought comments on the proposal till November 28. The country's civil aviation sector is slowly coming back to normal after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18288.65, down by 55.25 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 18282.50 and 18394.60. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.69%, Tata Motors up by 0.41%, Axis Bank up by 0.41%, Divi's Lab up by 0.38% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.43%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.31%, Grasim Industries down by 1.27%, Titan Co down by 1.22% and NTPC down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 35.22 points or 0.24% to 14,500.01, Nikkei 225 slipped 26.00 points or 0.09% to 27,904.57, Straits Times trembled 10.80 points or 0.33% to 3,275.24 and Shanghai Composite declined 3.51 points or 0.11% to 3,111.92.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 4.91 points or 0.2% to 2,447.81, Jakarta Composite soared 38.07 points or 0.54% to 7,083.06 and Hang Seng increased 100.80 points or 0.56% to 18,146.46.