Bourses trim some losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets pared some of their losses in late afternoon session ahead of U.S. payrolls data. However, broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are trading in green. Losses got restricted after finance ministry said the windfall tax on locally produced crude oil has been cut to Rs 4,900 per tonne from Rs 10,200 per tonne. Separately, it also reduced the windfall tax on high-speed diesel for exports to Rs 8 per litre from Rs 10.5 per litre. This includes a cess of Rs 1.5 per litre. Besides, Finance Ministry has said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues rose by 11 per cent to about Rs 1.46 lakh crore in November 2022 over Rs 1,31,526 crore GST revenues in the same month last year. This is the ninth straight month when collections from GST has remained above Rs 1.40 lakh crore. Besides, in October 2022 the collection was highest at Rs 1.52 lakh crore. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as optimism about slower Fed rate hikes faded and recession worries took center stage. European markets were trading lower as investors closely monitored news from China over its zero-Covid policy and looked ahead to U.S. non-farm payrolls data.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62,877.33, down by 406.86 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 62679.63 and 63148.59. There were 6 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.69%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.72%, Metal up by 0.65%, Industrials up by 0.26%, PSU up by 0.26% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.12%, while Auto down by 1.06%, Power down by 0.98%, Utilities down by 0.85%, TECK down by 0.70% and Bankex was down by 0.58% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.22%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.12%, Reliance Industries up by 0.35%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.30% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.40%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.80%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.58%, Nestle down by 1.52% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism, India's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Ruchira Kamboj has said that India is ready to take its place at the global top table as a country that is willing to bring solutions and contribute positively to the global agenda. She also noted that in the last two years, as the world went through various crises, India has always been there as a solution provider.

Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamboj said that India supplied medicines, medical equipment, as well as sent medical teams to countries in need and supplied 240 million doses of vaccines to over 100 countries. In the last four months alone, the country has supplied 1.4 million tons of humanitarian assistance to countries in need including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Yemen, Sri Lanka and Ukraine.

Besides, Ruchira Kamboj underlined that India will work very constructively in the course of the current session of the General Assembly to move the process forward, working off a negotiating text and in full collaboration and cooperation with all UN member states.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18,703.35, down by 109.15 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 18639.20 and 18781.95. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 1.51%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.15%, Tata Steel up by 1.13%, Grasim Industries up by 1.02% and ONGC up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.46%, Tata Consumer down by 1.89%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.82% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.67% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Nikkei 225 slipped 448.18 points or 1.59% to 27,777.90, Hang Seng decreased 61.09 points or 0.33% to 18,675.35, KOSPI fell 45.51 points or 1.84% to 2,434.33, Taiwan Weighted dropped 42.12 points or 0.28% to 14,970.68, Straits Times trembled 28.07 points or 0.85% to 3,264.66, Shanghai Composite declined 9.33 points or 0.29% to 3,156.14 and Jakarta Composite was down by 1.16 points or 0.02% to 7,019.64.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 38.79 points or 0.51% to 7,519.70, France’s CAC decreased 31.11 points or 0.46% to 6,722.86 and Germany’s DAX was down by 29.58 points or 0.2% to 14,460.72.