Domestic indices remain in red; healthcare service providers surge

Domestic equity indices remained in red in late morning deals on mixed global cues. A depreciating rupee, which slipped 7 paise to trade at 82.77 against the US dollar, made traders more nervous. Traders ignored report that  India is set to be the world's fastest growing major economy in the year ahead, as a post-pandemic retail boom and recent bank balance-sheet repairs lure new investment, fueling hot demand for everything from cars to televisions, coal and airliners. On the sectoral front, Healthcare, Realty, Metal, IT and TECK witnessed the maximum gains in trade, while FMCG, Oil & Gas, Energy, Bankex and Capital Goods remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. There was some buzz in steel related stocks as India has imposed an anti-dumping duty on stainless steel seamless tubes and pipe imports from China for five years to remove injury to the domestic industry.

Shares of healthcare service providers were in focus amid reports that Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will review the Covid-19 pandemic situation, in view of a spurt in COVID-19 cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US. Among the individual stocks, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre, Dr Lal PathLabs, Metropolis Healthcare and Thyrocare Technologies were trading higher.  On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amid lingering concerns of aggressive interest rate hikes continuing in to the next year. Back home, in stock specific development, City Union Bank dropped after the private sector lender said that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) found divergence of Rs 259 crore in additional gross NPA for the financial year 2021-22.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61583.54, down by 118.75 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 61527.53 and 62006.46. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.44%, while Small cap index up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.45%, Realty up by 0.85%, Metal up by 0.63%, IT up by 0.49% and TECK up by 0.21%, while FMCG down by 0.63%, Oil & Gas down by 0.35%, Energy down by 0.27%, Bankex down by 0.15% and Capital Goods down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL up by 0.91%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.90%, Sun Pharma up by 0.71%, Wipro up by 0.48% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.28%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 0.79%, ITC down by 0.78%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.66%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.64% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article has said that waning input cost pressures, still buoyant corporate sales and turn-up in investments in fixed assets are heralding the beginning of an upturn in the capex cycle in India which will contribute to a speeding up of growth momentum in the Indian economy. It noted that the balance of risks is increasingly tilted towards a darkening global outlook and emerging market economies (EMEs) appear to be more vulnerable, even though incoming data suggest that global inflation may have peaked.

According to the article, the near-term growth outlook for the Indian economy is supported by domestic drivers as reflected in trends in high-frequency indicators and added that equity markets touched a string of new highs during November buoyed by strong portfolio flows to India. Headline inflation moderated by 90 basis points to 5.9 per cent in November driven by a fall in vegetable prices even as core inflation remained steady at 6 per cent.

The article further said that in December, as India engages in setting out its priorities and deliverables under its G20 Presidency, there is a sense that perhaps her time in the centre of the world's stage has arrived. As the third largest economy in PPP terms, and the fifth largest in terms of market exchange rates, India accounts for 3.6 per cent of G20 GDP while its share in real (PPP) terms is much higher at 8.2 per cent. In 2023, India is projected to be among the fastest-growing economies within G20.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18352.65, down by 32.65 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 18339.00 and 18473.35. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 2.55%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.45%, UPL up by 1.21%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.99% and HCL up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Britannia down by 1.75%, ITC down by 0.82%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.82%, HDFC down by 0.78% and Adani Enterprises down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 166.59 points or 0.63% to 26,401.44, Straits Times trembled 2.69 points or 0.08% to 3,251.28, Shanghai Composite declined 4.55 points or 0.15% to 3,069.22 and KOSPI fell 4.41 points or 0.19% to 2,328.88, while Taiwan Weighted strengthened 64.37 points or 0.45% to 14,234.40, Jakarta Composite soared 19.25 points or 0.28% to 6,787.57 and Hang Seng increased 49.62 points or 0.26% to 19,144.42.