Key gauges trade flat with negative bias in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat with negative bias in morning deals, amid profit-taking. Traders remained cautious as a private report stated that a sustained surge in Covid cases in China could further exacerbate a contraction in India’s exports to its fourth-largest market in the coming months, as order flow has already been faltering at a steady pace. Street now forecast a 40-45% crash in exports to China this fiscal from $21.3 billion in FY22 if the Covid surge continues through January.  Some concern also came with the exchange data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 497.65 crore on Monday. However, traders took some support with reports that Gross direct tax collections for 2022-23 (up to November 30) are up by 29.66 per cent at Rs 10,93,385 crore, which was over Rs 8,43,301 crore collected during the corresponding period of last year. The growth has been achieved due to the performance of economy, administration and implementation of the provisions of the direct tax laws.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green as traders continue to react to indications that U.S. inflation may be receding after data showed consumer spending and inflation slowed in November. However, this may not enough to discourage the US Fed from driving interest rates to higher levels next year. Back home, textiles stocks remained in watch as the government said that the Rs 10,683-crore production-linked incentive scheme for India's textiles sector attracted investments of Rs 1,536 crore as approval letters were issued to 56 applicants who met the eligibility criteria.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60534.66, down by 31.76 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 60405.66 and 60970.63. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 1.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.32%, Utilities up by 1.24%, Power up by 1.12%, Realty up by 1.10% and Telecom up by 0.93%, while Bankex down by 0.18% and FMCG down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.60%, Tata Steel up by 2.43%, Titan Company up by 0.97%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.78% and Wipro up by 0.50%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.80%, HDFC Bank down by 0.62%, TCS down by 0.48%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.47% and ITC down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has said that the Rs 10,683-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for India's textiles sector attracted investments of Rs 1,536 crore as approval letters were issued to 56 applicants who met the eligibility criteria. Applications under the PLI Scheme for textiles were received through a web portal from January 1, 2022, to February 28, 2022.

The Centre launched the PLI Scheme with an approved outlay of Rs 10,683 crore to promote the production of MMF apparel, MMF fabrics and Products of Technical Textiles in the country to enable the textiles industry to achieve size and scale and to become competitive. Selection Committee chaired by Secretary (Textiles) has selected 64 applicants under the scheme. 56 applicants have completed the mandatory criteria for the formation of a new company and approval letters have been issued to them.

Textiles Ministry said that domestic cotton cultivation has increased by 5 per cent to 125.02 lakh hectares as against 119.10 lakh hectares during last year, and a brand named 'Kasturi Cotton India' for Indian cotton has been launched to encourage mechanized harvesting of cotton, improving its quality of cotton and reduce labour cost. Besides, 74 research proposals amounting to Rs 232 crore have been approved under National Technical Textile Mission (NTTM) for speciality fibre and technical textiles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18007.10, down by 7.50 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 17967.45 and 18134.05. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.68%, Tata Motors up by 2.57%, Tata Steel up by 2.48%, JSW Steel up by 2.42% and ONGC up by 1.84%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.02%, HDFC Bank down by 0.76%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.70%, HDFC down by 0.53% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 74.47 points or 0.28% to 26,480.34, Shanghai Composite gained 23.83 points or 0.78% to 3,089.39, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 56.04 points or 0.39% to 14,341.17, KOSPI rose 8.86 points or 0.38% to 2,326.00, Jakarta Composite soared 57.89 points or 0.85% to 6,893.70 and Straits Times advanced 14.11 points or 0.43% to 3,271.81.