Domestic indices trade flat with negative bias in early deals

Indian equity indices made negative start on Wednesday amid lackluster global cues and rising crude oil prices. Markets trimmed some of their losses and are trading flat with negative bias in early deals. Subdued foreign flows weighted down on the domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 867.65 crore on December 27, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. Some cautiousness also came in as the latest data on public debt showed that the total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 147.19 lakh crore at September-end from Rs 145.72 lakh crore at the end of June this fiscal year. In percentage terms, it reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1 per cent in second quarter of 2022-23. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has said GST taxpayers will be required to reverse by November 30 the input tax credit (ITC) claimed in the last fiscal in case their suppliers fail to deposit the due tax by September 30.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious in the last week of 2022 amid lingering concerns about the economic outlook and the prospects of interest rate hikes continuing in to the next year. Besides, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in November. However, China's decision to end travel restrictions and quarantine for inbound travelers from January 8, symbolizing an end to its zero-Covid policy, capped the downside.

Back home, banking stocks were in limelight as the RBI in its 'Trends and Progress of Banking in India' report for FY22 said the GNPAs, which touched a peak in FY18 following the asset quality review, have been declining sequentially to reach 5 per cent in September. In stock specific development, India Pesticides rose as its arm received environmental clearance for new plant.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60877.54, down by 49.89 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 60713.77 and 60929.66. There were 14 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.22%, Consumer Durables up by 1.16%, Power up by 1.16%, Auto up by 0.44%, Industrials up by 0.17%, while IT down by 0.58%, TECK down by 0.55%, Oil & Gas down by 0.32%, Energy down by 0.22%, Realty down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 2.37%, Power Grid up by 1.34%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.03%, Asian Paints up by 0.92% and NTPC up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.87%, TCS down by 0.77%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.76%, Reliance Industries down by 0.55% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry in its the quarterly report on public debt management has said that the total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 147.19 lakh crore at September-end from Rs 145.72 lakh crore at the end of June this fiscal year. In percentage terms, it reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1 per cent in second quarter of 2022-23. Public debt accounted for 89.1 per cent of total gross liabilities at September-end 2022, up from 88.3 per cent as on June 30.

It said nearly 29.6 per cent of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years. During the second quarter, it said, the central government raised Rs 4,06,000 crore through dated securities, as against notified amount of Rs 4,22,000 crore in the borrowing calendar, while repayments were at Rs 92,371.15 crore. It said the weighted average yield of primary issuances hardened to 7.33 per cent in Q2 FY23 from 7.23 per cent in Q1 FY23, and added that the weighted average maturity of new issuances of dated securities was lower at 15.62 years in Q2 as compared to 15.69 years in Q1.

During July-September 2022, the central government did not raise any amount through Cash Management Bills. The Reserve Bank did not conduct Open Market operations for government securities during the quarter. It said the net daily average liquidity absorption by RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) including Marginal Standing Facility and Special Liquidity Facility was at Rs 1,28,323.37 crore during the quarter. It said the yields on government securities in secondary market hardened in short-end curve due to near-term inflation and liquidity concern though softening of yield was observed for the longer tenure securities during the second quarter.

It said Monetary Policy Committee decided to hike the policy repo rate by 100 bps, i.e., from 4.90 per cent to 5.90 per cent during Q2 largely with an intention to contain inflation. The ownership pattern of central government securities indicates that share of commercial banks stood at 38.3 per cent at September-end 2022 as against 38.04 per cent on June 30. With regard to foreign exchange reserves, the report said, it stood at USD 532.66 billion as on September 30, 2022, moderated from USD 638.64 billion on September 24, 2021. Between July 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the rupee depreciated by 3.11 per cent. The value of rupee against the dollar as on July 1 stood at 79.09 as against 81.55 on September 30.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18116.55, down by 15.75 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 18068.35 and 18131.25. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Company up by 2.45%, Power Grid up by 1.20%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.02%, NTPC up by 0.88% and Asian Paints up by 0.72%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 0.86%, Infosys down by 0.77%, TCS down by 0.77%, BPCL down by 0.75% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.72% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 165.74 points or 0.63% to 26,282.13, Taiwan Weighted lost 177.32 points or 1.24% to 14,151.11, KOSPI declined 51.31 points or 2.20% to 2,281.48 and Jakarta Composite was down by 56.39 points or 0.81% to 6,866.64. On the other hand, Straits Times added 1.32 points or 0.04% to 3,267.70, Hang Seng surged 448.02 points or 2.29% to 20,041.08 and Shanghai Composite was up by 1.37 points or 0.04% to 3,096.94.