Bourses trade with volatility in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks wavered between green and red territory as investors taking their position around the neutral lines on the back of mixed global cues. Traders were seen piling up positions in Oil & Gas, PSU and Energy sectors while selling was witnessed in Bank and FMCG sectors’ stocks. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index continued to trade in green. Traders maintained cautiousness approach with data released by the Reserve Bank showing that the country's current account deficit widened to 4.4 per cent of the GDP in the quarter ended September, from 2.2 per cent of GDP during the April-June period, due to higher trade gap. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite lingering inflation concerns and soaring COVID-19 cases in China. European markets were trading lower with investors remaining wary as a brutal year marred by Russia’s war in Ukraine, soaring inflation, and the associated tightening monetary policy comes to an end.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61094.04, down by 39.84 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 61044.43 and 61392.68. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.77%, while Small cap index was up by 1.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.22%, PSU up by 1.20%, Energy up by 1.14%, Realty up by 1.06% and Consumer Durables was up by 1.02%, while Bankex down by 0.17% and FMCG was down by 0.12% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.78%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.80%, Titan Company up by 1.74%, Tata Steel up by 1.03% and Tata Motors up by 0.98%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.37%, HDFC down by 0.94%, Indusind Bank down by 0.91%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.78% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that the funding profile of small and mid-sized non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) is improving, on the back of the resilience exhibited by them during COVID-19 and a build-up of track record.

As per the report, bank lending to NBFCs grew by 31% in September 2022. Large NBFCs tap banks and capital markets both for their funding needs; however, with the increase in rates in capital markets during 1HFY23, they were largely focusing on banking channels. However now with the sharp rise in bank’s lending rates and stable rates in the capital market, large NBFCs could partially move to tap incremental funding through the capital market as well. While mid- & small-size NBFCs are majorly dependent on banks, banks also have selectively gained confidence on these NBFCs based on their performance during the pandemic and support shown by sponsors.

The agency further noted that with the improving funding access, there will be stiff competition among mid- and small-sized NBFCs to the extent they cater to commoditised products such as lending to SMEs through the secured and unsecured routes. Thus, as per the Ind-Ra, this is a key monitorable factor in the medium term.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18184.40, down by 6.60 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 18163.95 and 18265.25. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.86%, ONGC up by 1.97%, Coal India up by 1.94%, Titan Co up by 1.73% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.56%. On the flip side, SBI Life down by 1.94%, ICICI Bank down by 1.62%, HDFC down by 1.00%, Indusind Bank down by 0.97% and Grasim Industries down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 52.67 points or 0.37% to 14,137.69, Hang Seng increased 40.27 points or 0.2% to 19,781.41, Shanghai Composite gained 15.56 points or 0.51% to 3,089.26, Straits Times advanced 8.37 points or 0.26% to 3,257.61 and Nikkei 225 was up by 0.83 points or 0% to 26,094.50. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 9.46 points or 0.14% to 6,850.62 and KOSPI was down by 44.05 points or 1.93% to 2,236.40.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 24.61 points or 0.33% to 7,488.11, France’s CAC decreased 36.85 points or 0.56% to 6,536.62 and Germany’s DAX was down by 73.08 points or 0.52% to 13,998.64.