Bourses trim some losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets witnessed some recovery in late afternoon session but continued to trade in red. Buying in TCS, Tech Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki helped the markets to cut some losses. There were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. The overall market breadth was negative as 2270 shares were declining and 1178 were advancing, while 145 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Investors were worried ahead of minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting which is due later in day, which could impact the outlook for interest rates, as well as the release of the closely watched monthly US jobs report on Friday. Sector wise, IT sector remained in limelight as IT majors like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies is all set to release their third-quarter results.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after reports emerged that the wave of COVID infections sweeping across China may already have peaked in some of the country's largest cities. European markets were trading higher as a lower inflation reading from France boosted sentiment, while investors awaited euro zone business activity data and minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last meeting.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60945.86, down by 348.34 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 60633.32 and 61327.21. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.63%, while Small cap index was down by 0.42%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 2.06%, Realty down by 1.61%, Utilities down by 1.19%, Power down by 1.01% and PSU was down by 0.99%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.57%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.82%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.41%, Asian Paints up by 0.29% and TCS up by 0.28%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.74%, Tata Motors down by 1.55%, Tata Steel down by 1.44%, Wipro down by 1.39% and HDFC Bank down by 1.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector growth expanded further in the month of December, with a quicker upturn in new business boosting output growth. More jobs were created and companies remained strongly upbeat towards the year-ahead outlook for business activity. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global

India Services PMI Business Activity Index surged to 58.5 in December from 56.4 in November. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- improved to 59.4 in December from 56.7 in November.

The report noted that new business received by Indian services companies increased for the seventeenth month in a row in December. Moreover, the rate of expansion was sharp and the fastest since August. It further said that Indian service providers readjusted their capacities to accommodate for rising new business via further recruitment drives in December. The pace of job creation was above its long-run average, but eased to a five-month low.

On the inflation front, input costs at services companies rose further, with companies mentioning wage pressures and higher prices for energy, food and transportation. The overall rate of inflation quickened from November and was above its long-run average. By sector, input cost inflation was most acute in Consumer Services. As a result of a further increase in business expenses, firms lifted their own selling prices at the end of the year. The rate of charge inflation eased from November, but remained solid and historically elevated. Finance & Insurance topped the rankings for output charge inflation for the second month running.

Meanwhile, predictions of further improvements in demand and marketing plans continued to support business confidence in December. Companies were at their least upbeat in three months, but the overall level of positive sentiment remained above its long-run average. Competitive pressures and inflation concerns dampened overall optimism.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18125.60, down by 106.95 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 18037.85 and 18243.00. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.54%, Divi's Lab up by 1.23%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.19%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.81% and Eicher Motors up by 0.64%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 3.18%, Coal India down by 2.77%, Hindalco down by 2.69%, ONGC down by 2.21% and Power Grid down by 1.74% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 slipped 377.64 points or 1.45% to 25,716.86, Jakarta Composite lost 75.52 points or 1.1% to 6,813.24, Taiwan Weighted dropped 24.99 points or 0.18% to 14,199.13 and Straits Times was down by 3.97 points or 0.12% to 3,241.83. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 7.01 points or 0.22% to 3,123.52, KOSPI rose 37.30 points or 1.68% to 2,255.98 and Hang Seng was up by 647.82 points or 3.22% to 20,793.11.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 16.42 points or 0.22% to 7,570.51, France’s CAC increased 85.76 points or 1.29% to 6,709.65 and Germany’s DAX was up by 168.39 points or 1.19% to 14,350.06.