Sensex, Nifty extend losses in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended their losses in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading near their intraday low points. Positive cues from other Asian markets failed to relief traders on the street, with selling was intensive at Bankex and IT counters. Some concerns came with rating agency ICRA in its recent research report said that the evolving global macroeconomic headwinds could moderate growth for Indian IT services industry over the medium term. It has cited that given the Indian IT services industry generates about 60-65 per cent of revenues from the US market and 20-25 per cent from the European market, it remains susceptible to macroeconomic uncertainties and adverse regulatory changes in these key operating markets.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the private sector in Hong Kong continued to contract in December, albeit at a slower rate, with a PMI score of 49.6. That's up from 48.7 in November, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Business activity in the Hong Kong SAR private sector improved in December, buoyed by the easing of COVID-19 restrictions which also enabled lead times to shorten. Although slight, the rise in activity marked the first expansion of private sector output since August.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60321.29, down by 336.16 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 60317.85 and 60877.06. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.87%, Auto up by 0.87%, FMCG up by 0.81%, Energy up by 0.68% and Metal up by 0.66%, while Bankex down by 0.67%, IT down by 0.56%, TECK down by 0.48%, Consumer Durables down by 0.37% and Utilities down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.44%, ITC up by 1.25%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.00%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.91% and Sun Pharma up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 7.31%, Bajaj Finserv down by 5.12%, ICICI Bank down by 1.81%, Power Grid down by 1.28% and Titan Company down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said that retail sales of overall vehicles in India grew by 15.28 per cent to 2,11,20,441 units in 2022 led by record sales of passenger vehicles and tractors. In 2021, total retail sales of vehicles in India were at 1,83,21,760 units.

FADA said two-wheelers retail sales stood at 1,53,88,062 units last year, a growth of 13.37 per cent from 2021 when sales stood at 1,35,73,682 units. Passenger vehicles (PV) retail sales were at 34,31,497 units in 2022, as against 29,49,182 units in 2021, up 16.35 per cent. In 2022, commercial vehicles retail sales stood at 8,65,344 units, as against 6,55,696 units in 2021, a growth of 31.97 per cent. Three-wheeler retail in 2022 stood at 6,40,559 units, as compared to 3,73,562 units in 2021, up 71.47 per cent.

In December 2022, it said the total vehicle retail sales were down 5.4 per cent at 16,22,317 units as against 17,14,942 units in the year-ago month. Two-wheelers retail sales stood at 11,33,138 units last month, as against 12,75,894 units in December 2021, a decline of 11.19 per cent. Passenger vehicle retail sales were at 2,80,016 units as compared to 2,58,921 units in December 2021, up 8.15 per cent, while commercial vehicles segment witnessed retail sales of 66,945 units as compared to 60,491 units in December 2021, a growth of 10.67 per cent. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17964.30, down by 78.65 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 17960.25 and 18120.30. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 1.72%, Britannia Industries up by 1.60%, BPCL up by 1.56%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.39% and JSW Steel up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 7.42%, Bajaj Finserv down by 5.17%, ICICI Bank down by 1.84%, Power Grid down by 1.23% and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise down by 1.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 263.23 points or 1.27% to 21,056.34, Nikkei 225 surged 103.94 points or 0.4% to 25,820.80, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 101.92 points or 0.72% to 14,301.05, Straits Times advanced 47.96 points or 1.48% to 3,290.42, Shanghai Composite gained 34.07 points or 1.09% to 3,157.59 and KOSPI rose 8.67 points or 0.38% to 2,264.6, while Jakarta Composite lost 138.48 points or 2.03% to 6,674.76.