Bourses trade at day’s low points in late afternoon session

Local equity markets have magnified their losses in late afternoon session, hovering near the lowest points of the day on account of selling in IT, Metal and Banking counters. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index also widened their losses. TCS, Indusind Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the prime losers. Traders were concerned ahead of first advance estimates of economic growth for 2022-23 to be released later in the day by National Statistical Office. The first advance estimates of national income for 2022-23 is significant because the data is used for preparing the Budget of the central government for next financial year of 2023-24. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid optimism surrounding China's reopening and expectations of more stimulus to support domestic demand. European markets were trading mostly in green ahead of key inflation data for the euro zone, which is expected to show a further slowdown in consumer price increases.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59745.56, down by 607.71 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 59674.44 and 60537.63. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.87%, while Small cap index was down by 0.86%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK down by 1.93%, IT down by 1.81%, Bankex down by 1.51%, Metal down by 1.22%, Telecom down by 1.20%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 0.54%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.50%, Nestle up by 0.38% and ITC up by 0.27%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.23%, Indusind Bank down by 2.95%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.68%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.35% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has stressed on the need to adopt new technologies in farming to help raise the income of farmers. He said ‘with new age, there is a need to adapt to new technologies. Ensuring these technologies reach every farmer in India, in Meghalaya and help raise their income is the need of the hour.’

The minister said farmers and farming should always be treated with honour as a farmer not only supports his family but also contributes to the agricultural economy of the country and the government's priority has always been to ensure prosperity of farmers and development of agriculture.

Tomar further said ‘northeast is home to different cultures. It is rich in natural resources and is blessed with a good climate. Northeast is the heaven of our country and Meghalaya's geographical scenario is such that we can develop it if we try with all our efforts’. He noted that northeast, despite its challenges, can utilize its resources and contribute in livelihood generation, natural farming and much more.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17820.85, down by 171.30 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 17795.55 and 18047.40. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.87%, SBI Life up by 0.78%, Britannia up by 0.75%, BPCL up by 0.70% and ONGC up by 0.61%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.23%, Indusind Bank down by 2.89%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.69%, JSW Steel down by 2.63% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 153.05 points or 0.59% to 25,973.85, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 72.29 points or 0.51% to 14,373.34, Jakarta Composite soared 30.72 points or 0.46% to 6,684.56, KOSPI rose 25.32 points or 1.12% to 2,289.97 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.42 points or 0.08% to 3,157.64. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 17.08 points or 0.52% to 3,275.58 and Hang Seng was down by 60.53 points or 0.29% to 20,991.64.

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 30.55 points or 0.4% to 7,664.00 and France’s CAC was up by 3.69 points or 0.05% to 6,765.19. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 18.99 points or 0.13% to 14,417.32.