Domestic indices enlarge losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices enlarged their losses and traded with cut of over half a percent in late morning deals on account of selling by fund and retail investors. Weak cues from other Asian markets dampened domestic sentiments. Sentiments remained weak as caution prevailed ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the day that might influence the Fed rate outlook. Market participants failed to take any support from Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that India and Japan will undertake joint projects for digital transformation in the areas of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and eco-friendly mobility. On the sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Capital Goods, Industrials, Power, Consumer Durables and Utilities, while selling was witnessed in Bankex, Oil & Gas, Energy, FMCG and Telecom.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red despite the broadly positive cues from US markets overnight. Back home, in stock specific development, Sah Polymers made a strong debut, with shares of the packaging company listed at Rs 85, a 31 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 65 per share on the NSE and the BSE on Thursday. Meanwhile, Infosys and HCL Tech will report their December quarter numbers later today.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59756.13, down by 349.37 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 59743.81 and 60290.35. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.17%, while Small cap index down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.60%, Industrials up by 0.32%, Power up by 0.28%, Consumer Durables up by 0.20% and Utilities up by 0.11%, while Bankex down by 0.97%, Oil & Gas down by 0.87%, Energy down by 0.81%, FMCG down by 0.60% and Telecom down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL up by 1.36%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.72%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.48%, HDFC up by 0.42% and Titan up by 0.25%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.37%, Reliance Industries down by 1.67%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.54%, Asian Paints down by 1.15% and ICICI Bank down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that securitisation volumes for FY23 can reach Rs 1.70 lakh crore, as against Rs 1.26 lakh crore in FY22. It said securitisation volumes are estimated to have jumped 58 per cent to Rs 1.17 lakh crore in the April-December 2022 period as compared to the same period last year. At Rs 1.17 lakh crore, the volumes are higher than the retail assets securitisation in the entire FY22, which stood at Rs 1.26 lakh crore.

According to the report, buoyancy in securitisation can be attributed to the stable macroeconomic scenario and high credit growth for non-bank lenders, adding that on a quarterly basis, Q3FY23 volumes grew slightly at 3 per cent over the preceding quarter. After a gap of two years (FY21 and FY22), the current year is witnessing a balanced trend in the securitisation market. It also noted that the volumes in all three quarters stood in the range of 30-35 per cent of the YTD (year to date) securitisation, which contrasts with the last two years when securitisation volumes were impacted in certain quarters due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report stated that the high credit growth has prompted non-bank finance companies and housing finance companies to return to securitisation as a tool for raising funds. Securitisation volumes have long been dominated by mortgage-backed loans, followed by vehicle loans. The trend reversed in Q3FY23 when vehicle loans, at 33 per cent of the total volumes, inched slightly ahead of mortgage loans.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17804.25, down by 91.45 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 17795.85 and 17945.80. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL up by 1.37%, JSW Steel up by 1.01%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.74%, Grasim Industries up by 0.55% and HDFC up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 3.18%, Axis Bank down by 2.34%, Reliance Industries down by 1.72%, BPCL down by 1.66% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Taiwan Weighted dropped 19.80 points or 0.13% to 14,731.64, Straits Times trembled 13.96 points or 0.43% to 3,257.55, Shanghai Composite declined 0.03 points to 3,161.81 and Hang Seng decreased 13.86 points or 0.06% to 21,422.19. However, KOSPI rose 10.29 points or 0.44% to 2,369.82, Jakarta Composite soared 69.55 points or 1.06% to 6,654.00 and Nikkei 225 surged 0.19 points or 0.01% to 26,446.19.