Bourses continue reel under pressure in late afternoon session

Ignoring positive global cues, Indian equity benchmarks continued their sluggish trade in late afternoon session ahead of key inflation data. Oil & Gas and banking counters witnessed losses. Cautiousness remained in the markets as participants were keenly watching out for IT giants Infosys and HCL Technologies’ December quarter earnings. Climbing oil prices also kept investors nervous. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors were buoyed by China's reopening and optimistic towards U.S. inflation data. European markets were trading higher with investors focusing on more corporate earnings from the retail sector ahead of the release of key U.S. consumer price data. Back home, traders overlooked Domestic rating agency ICRA’s statement 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.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59885.37, down by 220.13 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 59632.32 and 60290.35. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.20%, while Small cap index was down by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.79%, Industrials up by 0.50%, Power up by 0.41%, Utilities up by 0.31% and IT was up by 0.20%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.11%, Energy down by 1.04%, Telecom down by 0.70%, Bankex down by 0.70% and PSU was down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.54%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.51%, HCL Tech up by 1.43%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.91% and HDFC up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.17%, Reliance Industries down by 2.08%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.27%, Tata Motors down by 1.18% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, calling upon investors from across the world to become partners in the progress and growth of Madhya Pradesh (MP), Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has said that Prime Minister Modi always focused on encouraging the development and economic growth in states thereby providing huge opportunities to the people in the remotest parts of India.

Goyal further pointed out that a focused approach to infrastructure development, which in turn creates a strong foundation of economic development, has always been the cornerstone of a developed economy. He further noted that India is today the 5th largest economy of the world and it is rapidly progressing to become the top 3 economies of the world.

Besides, the minister said that it is the right time for India to showcase to the world its growing strengths and increasing contribution to the world. India is once again becoming a Vishwa guru and leading the initiative of taking the world to become a safer place to live in. Also citing examples of One Nation, One Tax, IBC, One Nation One Grid, he said the Government is developing infrastructure like never before.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17839.80, down by 55.90 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 17761.65 and 17945.80. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 1.60%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.52%, HCL Tech up by 1.47%, SBI Life up by 1.35% and JSW Steel up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 3.09%, Axis Bank down by 2.24%, Reliance Industries down by 2.09%, BPCL down by 1.87% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 78.05 points or 0.36% to 21,514.10, Jakarta Composite soared 45.48 points or 0.69% to 6,629.93, KOSPI rose 5.57 points or 0.24% to 2,365.10, Nikkei 225 surged 3.82 points or 0.01% to 26,449.82 and Shanghai Composite was up by 1.61 points or 0.05% to 3,163.45. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 8.79 points or 0.27% to 3,262.72 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 19.80 points or 0.13% to 14,731.64.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 33.86 points or 0.44% to 7,758.84, France’s CAC increased 37.10 points or 0.54% to 6,961.29 and Germany’s DAX was up by 32.71 points or 0.22% to 14,980.62.