Benchmarks extend losses in morning session

Indian equity benchmarks extended their losses in morning session on account of selling in front line blue chip counters, as Bears tightened their grip over Dalal Street. Investors also gear up for the monthly F&O expiry later today. Sentiments were dampened as exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they sold shares worth Rs 760.51 crore. Some anxiety also came with private report stating that Venture capital (VC) investments in Indian startups plunged over 38 per cent in 2022 as economic uncertainty and market volatility affected fundraising and investment activities. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as investors bet the Federal Reserve will trim its rate hikes to tamp down inflation. Some markets in the region were closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60405.00, down by 573.75 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 60404.47 and 60899.21. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.39%, while Small cap index was down by 1.04%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE Realty down by 1.74%, Bankex down by 1.67%, Telecom down by 1.62%, Utilities down by 1.61% and Financial Services down by 1.59%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 0.78%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.71%, Tata Steel up by 0.12% and Nestle up by 0.01%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.92%, Indusind Bank down by 1.99%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.90%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.82% and HDFC Bank down by 1.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its notification has said that fertiliser marketing entities (FME), authorised by the government, have been allowed to file bill of entries at Indian ports for import of urea for agriculture purpose on government account.

This new provision was added in the import policy condition of urea. A bill of entry is a legal document filed by importers or customs clearance agents on or before the arrival of imported goods.

Earlier, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba had said Urea production stood at 187.21 lakh tonnes during April-November period of this fiscal, while imports were at 46.14 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demand. Urea production stood at 250.72 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 fiscal as against 246.05 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 244.58 lakh tonnes in the 2019-20 financial year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17931.30, down by 187.00 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 17930.55 and 18100.60. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 0.82%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.55%, Hindalco up by 0.42% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.07%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 4.72%, SBI down by 2.94%, Adani Enterprises down by 2.11%, Indusind Bank down by 1.93% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 31.8 points or 1.33% to 2,427.06, Straits Times rose 58.37 points or 1.77% to 3,352.08 and Nikkei 225 surged 131.92 points or 0.48% to 27,431.11.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 23.31 points or 0.34% to 6,837.54.