Bears hold tight grip over Dalal Street

Bears were holding tight grip over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in deep red, hit by heavy selling at Utilities and Power counters. Positive cues from other Asian markets failed to support domestic indices, while SBI lost the most among industry leaders. Traders took note of a private report stating that the Centre is likely to cut its 2023-24 (FY24) fiscal deficit in the range of 5.8-5.9 per cent of the GDP from 6.4 per cent in FY23. However, the deficit is expected to remain much larger than the 4-4.5 per cent of the GDP that was usual for decades.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after Japan's leading index decreased more than initially estimated in November to the lowest level in nearly two years. The final figures from a survey by the Cabinet Office showed that the leading index, which measures future economic activity, dropped to 97.4 in November from 98.6 in the previous month. In the initial estimate, the reading was 97.6. Further, this was the lowest score since December 2020, when it was 96.5.

Back home, agri industry stocks were in watch, as the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar said that in the agriculture sector too, due to technology, work has become easier, losses are being reduced and time is being saved. The use of drone technology is being made accessible to farmers. He said farmers will get huge benefits through Digital Agriculture Mission.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60240.99, down by 737.76 points or 1.21% after trading in a range of 60081.36 and 60899.21. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 1.50%, while Small cap index was down by 0.96%.

There were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE, while Utilities down by 2.33%, Power down by 2.25%, Bankex down by 2.17%, PSU down by 2.07% and Realty down by 1.85% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 0.94%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.52% and Tata Steel up by 0.17%. On the flip side, SBI down by 4.02%, Indusind Bank down by 2.86%, HDFC Bank down by 2.32%, ICICI Bank down by 2.16% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that in the talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, the focus is on what is acceptable to both countries and not allow sensitive issues to scuttle the discussions. He also said that student visas are never part of a FTA. India has recently concluded the sixth round of talks with the UK and the next round will be held soon.

Goyal said FTAs are never negotiated either in newspaper articles, news conferences or in public functions, and these agreements are ‘serious’ functions that happened amongst officials and at higher political levels also discussed when required. That's hardcore negotiations and it has to be a win-win for both countries. Talking about the proposed trade deal with Canada, he said that with Canada, India is looking at an early harvest agreement, which is called an early progress trade agreement. He said ‘in this, we are hoping to capture the low hanging fruits, so that the businesses can start enjoying the fruits faster and when people start seeing the benefits’.

Talking on India's decision to opt out from the trade pillar of the 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the commerce minister said if India would find it in the interest of the country, it will be happy to join that pillar. He said ‘India opted out from the trade pillar because we do not know the final contours, we don't know whether there are any binding commitments, we don't know whether there will be any restrictions which can hurt our manufacturing or hurt our economy.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17888.85, down by 229.45 points or 1.27% after trading in a range of 17846.15 and 18100.60. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 1.04%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.92%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.51%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.45% and Tata Steel up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 6.42%, SBI down by 4.11%, Adani Enterprises down by 3.25%, Indusind Bank down by 2.91% and HDFC Bank down by 2.35% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 95.82 points or 0.35% to 27,395.01, Straits Times rose 55.65 points or 1.69% to 3,349.36 and KOSPI increased 33.31 points or 1.37% to 2,428.57, while Jakarta Composite plunged 32.9 points or 0.48% to 6,827.9.