Bourses continue to reel under pressure

Indian equity markets suffered with deep cut in late afternoon session despite positive global sentiment. The overall market breadth was negative as 2476 shares were declining and 1012 were advancing, while 116 shares were unchanged on the BSE. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were too reeling under selling pressure. Weakness in select banking and IT shares dragged key gauges lower. Traders were cautious ahead of U.S. GDP data. Sector wise, fertilizer sector remained in limelight after 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.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could ease the pace of rate increases, citing slowing wage and inflation growth. European markets were trading mostly in green as data out of the eurozone showing an uptick in business activity in the region’s services and manufacturing sectors.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60350.32, down by 628.43 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 60081.36 and 60899.21. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.80%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.47% and Auto was up by 0.11%, while Utilities down by 2.14%, Power down by 2.09%, Bankex down by 1.93%, Telecom down by 1.68% and PSU was down by 1.66% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.31%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.28%, Tata Steel up by 0.75%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.19% and NTPC up by 0.03%. On the flip side, SBI down by 3.42%, Indusind Bank down by 2.92%, HDFC Bank down by 2.36%, HDFC down by 1.98% and ICICI Bank down by 1.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar said that science and technology are developing rapidly in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the application of Science and Technology has increased in every field and this sector is one of the priorities for the Central Government.

Underlining the benefits of science and technology, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister 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.

Based on the way research is being done in the agriculture sector, the Minister noted that in the coming days, India will increase its production and productivity by using technology. He said ‘Along with fulfilling the country’s needs, we will also be successful in discharging our responsibilities toward the world.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17933.15, down by 185.15 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 17846.15 and 18100.60. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.03%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.38%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.27%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.71% and Tata Steel up by 0.66%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 5.47%, SBI down by 3.39%, Cipla down by 2.99%, Indusind Bank down by 2.91% and HDFC Bank down by 2.38% 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 52.19 points or 1.58% to 3,345.90 and KOSPI was up by 33.31 points or 1.37% to 2,428.57. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 30.92 points or 0.45% to 6,829.93.

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 10.63 points or 0.14% to 7,767.99, France’s CAC rose 1.98 points or 0.03% to 7,052.46 and Germany’s DAX was down by 7.21 points or 0.05% to 15,085.90.