Local barometers continue to trade in negative territory

Local barometer gauges continued to trade in negative territory in morning session, with Sensex and Nifty plunging 1.11% and 0.98% respectively. Selling in frontline blue chip stocks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC and SBI weighed down sentiment. Traders remained cautious as a United Nations’ report said that global economic growth is projected to slow to 1.9% this year from an estimated 3% in 2022. The report blamed the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine, high inflation and the climate crisis. It said this would mark one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades. Investors have also turned cautious ahead of the Union Budget 2023, which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. Traders overlooked India's President Droupadi Murmu’s statement that most sectors of the economy have shaken off the pandemic effect and this has been possible due to timely and pro-active interventions from the government.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green following the broadly positive cues from global markets, as some upbeat U.S. economic data, including stronger than expected GDP growth and a more than expected surge in economic activity in the fourth quarter, helped to allay fears of an economic slowdown. However, it raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week's US Fed policy meeting.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59536.96, down by 668.10 points or 1.11% after trading in a range of 59390.80 and 60166.90. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.06%, while Small cap index was down by 1.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.09% and Healthcare up by 0.42% while, Oil & Gas down by 4.80%, Utilities down by 4.74%, Energy down by 4.51%, Power down by 4.41% and Telecom down by 3.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 5.95%, ITC up by 1.27%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.92%, HCL Technologies up by 0.69% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.55%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.87%, HDFC down by 2.63%, SBI down by 2.25%, HDFC Bank down by 2.22% and Asian Paints down by 2.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, noting that India has been among the fastest-growing major economies, President Droupadi Murmu has said most sectors of the economy have shaken off the pandemic effect and this has been possible due to timely and pro-active interventions from the government.

She said that in the country's mission 'Sarvodaya' (the upliftment of all), the most encouraging has been the progress made on the economic front.  She mentioned ‘Last year, India became the fifth largest economy in the world. It needs to be underlined that this achievement comes against the backdrop of high economic uncertainties around the world. The pandemic has entered the fourth year, affecting economic growth in most parts of the world.’

Further, she said in its initial phase, COVID-19 also hurt India's economy badly but the country soon came out of the downturn. She stated ‘Guided by our able leadership and driven by our resilience, we soon came out of the downturn, and resumed the growth saga’. Besides, she said the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, in particular, has evoked great response among people at large.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17717.40, down by 174.55 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 17667.80 and 17884.75. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 6.60%, Tata Motors up by 6.05%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 3.18%, Cipla up by 2.21% and ITC up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 4.02%, Adani Enterprises down by 3.02%, ICICI Bank down by 2.77%, HDFC down by 2.65% and Coal India down by 2.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 5.92 points or 0.04% to 14,932.93, KOSPI increased 17.32 points or 0.7% to 2,485.97, Jakarta Composite gained 64.28 points or 0.93% to 6,929.10, Straits Times rose 15.45 points or 0.46% to 3,392.64 and Nikkei 225 surged 21.01 points or 0.08% to 27,383.76.
On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 11.51 points or 0.05% to 22,555.27.