Sensex, Nifty trim gains in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed their gains in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading marginally higher, amid mixed cues from other Asian markets and selling at Realty and Consumer Durables counters. Traders got worried, amid a report stating that the number of insolvency cases increased 25 per cent in the December 2022 quarter, while recovery of debt through the process remained the lowest at 23.45 per cent during the period.

Adding more concerns, a private report stated that a rout in domestic bond markets caused by fresh concerns of an extended monetary tightening cycle has resulted in a spike in borrowing costs for corporate entities as yields on bonds issued by private firms have shot up. Besides, another private report stated that dealmaking activity witnessed a huge decline in January, with only 145 transactions worth USD 2.7 billion being undertaken by India Inc.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Taiwan's export orders declined at a slower-than-expected rate in January. The data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that export orders fell 19.3 percent year-on-year in January. Bookings for plastics and related articles, rubber and related articles declined the most by 49.4 percent annually in January, closely followed by a 48.0 percent plunge in orders for optical, photographic, cinematographic apparatus.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60732.42, up by 40.88 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 60655.78 and 60976.59. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.28%, Utilities up by 1.11%, Capital Goods up by 0.80%, Industrials up by 0.63% and Metal up by 0.41%, while Realty down by 0.76%, Consumer Durables down by 0.34%, TECK down by 0.33%, IT down by 0.31% and Auto down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.61%, Tata Steel up by 1.29%, Power Grid Corporation of India up by 1.09%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.07% and HDFC up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 0.89%, Tata Motors down by 0.85%, Axis Bank down by 0.83%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.82% and Wipro down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the labour ministry has said that retail inflation for farm and rural workers rose to 6.85 per cent and 6.88 per cent, respectively, in January 2023, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. In January last year, the inflation numbers for farm and rural workers was at 5.49 per cent and 5.74 per cent, respectively.

It stated ‘Point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index Agricultural Labourers) and CPI-RL (Rural Labourers) stood at 6.85 per cent & 6.88 per cent in January 2023 compared to 6.38 per cent & 6.60 per cent, respectively in December 2022 and 5.49 per cent’.  It mentioned Food inflation rose to 6.61 per cent and 6.47 per cent, respectively, last month from 5.89 per cent and 5.76 per cent, respectively, in December 2022. For farm and rural workers, the food inflation stood at 4.15 per cent and 4.33 per cent, respectively, in January last year.

Moreover, it stated, in January, the CPI-AL and CPI-RL increased by 3 and 2 points to stand at 1,170 and 1,181 points, respectively, compared to December last year. Among the states, the maximum increase in the CPI-AL was in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu and in the case of rural workers, the highest print was in Tamil Nadu. This was mainly on account of a rise in the prices of wheat-atta, jowar, bajra, onion, vegetables and fruits, and firewood. On the contrary, the maximum decrease in the CPI-AL and CPI-RL was experienced in Assam, primarily due to a fall in the prices of rice, fish-fresh, chillies green, vegetables and fruits, among others.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17849.15, up by 4.55 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 17837.95 and 17924.90. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 3.42%, Tata Steel up by 1.25%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.08%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 1.00% and Power Grid Corporation of India up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.82%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.75%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.33%, Coal India down by 1.01% and SBI Life Insurance Company down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 322.43 points or 1.54% to 20,564.53, Nikkei 225 slipped 58.84 points or 0.21% to 27,473.10, Jakarta Composite plunged 5.25 points or 0.08% to 6,889.47 and Straits Times fell 4.09 points or 0.12% to 3,304.66, while KOSPI increased 3.84 points or 0.16% to 2,458.96, Shanghai Composite strengthened 5.53 points or 0.17% to 3,295.87 and Taiwan Weighted added 11.77 points or 0.08% to 15,563.00.