Bourses trade near day’s low points in late afternoon session

Following weak global cues, Indian equity markets traded near day’s low points in late afternoon session. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were trading with the cut of over a percent. There were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. Strong business activity data following recent robust data on retail sales, the labor market and manufacturing production led investors to anticipate higher rates for longer. Besides, geopolitical tensions are on the rise, with Russia suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty and U.S. President Joe Biden proclaiming 'unwavering' support for the defense of Ukraine and Nato's eastern flank.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as investors fretted about the potential for further Federal Reserve tightening and the impact it has on global growth. European markets were trading lower as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting minutes due later today to gauge the central bank's rate-hiking path going ahead.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59763.69, down by 909.03 points or 1.50% after trading in a range of 59681.55 and 60462.90. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.25%, while Small cap index was down by 1.24%.

The losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities down by 2.28%, Power down by 2.17%, Realty down by 1.97%, Metal down by 1.84% and Bankex was down by 1.66%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The only gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 0.35% and Sun Pharma was up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.78%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.39%, NTPC down by 2.11%, Reliance Industries down by 2.07% and Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 2.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities in the pharmaceutical sector, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has released the first tranche of incentives under the Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of pharmaceuticals amounting to Rs 166 crore to four selected applicants.

Under the Atmanirbharta initiative of the Government, Department of Pharmaceuticals launched the PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals in 2021. The financial outlay under this PLI scheme is Rs 15,000 crore over a period of six years. So far, 55 applicants have been selected under the scheme, including 20 Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).  The financial year of 2022-2023 being the first year of production for the PLI Scheme, DoP has ear-marked Rs 690 crore as the budget outlay.

Against the expected investment of Rs 17,425 crore in the pharmaceutical sector over the scheme period, the scheme has garnered an investment of Rs 16,199 crore by these 55 applicants in the first year of implementation itself. Against the expected employment of 1 lakh over six years scheme period, 23,000 persons have been given employment, so far.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17554.25, down by 272.45 points or 1.53% after trading in a range of 17529.45 and 17772.50. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 0.41%, Divi's Lab up by 0.11%, Cipla up by 0.11%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.10% and Sun Pharma up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 10.35%, Adani Ports down by 5.48%, Grasim Industries down by 3.35%, JSW Steel down by 3.23% and Bajaj Finance down by 2.80% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Nikkei 225 slipped 368.78 points or 1.36% to 27,104.32, Taiwan Weighted lost 144.23 points or 0.94% to 15,418.77, Hang Seng declined 105.65 points or 0.52% to 20,423.84, Jakarta Composite plunged 63.44 points or 0.93% to 6,809.97, KOSPI dropped 41.28 points or 1.71% to 2,417.68, Shanghai Composite weakened 15.37 points or 0.47% to 3,291.15 and Straits Times was down by 13.52 points or 0.41% to 3,293.34.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 82.4 points or 1.03% to 7,895.35, France’s CAC fell 67.41 points or 0.92% to 7,241.24 and Germany’s DAX was down by 136.35 points or 0.89% to 15,261.27.