Bourses trade with losses in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks wiped out earlier gains and currently trade with losses in late afternoon session on the back of selling pressure in Metal counter. Besides, worries of central banks raising interest rates for longer still lingered. Traders remained cautious post FOMC minutes. Investors awaited the release of the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index, which is a key price gauge for the Fed, later in the day to assess the prospect for further interest-rate hikes from the U.S. central bank. In scrip specific, Zee Entertainment remained in limelight after the National Company Law Tribunal admitted an Indusind Bank plea for insolvency proceedings against the media firm. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed despite Wall Street snapping a four-day losing streak overnight on the back of better-than-expected fourth quarter profits announced by chip maker Nvidia. European markets were trading higher as investors chew over data releases and more company earnings.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59363.71, down by 242.09 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 59325.34 and 59908.77. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.27%, while Small cap index was down by 0.15%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy was up by 0.02%, while Metal down by 2.34%, Capital Goods down by 1.03%, Auto down by 0.90%, Industrials down by 0.74% and Telecom was down by 0.62% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.09%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.83%, NTPC up by 0.56%, Reliance Industries up by 0.42% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.96%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.88%, Tata Steel down by 1.65%, Tata Motors down by 1.13% and ITC down by 1.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Apparel Export Promotion Council’s (AEPC) Chairman Naren Goenka has expressed confidence that in the coming years, the apparel sector will be able to support the government's efforts to make India a $2 trillion ($1 trillion goods and $1 trillion services) export target by 2030.

The Council Chairman noted that the incentives in the Budget will help the apparel industry focus on market and product diversification. Naren Goenka also said that providing an ease-of-doing-export environment would enhance the sector's competitiveness.

Further, Goenka said that the government's key initiatives such as trade agreement with Australia and the UAE and increase in funds will help the sector to focus on market diversification and product diversification. Meanwhile, AEPC promoted global reach of Indian apparel exports to more than 25 export destinations through its export promotion activities in 2022-23.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17430.60, down by 80.65 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 17421.80 and 17599.75. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 1.08%, Asian Paints up by 1.02%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.84%, Coal India up by 0.74% and NTPC up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 6.58%, Hindalco down by 4.66%, JSW Steel down by 2.41%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.04% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Hang Seng declined 341.31 points or 1.71% to 20,010.04, Taiwan Weighted lost 111.62 points or 0.72% to 15,503.79, Shanghai Composite weakened 20.32 points or 0.62% to 3,267.16 and KOSPI was down by 15.48 points or 0.64% to 2,423.61. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 15.17 points or 0.46% to 3,280.10, Jakarta Composite gained 17.13 points or 0.25% to 6,856.58 and Nikkei 225 was up by 349.16 points or 1.27% to 27,453.48.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.48 points or 0.35% to 7,935.20, France’s CAC rose 25.43 points or 0.35% to 7,342.86 and Germany’s DAX was up by 28.02 points or 0.18% to 15,503.71.