Bourses widen losses in late afternoon session

Indian markets widened their losses in late afternoon session and traded near day’s low points amid heavy selling in Metal stocks. However, broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were trading higher. Markets participants were looking forward to the Q3 GDP growth rate and the second advance estimate for FY23. Sector wise, banking stocks remained in focused, as RBI data showed that bank credit growth slowed down to 16.8% in the October-December 2022 period from a year earlier. This compares with 17.2% seen in the previous quarter. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as China recovery hopes outweighed concerns about further hikes in U.S. interest rates. European markets were trading lower after regional inflation data pointed to more interest rate increases from the European Central Bank, overshadowing any goodwill generated by the new trade deal between the U.K. and the European Union.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58931.07, down by 357.28 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 58795.97 and 59483.72. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.32%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.71%, Power up by 0.58%, Realty up by 0.51%, Consumer Durables up by 0.48% and Auto was up by 0.23%, while Metal down by 2.15%, Energy down by 1.12%, Oil & Gas down by 0.95%, TECK down by 0.76% and FMCG was down by 0.67% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.88%, Power Grid up by 1.21%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.77%, Tata Motors up by 0.60% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.41%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.89%, Reliance Industries down by 1.74%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.50%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.40% and ITC down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to encourage usage of the Test Bed and give a fillip to the development of indigenous technologies/ products in line with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications has offered the usage of 5G Test Bed free of cost to the Start-ups and MSMEs recognised by the Government of India up to January 2024.

All 5G stakeholders i.e. Industry, Academia, Service Providers, R&D Institutions, Government Bodies, Equipment Manufacturers etc. can utilise this facility at a very nominal rate. Several start-ups and companies are already using the Test Bed for testing their products and services.

The development of this Indigenous Test Bed is a key milestone step for India’s becoming self-reliant in the 5G Technology domain and now leading towards 5G Aatmanirbhar Bharat. This Test Bed is providing the Indigenous capability for testing and validation of 5G products being developed and manufactured by Indian start-ups, MSME, R&D, Academia and industry users. This has resulted in huge cost efficiency and reduced design time due to which Indian 5G products are likely to become market competitive globally.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17303.05, down by 89.65 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 17255.20 and 17440.45. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 14.34%, Adani Ports up by 6.32%, Asian Paints up by 2.91%, Power Grid up by 1.25% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 3.78%, Hindalco down by 2.60%, Coal India down by 1.77%, Tata Steel down by 1.74% and Reliance Industries down by 1.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 21.6 points or 0.08% to 27,445.56, Shanghai Composite strengthened 21.58 points or 0.66% to 3,279.61, KOSPI increased 10.21 points or 0.42% to 2,412.85 and Straits Times was up by 3.43 points or 0.11% to 3,266.67. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 11.54 points or 0.17% to 6,843.24 and Hang Seng was down by 157.57 points or 0.8% to 19,785.94.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 32.12 points or 0.4% to 7,902.99, France’s CAC fell 26.14 points or 0.36% to 7,269.41 and Germany’s DAX was down by 45.24 points or 0.29% to 15,336.19.