Domestic indices remain in deep red in morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained in deep red in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Weak cues from global markets weighted on domestic sentiments. Sentiments were weak as investors remain worried about the prospect of prolonged high interest rates. Market participants around the world are nervously awaiting February US jobs data for key insights into the Federal Reserve’s next move. On the sectoral front, Utilities, Power, FMCG  and Oil & Gas witnessed the maximum gains in trade, while Bankex, Capital Goods, IT, Industrials, PSU remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red following the broadly negative cues from US markets overnight. Back home, in the stock specific development, Tata Motors rose as Tata Technologies files DRHP with Sebi. Tata Technologies, a 74.4 per cent subsidiary of Tata Motors, is a global leader in the ER&D segment with focus on the automotive industry. In FY22, it had consolidated revenues of Rs 3,530 crore and a PAT of Rs 440 crore

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59174.80, down by 631.48 points or 1.06% after trading in a range of 58884.98 and 59262.47. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.81%, while Small cap index down by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.84%, Power up by 0.73%, FMCG up by 0.21% and Oil & Gas up by 0.16%, while Bankex down by 1.59%, Capital Goods down by 1.02%, IT down by 0.76%, Industrials down by 0.76% and PSU down by 0.68% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 0.64%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.38%, NTPC up by 0.28%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.28% and ITC up by 0.23%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 2.28%, HDFC Bank down by 2.23%, SBI down by 1.82%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.81% and Axis Bank down by 1.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a joint study carried out by Assocham-Crisil Rating has unveiled that gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of Indian banks are expected to decline 90 basis points (bps) to less than five per cent in FY23 and hit a decadal low of sub-four per cent by March 31, 2024. The study attributed the decline in gross NPAs to the post-Covid economic recovery and higher credit growth.

It said the biggest improvement would be in the corporate loan segment, where gross NPAs are seen falling below two per cent in the next fiscal from a peak of about 16 per cent as on March 31, 2018. This follows significant clean-up of books by banks in recent years, as well as strengthened risk management and underwriting, which has led to higher preference for borrowers with better credit profiles. The steady improvement in corporate asset quality is clearly manifested in key indicators such as the credit quality of bank exposures.

The study noted that the gross NPAs in the MSME segment, which suffered the most during the pandemic, may rise to 10-11 per cent by March 2024 from about 9.3 per cent as on March 31, 2022. It revealed that while relief measures did help contain asset quality deterioration last fiscal, the segment saw the most restructuring, at about six per cent, compared with two per cent for the overall banking sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17422.80, down by 166.80 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 17324.35 and 17451.50. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 0.86%, Divi's Lab up by 0.67%, Tata Motors up by 0.60%, Britannia up by 0.54% and ITC up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 2.36%, HDFC Bank down by 2.19%, HDFC down by 2.13%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.89% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.84% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Taiwan Weighted lost 248.06 points or 1.6% to 15,522.60, Hang Seng declined 471.92 points or 2.37% to 19,453.82, Shanghai Composite weakened 30.04 points or 0.92% to 3,246.05, KOSPI dropped 23.93 points or 0.99% to 2,395.16, Jakarta Composite plunged 47.58 points or 0.7% to 6,752.22, Straits Times fell 31.85 points or 0.99% to 3,182.66 and Nikkei 225 slipped 500.91 points or 1.75% to 28,122.24.