Markets magnify losses in late morning deals

Indian equity markets magnified their losses and were trading with cut of over half a percent, which dragged both the Sensex and Nifty near their psychological 57,900 and 17,050 levels respectively. Meanwhile, the session was also proving weak for broader indices, which were trading with losses in the range of 0.75-1.10%. Weak cues from global markets weighted on the domestic sentiments. Sentiments remained dampened as investors continued to grapple with the fallout of bank failures in the US. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have collapsed, sparking concerns of a financial contagion amid central banks hiking rates to tame inflation. Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 9 paise to 82.33 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks. On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower following mostly negative cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, barring Metal, all other sectoral indices drowned in the sea of red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57912.81, down by 325.04 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 57865.44 and 58490.98. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.77%, while Small cap index down by 1.10%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Metal up by 0.22%, while IT down by 1.42%, Realty down by 1.05%, Bankex down by 1.00%, TECK down by 1.00% and Power down by 0.95% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.08%, Indusind Bank up by 0.75%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.60%, Sun Pharma up by 0.45% and Power Grid up by 0.42%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.43%, HCL down by 2.07%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.72%, Wipro down by 1.70% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA has said that domestic air passenger traffic is projected to have touched around 1.19 crore in February 2023, only about 4 per cent lower compared to pre-Covid levels. Icra has also revised the outlook for the domestic aviation industry to stable from negative, citing a fast-paced recovery in domestic passenger traffic in FY 2023 and the expected continuation of the same in FY 2024.

According to the report, for February 2023, domestic air passenger traffic has been estimated at around 119 lakh, around 5 per cent lower than around 125 lakh in January 2023. However, it witnessed a YoY (Year-on-Year) growth of around 54 per cent, as February 2022 was marginally impacted by the Omicron variant of Covid 19. Domestic passenger traffic in February 2023 was lower by only around 4 per cent compared to the pre-Covid levels (i.e. February 2020).

The report further said for the first 11 months of the current fiscal, domestic passenger traffic is projected at around 12.29 crore, a y-o-y growth of about 65 per cent and lower by around 8 per cent compared to April-February 2020 -- pre-Covid levels. It also said the domestic aviation industry has witnessed improved pricing power, as reflected in improved yields. The industry will regain some pricing discipline, coupled with the marginal decline in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices and relatively stable foreign exchange rates.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17050.85, down by 103.45 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 17038.55 and 17224.65. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 1.12%, BPCL up by 1.05%, SBI Life up by 0.80%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.69% and Indusind Bank up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 6.50%, Adani Ports down by 3.26%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.47%, UPL down by 2.11% and HCL down by 2.08% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Taiwan Weighted lost 175.01 points or 1.14% to 15,385.48, Hang Seng declined 410.83 points or 2.09% to 19,285.14, Shanghai Composite weakened 27.55 points or 0.84% to 3,241.15, KOSPI dropped 57.8 points or 2.4% to 2,352.80, Jakarta Composite plunged 104.77 points or 1.57% to 6,682.19 Straits Times fell 1.86 points or 0.06% to 3,130.51 and Nikkei 225 slipped 654.22 points or 2.35% to 27,178.74.