Benchmarks trade marginally lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased most of their initial losses to trade marginally lower in morning deals, as global sentiments turned tepid following financial turmoil in global markets. However, most of losses got trimmed as traders found support with IMF senior representative to India Luis Breuer stating that the RBI was doing the right thing on rate hikes, and added that there was need for more. Breuer also said the Budget’s focus on prudence and fiscal consolidation was a good step that will reduce and stabilise public debt, which is quite high in the country compared to other G20 countries. Some support also came as Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal stating that the government is expected to release the new five-year foreign trade policy (FTP) by the end of this month, with a view to promoting the country's outbound shipments of goods and services. On the global front, Asian markets are trading lower as rising concerns over the health of the global banking system and uncertainty over rate hike trajectory in Europe and the US continued to rattle investors.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57485.74, down by 70.16 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 57158.69 and 57611.98. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.46%, while Small cap index was down by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.25%, FMCG up by 0.77%, Oil & Gas up by 0.66%, Utilities up by 0.51% and Power up by 0.37%, while Metal down by 3.05%, Industrials down by 1.09%, Capital Goods down by 1.06%, IT down by 0.44% and Telecom down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 3.01%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.58%, Nestle up by 1.96%, Asian Paints up by 1.19% and Power Grid Corporation up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 4.00%, Indusind Bank down by 2.53%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.23%, ICICI Bank down by 1.12% and Infosys down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has said indigenous electronics production is expected to reach Rs 8.42 lakh crore and export Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the current financial year (FY23).  He said India's share of global exports has increased to around 1.8 per cent in the current year from 1.2 per cent last year.

He mentioned  the domestic production of electronic items is expected to reach Rs 8.42 lakh crore ($105 billion) in the current FY 2022-23 as compared to Rs 6.40 lakh crore ( $87.35 billion) in FY 2021-22 and is targeted to reach $300 billion by 2025-26.

He also said that the export of electronic goods has increased from Rs 39,978 crore ($5.96 billion) in FY 2016-17 to Rs 1,09,797 crore in FY 2021-22 ($14.6 billion), exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.39 per cent. According to data shared by the minister, Karnataka led the electronics exports chart with exports worth $3,898 million (about Rs 3.22 lakh crore), followed by Uttar Pradesh $3,792 million (Rs 3.13 lakh crore).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16943.40, down by 28.75 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 16850.15 and 16995.40. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 4.15%, Titan Company up by 2.93%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.44%, Nestle up by 2.28% and Divi's Lab up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.35%, Tata Steel down by 3.96%, Indusind Bank down by 2.75%, JSW Steel down by 2.63% and ONGC down by 1.61% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Taiwan Weighted lost 150.74 points or 0.98% to 15,236.85, Hang Seng declined 294.28 points or 1.53% to 19,245.59, Shanghai Composite weakened 16.14 points or 0.5% to 3,247.17, KOSPI dropped 3 points or 0.13% to 2,376.72, Jakarta Composite plunged 49.41 points or 0.75% to 6,578.73, Straits Times fell 22.5 points or 0.71% to 3,150.42 and Nikkei 225 slipped 260.62 points or 0.96% to 26,968.86.