Sensex, Nifty again fall in red during early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks failed to hold gains in early afternoon deals and again fell in red terrain, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets along with heavy selling at Metal and Industrials counters. Traders got worried, amid a private reports stating that it would be a tough task for the Indian economy to reach the $5-trillion mark a year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 2026-27. Adding more worries among market participants, a parliamentary panel has raised concerns over the marginal budgetary increase in one of the key components of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. It also raised concern over the reduced allocation in the Digital India Land Records Management Programme, saying both the schemes have remarkable impact on the ground.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, after Japan's industrial production declined more than initially estimated in January. The revised data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that industrial production decreased by a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent month-on-month in January, reversing a 0.3 percent increase in December. In the flash report, the rate of fall was 4.6 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57401.47, down by 154.43 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 57158.69 and 57836.84. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.48%, while Small cap index was down by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.91%, Oil & Gas up by 0.78%, Utilities up by 0.61%, Power up by 0.37% and Healthcare up by 0.32%, while Metal down by 3.23%, Industrials down by 0.95%, Capital Goods down by 0.90%, IT down by 0.72% and Bankex down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 2.29%, Nestle up by 1.85%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.62%, Sun Pharma Industries up by 1.42% and Power Grid Corporation of India up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.77%, Indusind Bank down by 3.55%, Wipro down by 1.26%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.00% and Infosys down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce Ministry in its latest data has showed that India's imports from Russia jumped about five times to $41.56 billion during the April-February period of this fiscal due to increasing volume of crude oil shipments from Russia to India. In 2021-22, Russia was India's 18th largest import partner, with imports totaling $9.86 billion.

It stated that from just 0.2 per cent of all oil imported by India, Russia supplied 28 per cent of the total oil imported in January. Russia has become India's fourth largest import source in the first 11 months of the current fiscal. India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been buying Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.

The data showed that imports from China rose by about 6.2 per cent to $90.72 billion during the April-February period. Similarly, imports from UAE increased by 21.5 per cent to $48.88 billion. India's imports from the US grew by about 19.5 per cent to $46 billion during the period.

On the export front, the US emerged as the top destination for Indian exporters during the 11-month period, accounting for 17.5 per cent of the country's total outbound shipments. Exports to the US increased to $70.99 billion as against $68.447 billion during April-February period of 2021-22. As per the data, exports to the UAE increased to $28.63 billion during the April-February period as against $24.95 billion in the year-ago period. However, exports to China dipped to $13.64 billion during the period as against $19.81 billion during April-February period of 2021-22.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16922.40, down by 49.75 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 16850.15 and 17046.70. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 4.47%, Titan Company up by 2.28%, Nestle up by 1.85%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.67% and Asian Paints up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 5.47%, Tata Steel down by 3.73%, Indusind Bank down by 3.57%, JSW Steel down by 2.72% and Wipro down by 1.24% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng declined 354.06 points or 1.81% to 19,185.81, Nikkei 225 slipped 218.87 points or 0.81% to 27,010.61, Taiwan Weighted lost 166.47 points or 1.09% to 15,221.12, Jakarta Composite plunged 53.54 points or 0.81% to 6,574.60, Shanghai Composite weakened 33.63 points or 1.03% to 3,229.68, Straits Times fell 25.52 points or 0.8% to 3,147.40 and KOSPI dropped 1.81 points or 0.08% to 2,377.91.