Domestic indices remain in deep red in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained in deep red in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Meanwhile, the session was also proving weak for broader indices which were trading with losses in the range of 0.85-1.35%. Weak cues from global markets weighted on the domestic sentiments. Sentiments were weak as investors worried about contagion risks in the global banking system. Further,  traders were also concerned as former Union finance minister P Chidambaram said India is growing but the sequential quarter growth is declining and the economy is ‘losing steam’.  All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Metal, Realty, Auto, PSU and IT.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday. Traders also looked ahead to Wednesday's US Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, expecting the Fed to raise interest rate by 25 basis points. Back home, in the stock specific development, Cochin Shipyard rallied after the company received an international order of Rs 550 crore from Norway-based global logistics solution provider Samskip Group.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57411.82, down by 578.08 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 57263.93 and 57829.23. There was 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.31%, while Small cap index down by 0.88%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 2.01%, Realty down by 1.76%, Auto down by 1.30%, PSU down by 1.25% and IT down by 1.19%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The only gainer on the Sensex was Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.65%, Tata Motors down by 2.33%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.23%, Tata Steel down by 1.82% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste has said that domestic production of special steel under production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for specialty steel will help cut down imports of value-added products and save forex outgo. As many as 27 companies have signed 57 agreements with the government under the first edition of the production-linked incentive (PLI 1.0) scheme for specialty steel.

Kulaste said the government launched PLI scheme for Specialty Steel to become Atmanirbhar in specialty steel output and increase its capacity in order to promote the production of special types of steel in the country and to imbibe the concept of self-reliant India. The domestic production of special grades of steel will not only reduce the country's dependence on imports but also save forex outgo worth thousands of crore. After the success of Rs 6,322-crore PLI 1.0, there are concrete plans to bring in the second edition of the scheme.

The minister said under PLI 1.0, the selected companies will be manufacturing coated/plated steel products, high strength/wear-resistant steel, speciality rails, alloy steel products, steel wires and electrical steel. This will see an additional investment of Rs 30,000 crore in the domestic steel sector, leading to a capacity addition of 25 million tonnes per annum and creating 55,000 new job opportunities. The country is moving towards the increased output of value-added steel and usage of new-age technologies in the sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16933.25, down by 166.80 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 16881.55 and 17066.60. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 1.34%, Divi's Lab up by 0.95%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.81%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.31% and ONGC up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 3.74%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.59%, Hindalco down by 2.72%, Adani Ports down by 2.29% and Tata Motors down by 2.23% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Taiwan Weighted lost 32.99 points or 0.21% to 15,419.97, Hang Seng declined 558.29 points or 2.86% to 18,960.30, Shanghai Composite weakened 2.14 points or 0.07% to 3,248.41, KOSPI dropped 15.39 points or 0.64% to 2,380.30, Jakarta Composite plunged 54.13 points or 0.82% to 6,624.11, Straits Times fell 39.06 points or 1.23% to 3,144.22 and Nikkei 225 slipped 353.13 points or 1.29% to 26,980.66.