Bourses continue to reel under pressure in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to reel under pressure in late afternoon session on account of heavy selling in Metal counter. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading with the cut of over a percent. The US banking crisis remained at the centre of attraction of the markets participants. Traders also continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. Meanwhile, India and the European Union (EU) concluded the fourth round of talks for a comprehensive free trade agreement in Brussels, a move aimed at further strengthening economic ties between the two sides. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower amid signs of a deepening crisis in the financial system, lingering fears of a global recession and anxiety ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week. European markets were trading lower after clocking their worst week since September 2022 amid volatility in the banking sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57277.57, down by 712.33 points or 1.23% after trading in a range of 57084.91 and 57829.23. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.64%, while Small cap index was down by 1.39%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 2.76%, Realty down by 2.27%, PSU down by 1.71%, IT down by 1.68% and Industrials was down by 1.57%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.37%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.22%, Titan Company up by 0.11% and Sun Pharma up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 5.18%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.10%, Tata Motors down by 2.90%, Indusind Bank down by 2.78% and Tata Steel down by 2.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said target of the Government is to increase electronics manufacturing capability to Rs 24 Lakh crore by 2025-26, which will also help create over 10 lakh jobs.

The Minister further said that if the Government at the Centre and those in states worked in tandem with shared goals, the momentum of economic development gets enhanced. He said ‘Like in a train, if you use more horsepower to achieve greater velocity and acceleration, the economic opportunities and development also are more robust and assured, if there is a common goal shared by the states and the Centre’.

Chandrasekhar also noted that Young Indians are driving the country’s progress in India’s Techade. There are more than 90,000 startups, including 110 unicorns, in which Young Indians are playing a big part. They have achieved their success due to their hard work and efforts and not because of any connections or famous last name.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16891.35, down by 208.70 points or 1.22% after trading in a range of 16828.35 and 17066.60. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.25%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.48%, Divi's Lab up by 0.20%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 0.19% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.11%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 5.20%, Adani Enterprises down by 4.62%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.15%, Hindalco down by 3.59% and Tata Motors down by 2.94% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Hang Seng declined 517.88 points or 2.73% to 19,000.71, Nikkei 225 slipped 388.12 points or 1.44% to 26,945.67, Jakarta Composite plunged 65.75 points or 0.99% to 6,612.49, Straits Times fell 53.79 points or 1.69% to 3,129.49, Taiwan Weighted lost 32.99 points or 0.21% to 15,419.97, KOSPI dropped 16.49 points or 0.69% to 2,379.20 and Shanghai Composite was down by 15.64 points or 0.48% to 3,234.91.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 92.88 points or 1.27% to 7,242.52, France’s CAC fell 56.47 points or 0.82% to 6,868.93 and Germany’s DAX was down by 173.34 points or 1.17% to 14,594.86.