Domestic indices trim opening losses in early deals

Bears made come back on the Dalal Street with negative start on Thursday as global sentiments turned weaker after the US Federal Reserve indicated another rate hike this year post a 25 basis point increase in March meeting. But, soon markets managed to trim some of their losses and are trading lower with marginal cut in early deals. Initially, some cautiousness came in as Fitch Ratings said India has some room to cut capital expenditure in FY24 as there may be pressure on revenue as the buoyancy assumptions in the Union budget may be inflated. Though, markets later took some support amid foreign fund inflows. The National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) have turn net buyers for first time in last 10 straight sessions, buying shares worth Rs 61.72 crore on March 22.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders reacted to the US Fed's decision to raise interest rate by 25 basis points and signaled another rate hike despite recent turmoil in the banking industry. Indonesia market is closed for the Saka New Year holiday.

Back home, metal stocks were buzzing as Icra revised its outlook for domestic steel demand to 7-8 per cent for the next fiscal. Earlier, the ratings agency had estimated the demand to grow in the range of 6-7 per cent. In stock specific developments, Hindustan Aeronautics declined after the government proposed to sell up to 3.5 percent of its stake via OFS. Hero MotoCorp rose on price hike announcement.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58097.98, down by 116.61 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 57838.85 and 58103.63. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.08%, Utilities up by 1.03%, Telecom up by 0.61%, Metal up by 0.41%, Healthcare up by 0.30%, while IT down by 0.62%, PSU down by 0.52%, TECK down by 0.39%, Bankex down by 0.12%, Energy down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 1.00%, Tata Motors up by 0.88%, Indusind Bank up by 0.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.69% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.67%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.48%, HCL Technologies down by 1.04%, Wipro down by 0.86%, Reliance Industries down by 0.72% and Infosys down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a Commerce Ministry-led inter-ministerial delegation took part in the second Indo-Pacific economic framework for prosperity (IPEF) negotiations in Indonesia, where it reiterated that the framework will deepen the economic engagement and promote inclusive development through enhancement in trade and investment in the region.

On the sidelines of the negotiating round (which were held between March 13 and March 19), India's chief negotiator and other representatives also held bilateral meetings with IPEF countries and other stakeholders concerned. Discussions were held on all the four pillars of the IPEF namely trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy (taxation and anti-corruption).

IPEF partners have committed to an aggressive negotiating schedule throughout 2023 with the objective of realising concrete benefits to enhance a shared vision for economic competitiveness and prosperity in their respective economies. Negotiators from 13 other countries, including the US, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia among others also participated in the Bali negotiating round.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17124.00, down by 27.90 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 17045.30 and 17124.55. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 1.14%, Tata Motors up by 1.11%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.98%, Divi's Lab up by 0.93% and Hero MotoCorp up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.51%, HCL Technologies down by 1.00%, Wipro down by 0.94%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.78% and Infosys down by 0.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 137.27 points or 0.7% to 19,728.70, Taiwan Weighted added 77.9 points or 0.49% to 15,838.36 and KOSPI increased 0.11 points or 0% to 2,417.07. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 slipped 82.93 points or 0.3% to 27,383.68, Straits Times fell 4.53 points or 0.14% to 3,216.45 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.49 points or 0.02% to 3,265.26.