Benchmarks trade in red terrain in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks traded in red terrain in morning deals, due to losses in Oil & Gas, Utilities and Power stocks. Traders remained cautious as exchange data showing that Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 890.64 crore on Monday. However, losses remain capped as traders took some support with SBI Research in its latest Ecowrap report stating that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to pause their interest rate hike and the current 6.5 per cent repo rate could be the terminal rate for now. The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for the first week of April 2023. Meanwhile, Markets regulator Sebi has simplified the procedural requirements for onboarding of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in a bid to facilitate ease of doing business and to reduce the time taken for their registration. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as sentiment improved after First Citizens BancShares agreed to take on deposits and loans from failed Silicon Valley Bank.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57582.92, down by 70.94 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 57575.55 and 57949.45. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.51%, while Small cap index was down by 0.62%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE were Metal up by 0.38%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.37%, Utilities down by 1.31%, Power down by 1.28%, Telecom down by 1.16% and Energy down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 0.86%, TCS up by 0.42%, Tata Steel up by 0.29%, Titan Company up by 0.28% and NTPC up by 0.23%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.66%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.58%, Tata Motors down by 1.43%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.21% and Asian Paints down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has said that India will be looking to push the rupee trade agenda in the G-20 meetings it is organising as part of its ongoing presidency of the forum. Barthwal said rupee trade will be of help, especially with those countries whose currencies are under pressure.

He stated ‘Definitely, we would like to see that rupee trade also happens, particularly those countries which are facing issues.’ He also said that the issue of rupee trade is not directly linked with the G-20 forum. It can be noted that as of now, India has been successful in forging agreements with 18 countries since embarking on the agenda of settling trade in the rupee amid currency volatility last year. India is the President of G-20 in the current term.

About 100 delegates from various G-20 countries, special invitee countries and international organisations will be attending the three-day meeting in the financial capital from Tuesday (March 28, 2023). The ministry has already prepared five priority areas to be discussed at the meeting, Barthwal said, adding that the deliberations will be the stepping stones for the final G-20 leaders meeting in September.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16951.95, down by 33.75 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 16946.80 and 17061.75. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 1.40%, Coal India up by 1.01%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.00%, Indusind Bank up by 0.74% and UPL up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 4.02%, Adani Enterprises down by 2.83%, BPCL down by 2.58%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.85% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 139.76 points or 0.71% to 19,707.45, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.57 points or 0.05% to 3,252.97, KOSPI increased 17.46 points or 0.72% to 2,426.68, Jakarta Composite gained 28.33 points or 0.42% to 6,737.26, Straits Times rose 10.02 points or 0.31% to 3,249.05 and Nikkei 225 surged 13.7 points or 0.05% to 27,490.57.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted lost 129.08 points or 0.82% to 15,701.23.