Markets magnify losses; Infosys Q4 results eyed

Domestic equity indices magnified their losses in late morning session on account of hectic selling in IT stocks. Weak cues from global markets weighted on the domestic sentiments.  Sentiments were weak as Minutes from the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that Fed officials see the U.S. economy entering a recession in the wake of the banking crisis. Further, traders also remained concerned as the UN Trade and Development Conference (UNCTAD), in its latest Trade and Development Report Update, has said that India's economic growth is projected to decelerate to 6 per cent in 2023 from 6.6 per cent in 2022.  Meanwhile, investors also await more of financial results from India Inc for domestic cues, with Infosys due to post its earnings later in the day.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following weak cues from US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, FMCG, Consumer Durables and Auto, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods and Metal. In the stock specific developments, ONGC and Oil India gained after crude oil prices rose in international market on Wednesday.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60130.25, down by 262.52 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 60113.53 and 60423.98. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.25%, FMCG up by 0.25%, Consumer Durables up by 0.21% and Auto up by 0.04%, while IT down by 2.07%, TECK down by 1.91%, Oil & Gas down by 0.67%, Capital Goods down by 0.61% and Metal down by 0.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 0.76%, Power Grid up by 0.75%, Asian Paints up by 0.57%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.56% and ITC up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.63%, Infosys down by 2.45%, HCL down by 2.39%, TCS down by 1.67% and Wipro down by 1.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in line with easing prices of vegetables and protein-rich items, retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to a 15-month low of 5.66 per cent in March 2023 and came back to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) comfort level of 6 per cent. The CPI was 6.44 per cent in February 2023 and 6.95 per cent in the year-ago period. The previous low was also 5.66 in December 2021. The Reserve Bank has been mandated by the government to ensure inflation remains within the 4-6 per cent bracket. The CPI was above 6 per cent in January and February.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that Rural CPI (General) in March 2023 stood at 5.51 per cent as against 6.72 per cent in February. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 5.89 per cent in March as against 6.10 per cent in February. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 178.0, 176.3 and 177.2 respectively, in March 2023.

The overall inflation in the food basket was 4.79 per cent in March against 5.95 per cent in February and 7.68 per cent in the year-ago period. The food basket has a weightage of 54.18 per cent in the overall CPI. The year-on-year inflation declined in the vegetable basket by 8.51 per cent, oil and fats by 7.86 per cent and meat and fish by 1.42 per cent in March. However, the rate of price rise in spices was high at 18.2 per cent in March, followed by ‘cereals and products’ by 15.27 per cent. Fruits too were expensive.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17750.55, down by 61.85 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 17736.40 and 17827.85. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 2.83%, Eicher Motors up by 2.35%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.56%, Nestle up by 0.82% and Asian Paints up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.43%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.36%, HCL down by 2.33%, BPCL down by 1.85% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.59% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 127.36 points or 0.81% to 15,805.61, Hang Seng declined 145.2 points or 0.71% to 20,164.66, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.94 points or 0.45% to 3,312.24, KOSPI dropped 1.58 points or 0.06% to 2,549.06 and Jakarta Composite plunged 26.91 points or 0.4% to 6,772.05. However, Straits Times rose 2.2 points or 0.07% to 3,288.32 and Nikkei 225 surged 56.1 points or 0.2% to 28,138.80.