Markets come off from day’s low in late afternoon session

Indian markets came off from day’s low in late afternoon session but continued to trade in red. buying in banking counters helped markets to trade near neutral lines, while heavy selling in select IT counters kept key gauges lower. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index turned positive in late afternoon session. Traders remained cautious after a private report stated that India's imports in FY23 rose 16.5 per cent to $714 billion as against $613 billion in FY22, while exports saw a rise of 6% to $447 billion in FY23, up from $442 billion in FY22. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after minutes from the Fed's Open Markets Committee March 21-22 meeting indicated that Fed officials see the U.S. economy entering a 'mild recession' by year's end in the wake of the banking crisis. European markets were trading mostly in red as investors digest key inflation data out of the U.S. released Wednesday.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60314.68, down by 78.09 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 60081.43 and 60423.98. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.12%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.10%, Bankex up by 0.78%, Auto up by 0.37%, Consumer Durables up by 0.34% and FMCG was up by 0.30%, while IT down by 1.94%, TECK down by 1.79%, Capital Goods down by 0.74%, Oil & Gas down by 0.63% and Energy was down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.46%, Power Grid up by 0.99%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.93%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.91% and Indusind Bank up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.55%, HCL Tech down by 2.08%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.07%, NTPC down by 1.71% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that non-bank finance companies (including housing finance companies) are likely to face increased funding challenges in FY24, which is likely to impact their growth aspirations.

As per the report, funding is expected to become more expensive and restricted as lenders realign their pricing as well as funds allocation, factoring in their own increased cost of funds and constraints of their balance sheets. It noted that banks and capital markets together account for most of the funding sources for NBFCs (9MFY23: 73%).

Ind-Ra further said that banks are increasingly facing challenges with many of them approaching near their internal exposure limits, largely public sector banks. While banks’ boards may revisit their exposure limits in FY24, the loan growth in the non-bank segment and high sectoral concentration are likely to weigh on their minds.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17801.70, down by 10.70 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 17729.65 and 17827.85. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.06%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.56%, Apollo Hospital Ent. up by 2.33%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.52% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.55%, HCL Tech down by 2.12%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.01%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.74% and NTPC down by 1.71% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 74.27 points or 0.26% to 28,156.97, Hang Seng advanced 34.62 points or 0.17% to 20,344.48, KOSPI increased 11.02 points or 0.43% to 2,561.66 and Straits Times was up by 7.66 points or 0.23% to 3,293.78. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 8.82 points or 0.27% to 3,318.36, Jakarta Composite plunged 10.68 points or 0.16% to 6,788.28 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 128.21 points or 0.81% to 15,804.76.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 6.51 points or 0.08% to 7,818.33 and Germany’s DAX was down by 12.45 points or 0.08% to 15,691.15. On the flip side, France’s CAC was up by 59.63 points or 0.8% to 7,456.57.