Benchmarks continue to trade in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in red in morning deals, due to losses in Telecom, Consumer Durables and TECK stocks. Traders remained cautious as National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 533.20 crore on April 17. Traders also took a note of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for urgently addressing India's trade imbalance with Russia even as he described the partnership between the two countries as among the steadiest of major relationships globally. However, losses remain capped as traders took some support with report that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is aiming to get a clear picture of the country's logistics costs in the next four months. At present, the government is going by certain estimates, which suggest that India's logistics cost stands at about 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product).

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red even as data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the first quarter, as the end of strict COVID curbs lifted businesses and consumers out of crippling pandemic disruptions, although headwinds from a global slowdown point to a bumpy ride ahead. Gross domestic product grew 4.5% year-on-year in the first three months of the year, faster than the 2.9% in the previous quarter and beating street forecasts for a 4.0% expansion.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59766.48, down by 144.27 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 59717.29 and 60113.47. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.11%, PSU up by 0.22%, Bankex up by 0.22%, Auto up by 0.16% and FMCG up by 0.06%, while Telecom down by 0.53%, Consumer Durables down by 0.43%, TECK down by 0.38%, IT down by 0.36% and Capital Goods down by 0.26% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.05%, HCL Technologies up by 0.75%, HDFC Bank up by 0.48%, Tata Motors up by 0.45% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.54%, Reliance Industries down by 1.51%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.10%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.87% and TCS down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ICRA has said that the Indian road logistics industry is expected to clock a high single-digit growth this fiscal (FY24) on an elevated base of the previous year. It added that the outlook is stable. It also expects the demand momentum to continue in FY24, aided by stable domestic consumption and investment demand.

It mentioned the downside risks to the estimates remain from any material tapering of demand due to high inflationary and interest rate regime, the emergence of any further Covid waves, or a sub-par monsoon impacting the overall economic health, given its strong linkage to economic activity on an aggregate basis.

According to it, quarterly revenues for the logistics sector witnessed a marginal contraction of 2 per cent in Q3 FY23, compared to the earlier quarter of the same year. Following two quarters of stable demand, economic activity was uneven in the third quarter of the previous fiscal despite robust demand for contact-intensive services and upbeat sentiment during the festive season. It stated ‘We expect the revenues in Q4 FY2023 to be better than Q3, supported by favourable demand and realisations.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17672.65, down by 34.20 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 17650.50 and 17766.60. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.12%, Eicher Motors up by 1.11%, HCL Technologies up by 0.95%, Coal India up by 0.83% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.59%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.40%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.38%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.16% and Power Grid Corp down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 86.19 points or 0.54% to 15,877.36, Hang Seng declined 201.11 points or 0.97% to 20,581.34, Shanghai Composite weakened 4.56 points or 0.13% to 3,381.05, KOSPI dropped 8.1 points or 0.31% to 2,567.81 and Straits Times fell 13.78 points or 0.42% to 3,305.48.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 129.39 points or 0.45% to 28,644.17 and Jakarta Composite gained 36.5 points or 0.53% to 6,824.08.