Markets extend losses in late afternoon session

Domestic equity indices extended their losses in late afternoon session to trade near intraday low points owing to weakness in IT and financial shares. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were trading mixed. Weak cues from European markets weighted on the domestic sentiments. Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 12 paise to 82.17 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks. There was some buzz in the jewelry industry stocks as GJEPC said India’s overall gem and jewellery exports grew marginally by 2.48 per cent to Rs 3,00,462.52 crore ($37,468.66 million) in 2022-23 due to global challenges like inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war and the lockdown in China for almost six months.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as U.S. Federal Reserve officials delivered mixed signals on future rate hikes. Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said that he sees one more rate hike of 25 basis points, before pausing to see its impact on the economy. European markets were trading lower as investors digest inflation data. U.K. consumer price inflation came in at 10.1% in March, down from 10.4% in February. Back home, in the stock specific development, Prism Johnson (PJL) surged on expectation of improvement in operational performance. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59559.79, down by 167.22 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 59452.72 and 59745.89. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.14%, while Small cap index up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.44%, Healthcare up by 0.31%, Realty up by 0.17%, Auto up by 0.07% and Consumer Durables up by 0.05%, while IT down by 1.53%, TECK down by 1.36%, Power down by 0.97%, Utilities down by 0.82% and PSU down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 0.79%, Axis Bank up by 0.79%, HDFC up by 0.72%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.65% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.24%, HCL down by 2.21%, Infosys down by 1.95%, Asian Paints down by 1.71% and TCS down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) Chairman Sunil H Talati has said that services exports are expected to reach up to $400 billion this fiscal 2023-24, buoyed by a significant jump in exports during 2022-23. During 2022-23, the country's services exports rose by 42 per cent to $322.72 billion from $254 billion in 2021-22.

Talati noted that sectors that contributed to the services exports growth during the last fiscal include travel, transport, medical, and hospitality. He added that the council has been working tirelessly in collaboration with the government to catapult services sector growth with business delegations, B2B meets, and market specific initiatives.

SEPC Chairman also said that as for the key export destinations, India's service exports have historically been concentrated in North America and Europe, but there is also significant potential for growth in emerging markets such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. However, Talati said that certain incentives are necessary to further push the growth rates.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17610.60, down by 49.55 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 17579.85 and 17666.15. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 2.22%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.25%, Axis Bank up by 0.93%, Tata Steel up by 0.84% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.75%. On the flip side, HCL down by 2.27%, Indusind Bank down by 2.21%, Infosys down by 1.85%, Asian Paints down by 1.70% and SBI Life down by 1.58% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 282.75 points or 1.39% to 20,367.76, Shanghai Composite weakened 23.2 points or 0.69% to 3,370.13 and Nikkei 225 slipped 52.07 points or 0.18% to 28,606.76. However, KOSPI increased 3.99 points or 0.15% to 2,575.08, Jakarta Composite gained 34.23 points or 0.5% to 6,821.81 and Straits Times rose 6.56 points or 0.2% to 3,316.12.

European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 fell 28.81 points or 0.36% to 7,880.12, Germany’s DAX dropped 20.97 points or 0.13% to 15,858.97 and France’s CAC was down by 6.20 points or 0.07% to 7,528.61.