Bourses trade at day’s lowest points in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded at day’s lowest points in late afternoon session ahead of weekly F&O expiry. IT, metal and Oil& Gas counters were on the priority list of the sellers. Traders paid no heed towards report that Fitch Ratings raised its forecast for India’s economic growth to 6.3 per cent for current fiscal year 2023-24 from 6 per cent it had predicted previously. This is primarily because of a stronger outturn in the first quarter and near-term momentum. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red with markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan closing for the Dragon Boat Festival. Besides, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed that more interest rate increases are likely ahead. European markets were trading mostly in red with sentiment remaining sour after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell forecast more rate hikes this year, saying that “the process of getting back down to 2% has a long way to go.”

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63,255.29, down by 267.86 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 63263.35 and 63601.71. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.99%, while Small cap index was down by 0.60%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.10% and Capital Goods was up by 0.03%, while Power down by 1.35%, Utilities down by 1.16%, Telecom down by 1.08%, PSU down by 0.99% and IT was down by 0.90% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.04%, HDFC Bank up by 0.83%, HDFC up by 0.82%, ICICI Bank up by 0.67% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.19%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.07%, NTPC down by 1.76%, Tata Motors down by 1.72% and Power Grid down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings in its latest report has raised India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points to 6.3 per cent for current fiscal year (FY24) from 6 per cent it had predicted previously. This is primarily because of a stronger outturn in the first quarter and near-term momentum.

The Fitch noted that the GDP growth in January-March was higher than expected, adding that there has been a recovery in manufacturing, after two consecutive quarterly contractions, a boost from construction and an increase in farm output. In expenditure terms, GDP growth was driven by domestic demand and a boost from net trade.

The agency had in March lowered its forecast for 2023-24 to 6 per cent from 6.2 per cent citing headwinds from elevated inflation and interest rates along with subdued global demand. For 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years, it estimated a growth of 6.5 per cent each.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18,783.20, down by 73.65 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 18778.00 and 18886.60. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 0.92%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.82%, HDFC up by 0.75%, HDFC Bank up by 0.73% and ICICI Bank up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.28%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.25%, Tata Consumer down by 1.94%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.64% and NTPC down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Taiwan Weighted lost 89.65 points or 0.52% to 17,184.91, Jakarta Composite plunged 25.6 points or 0.38% to 6,660.46, Straits Times fell 20.94 points or 0.65% to 3,220.23 and KOSPI was down by 4.59 points or 0.18% to 2,604.91. On the global front, Nikkei 225 was up by 18.49 points or 0.06% to 33,388.91.

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC fell 24.57 points or 0.34% to 7,289.48 and Germany’s DAX was down by 102.43 points or 0.64% to 16,098.77. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 2.79 points or 0.04% to 7,591.27.