Bourses trade near low points of day on profit booking

Domestic equity indices magnified their losses and were trading near low points of the day in late morning deals on account of profit booking after recent rallies. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were also trading lower in the range of 0.35-0.75%. Weak global cues were dampening investors' sentiments amid the rate hike fears in the US after the strong ADP jobs data. Also, escalating US-China tensions and rising recession fears in China dented market sentiment. Further, depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar too weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 7 paise to 82.67 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market owing to increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following weak cures from global markets overnight as a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Wednesday's hawkish Federal Reserve minutes. Back home, the sectoral indices, except Consumer Durables, on the BSE were trading in red led by Utilities, Power, Bankex, Realty and PSU. In the stock specific development, Praj Industries soared after the firm signed a term sheet with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to advance plans to strengthen biofuels production capacities in India.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65440.55, down by 345.09 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 65435.57 and 65898.98. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.73%, while Small cap index down by 0.37%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Consumer Durables up by 0.99%, while Utilities down by 1.08%, Power down by 1.04%, Bankex down by 0.85%, Realty down by 0.83% and PSU down by 0.77% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan up by 2.56%, Sun Pharma up by 0.38%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.15%, TCS up by 0.07% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.02%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.63%, Power Grid down by 1.62%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.44%, Tata Motors down by 1.28% and ICICI Bank down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that securitisation volumes, originated primarily by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs), are estimated at Rs 53,000 crore in Q1 FY24, reflecting a strong growth of 60% over the Rs 33,000 crore securitised in Q1 FY23. 

The report stated that the securitisation volumes, combining both direct assignments and pass-through certificates, have been witnessing a healthy recovery after the impact of the Covid-19 waned and had registered full-year volumes of Rs 1,80,000 crore in FY23, close to the pre-pandemic numbers. It also said historically, mortgage-backed loans accounted for the largest share of the overall securitisation volumes at 30-40%, followed by vehicle loans and microfinance loans. In Q1 FY24, mortgage-backed loans again accounted for one-third share of the total volumes. 

According to the report, HDFC, which has been the single largest originator over the last few years, continued to be the top originator in Q1 FY24. However, it said following its recently concluded merger with HDFC Bank, it is unlikely to carry out any further loan sell-down.  As a result, it noted that the share of mortgage-backed loans is expected to reduce to 20-25% of the total volumes. It added that vehicle loans are expected to become the largest asset class in the securitisation space as strong construction and mining activities would drive loan volume growth in the near term.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19394.30, down by 103.00 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 19390.25 and 19523.60. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan up by 2.44%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.65%, SBI Life up by 1.25%, Sun Pharma up by 0.52% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 1.83%, Indusind Bank down by 1.76%, Hindalco down by 1.68%, Power Grid down by 1.58% and Apollo Hospital down by 1.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 72.63 points or 0.44% to 16,689.54, Hang Seng declined 41.4 points or 0.22% to 18,491.65, KOSPI dropped 30.13 points or 1.18% to 2,526.16, Jakarta Composite plunged 26.93 points or 0.4% to 6,730.40, Straits Times fell 12.05 points or 0.38% to 3,138.38 and Nikkei 225 slipped 315.82 points or 0.96% to 32,457.20. However, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.89 points or 0.12% to 3,209.46.