Markets magnify losses in late morning deals

Indian equity markets magnified their losses and were trading with cut of over 0.75% in late morning deals, on account of hectic selling by funds and retail investors. Negative cues from global markets weighed on the domestic sentiments. Sentiments remained weak after the Federal Reserve said it expects interest rates to remain higher for longer. The forecast for rates at the end of 2024 was raised to 5.1 percent from 4.6 percent in June, while the outlook for rates at the end of 2025 was increased to 3.9 percent from 3.4 percent. Further, Foreign fund outflows also dented sentiments. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 3,110.69 crore on September 20. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, following weak cues from the US markets overnight, as the U.S. Federal Reserve held its benchmark policy rate, but said it will raise interest rates one more time this year, according to the central bank’s projections. Back home, traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, Oil & Gas, PSU, Energy and Metal, while selling was witnessed in Auto, FMCG, IT, TECK and Capital Goods. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66266.96, down by 533.88 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 66219.23 and 66608.67. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.12%, while Small cap index down by 0.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.46%, Oil & Gas up by 0.26%, PSU up by 0.19%, Energy up by 0.14% and Metal up by 0.04%, while Auto down by 1.23%, FMCG down by 0.96%, IT down by 0.78%, TECK down by 0.73% and Capital Goods down by 0.64% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.24%, SBI up by 0.29%, Tata Steel up by 0.16% and HDFC Bank up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.31%, ICICI Bank down by 2.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.02%, TCS down by 1.86% and Tata Motors down by 1.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the labour ministry in payroll data has said that retirement fund body -- Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recorded the highest net member addition of 18.75 lakh in July 2023. The addition of 18.75 lakh during the month is the highest since the first publishing of EPFO payroll data from April 2018 covering the period of September 2017 onwards.

A growing trend has continued for the last three months with an increase of around 85,932 net members over the previous month of June 2023. Around 10.27 lakh new members have enrolled during July 2023 which is the highest since July 2022. The majority of new members joining EPFO are in the age group of 18-25 years constituting roughly 58.45 per cent of total new members additions during the month. This shows an increasing trend in youth enrollment, who are mostly first-time job seekers joining the organized sector workforce of the country.

The payroll data demonstrates that approximately 12.72 lakh members exited but rejoined EPFO, which is the highest in the last 12 months. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, extending their social security protection.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data shows that during July 2023 around 3.86 lakh net female members have been added to the payroll. Around 2.75 lakh female members have come under the ambit of social security coverage for the first time. State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that net member addition is the highest in the five states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19750.30, down by 151.10 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 19738.25 and 19848.75. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports up by 1.53%, Hindalco up by 1.19%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.11%, BPCL up by 0.98% and UPL up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.32%, ICICI Bank down by 2.30%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.20%, TCS down by 1.97% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.87% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng declined 236.8 points or 1.34% to 17,648.80, Taiwan Weighted lost 210.94 points or 1.29% to 16,323.81, Straits Times fell 36.86 points or 1.15% to 3,205.14, Shanghai Composite weakened 16 points or 0.52% to 3,092.57, Jakarta Composite plunged 21.8 points or 0.31% to 6,989.88, KOSPI dropped 40.41 points or 1.6% to 2,519.33 and Nikkei 225 slipped 447.02 points or 1.37% to 32,576.76.