Bourses trim losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their losses in late afternoon session tracking positive cues from European markets. Losses got restricted as Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) said that the country's services exports have touched $192 billion so far this fiscal and are expected to reach $400 billion by the end of 2023-24. Sectors like tourism, hospitality, and medical value tourism which suffered due to COVID-19 are now showing revival signs. In addition to this, sectors like legal, auditing, higher education, accounting, and logistics are showing good growth. However, markets continued to trade in red as India’s retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November 2023. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after data showed U.S. inflation remained stubborn enough to thwart any Federal Reserve rate cuts soon. European markets were trading higher ahead of Eurozone industrial production data for October and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision due later in the session.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 69387.64, down by 163.39 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 69100.56 and 69655.83. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.64%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.39%, Auto up by 0.75%, Healthcare up by 0.72%, Capital Goods up by 0.70% and Utilities was up by 0.64%, while IT down by 1.56%, TECK down by 1.45%, Oil & Gas down by 0.62%, Energy down by 0.49% and Telecom was down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.28%, Power Grid up by 1.71%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.21% and SBI up by 1.04%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.49%, Infosys down by 2.24%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.47%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.43% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a significant move towards fortifying India's aerospace manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) sector, the Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has urged leaders of aerospace manufacturing majors to present a collaborative plan outlining their requirements from each department of the government of India (GOI), in order to help them expand supply chains for aerospace manufacturing in India.

During the Advisory Group meeting of Aerospace Manufacturers and MROs, the Minister also engaged in detailed discussions with MROs on their operational and taxation challenges. He assured to relook select taxation and regulatory issues and collectively work towards greater financial viability for MROs.

The Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel further underlined the ministry’s commitment towards establishing India as a global hub for aviation, and creating a robust and globally competitive aviation ecosystem. Meanwhile, the meeting was attended by players like Airbus, Boeing, Safran, Max Aerospace, GMR MRO, Bharat Forge, Tata Advanced Systems, RTX, HAL, AIESL, Pratt & Wittney, Air Works, Taj Air, Bird Executive, Invest India and CII.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20863.25, down by 43.15 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 20769.50 and 20936.00. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.85%, NTPC up by 2.19%, Power Grid up by 1.75%, Eicher Motors up by 1.62% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.24%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.51%, Infosys down by 2.22%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.48%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.47% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 145.75 points or 0.9% to 16,228.75, Jakarta Composite plunged 63.57 points or 0.89% to 7,061.74, Shanghai Composite weakened 34.68 points or 1.17% to 2,968.76 and KOSPI was down by 24.61 points or 0.98% to 2,510.66. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 1.36 points or 0.04% to 3,103.67, Taiwan Weighted added 18.3 points or 0.1% to 17,468.93 and Nikkei 225 was up by 82.65 points or 0.25% to 32,926.35.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 14.84 points or 0.2% to 7,557.61, France’s CAC rose 21.22 points or 0.28% to 7,564.77 and Germany’s DAX was up by 14.97 points or 0.09% to 16,806.71.