Sensex, Nifty cut losses in late noon deals

Trimming some of their losses, Indian equity benchmarks staged some recovery in late afternoon deals, aided by buying in  Healthcare and Energy stocks along with positive cues from European markets. Traders got relief, after the government has relaxed norms governing public expenditure exceeding Rs 500 crore during the fourth quarter (January-March) of the current financial year. Instructions to this effect were issued by the finance ministry through an office memorandum last week. Besides, the government has relaxed curbs for shifting of used IT hardware goods like laptops and desktops by a company in special economic zones (SEZs) to outside these duty free-enclaves or domestic tariff areas.

On the global front,  European markets were trading higher, even after Sweden's factory activity contracted again in December, while companies' production outlook improved. The survey data from Swedbank and the logistics association SILF showed that the purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 48.8 from 49.0 in November. A reading below 50 suggest decline in activity.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71926.33, down by 345.61 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 71613.74 and 72332.85. There were 9 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.80%, Energy up by 0.91%, Metal up by 0.88%, Consumer Durables up by 0.65% and Oil & Gas up by 0.51%, while Capital Goods down by 1.31%, Auto down by 1.28%, Bankex down by 0.93%, IT down by 0.93% and Industrials down by 0.90% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 3.05%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.53%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.06%, Titan up by 0.73% and ITC up by 0.66%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.84%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.55%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.27%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.06% and ICICI Bank down by 1.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has extended the tenure of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components by one year. This decision has been made after receiving the approval of the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS).
In pursuance of the approval of EGoS, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has made partial amendments in the PLI Scheme for the Automobile and Auto Component Industry and Guidelines of the Scheme. These amendments, effective from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, aim to provide clarity and flexibility to the scheme.

Under the amended scheme, the incentive will be applicable for a total of five consecutive financial years, starting from the financial year 2023-24. The disbursement of the incentive will take place in the following financial year 2024-25. The scheme also specifies that an approved applicant will be eligible for benefits for five consecutive financial years, but not beyond the financial year ending on March 31, 2028.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21681.10, down by 60.80 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 21555.65 and 21755.60. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.17%, Sun Pharma up by 3.06%, Divi's Lab up by 2.53%, Cipla up by 2.51% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 3.49%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.74%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.44%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.28% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.88% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.66 points or 0.29% to 7,755.90,France’s CAC rose 65.88 points or 0.87% to 7,609.06 and Germany’s DAX gained 206.74 points or 1.23% to 16,958.38.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 258.84 points or 1.54% to 16,788.55, Taiwan Weighted lost 77.05 points or 0.43% to 17,853.76, Shanghai Composite weakened 12.65 points or 0.43% to 2,962.28 and Straits Times fell 8.38 points or 0.26% to 3,231.89, while KOSPI increased 14.53 points or 0.54% to 2,669.81 and Jakarta Composite gained 16.76 points or 0.23% to 7,289.56.