Bourses extend losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets extended their losses in late afternoon session following weak European markets cues. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded in red. Traders were cautious amid ongoing Q3FY24 earnings. Investors ignored report that the Centre signed an agreement to acquire five lithium brine blocks for exploration and development in Argentina. Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has said that India’s merchandise exports registered marginal growth of 0.97 per cent to $38.45 billion in December 2023 as compared to $38.08 billion in December 2022. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red in the absence of Wall Street cues and heightened geopolitical tensions. European markets were trading lower as investors reined in expectations of interest rate cuts following recent comments from European Central Bank officials, while shares of Lindt & Spruengli jumped on upbeat results. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73154.07, down by 173.87 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 72960.29 and 73427.59. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.37%, while Small cap index was down by 0.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.31%, Oil & Gas up by 0.99%, Consumer Durables up by 0.64%, Basic Materials up by 0.44% and Energy was up by 0.31%, while Realty down by 1.73%, Utilities down by 1.33%, IT down by 1.21%, Power down by 1.21% and Telecom was down by 1.20% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.52%, Titan Company up by 1.82%, JSW Steel up by 1.38%, Tata Motors up by 0.94% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.85%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.06%, Wipro down by 1.97%, NTPC down by 1.50%, Indusind Bank down by 1.26% and Sun Pharma down by 1.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal has said that India's macro-fundamentals strengthened even though it faced severe external shocks (Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas war, oil prices, Houthi attacks) since 2020. She said the rupee has been relatively stable due to these factors. 

Goyal said the country's economic diversity, adequate buffers, and feasible reforms have enabled policies to be countercyclical. With more and more firms and consumers internalising the inflation target, the economy is likely to approach the RBI's inflation target of 4 per cent this year. She noted that Indian economy is projected to grow 7.3 per cent in the current fiscal, higher than 7.2 per cent in 2022-23. The Red Sea route is also crucial for energy shipments.

Talking on whether the government needs to make a more realistic assessment of its medium-term fiscal deficit target, she said tax buoyancy from higher growth and from tax reform, combined with counter-cyclical fiscal policy, gives India a possible escape route from a history of higher deficits that created debt ratios exceeding its peer countries. She said ‘fiscal consolidation will strengthen our macroeconomic fundamentals even more and reduce risks further, while building space to respond to future shocks and the announced medium-term fiscal deficit is eminently feasible’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22044.85, down by 52.60 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 21969.80 and 22124.15. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 3.03%, Tata Steel up by 2.48%, Titan Company up by 1.84%, Hindalco up by 1.42% and JSW Steel up by 1.42%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.09%, Divi's Lab down by 2.09%, Wipro down by 1.98%, NTPC down by 1.47% and SBI Life down by 1.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 350.41 points or 2.21% to 15,865.92, Nikkei 225 slipped 282.61 points or 0.79% to 35,619.18, Taiwan Weighted lost 199.95 points or 1.15% to 17,346.87, KOSPI dropped 28.40 points or 1.14% to 2,497.59 and Straits Times was down by 17.62 points or 0.55% to 3,181.80. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.7 points or 0.27% to 2,893.99 and Jakarta Composite was up by 38.51 points or 0.53% to 7,262.51.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 30.97 points or 0.41% to 7,563.94, France’s CAC fell 32.99 points or 0.45% to 7,378.69 and Germany’s DAX was down by 107.45 points or 0.65% to 16,514.77.