Domestic indices remain in red in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets remained in red in late morning deals amid mixed cues from other Asian markets. Selling in Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, ITC and Bajaj Finserv companies' stocks dragged the markets lower. Meanwhile, investors looked forward to India's interim budget, Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision and a slew of key U.S. economic data due this week for directional cues. However, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.15-0.70%. Traders took some encouragement as the finance ministry said India is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world with a GDP of $5 trillion in the next three years and touch $7 trillion by 2030 on the back of continued reforms.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors continued to grapple with the fallout from Evergrande’s liquidation order. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Oil & Gas, Energy, TECK, PSU and IT, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Bankex, FMCG, Capital Goods and Realty. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71652.38, down by 289.19 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 71572.79 and 72142.23. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.17%, while Small cap index up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.92%, Energy up by 0.84%, TECK up by 0.82%, PSU up by 0.70% and IT up by 0.68%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.85%, Bankex down by 0.27%, FMCG down by 0.24%, Capital Goods down by 0.19% and Realty down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.73%, Wipro up by 1.49%, JSW Steel up by 1.38%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.35% and Infosys up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.40%, ITC down by 1.87%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.63%, Reliance Industries down by 1.58% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal has said that the government is looking to improve the telecom Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and sought the views and inputs from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for the new, better scheme. 

Noting that small, innovative companies are building some ‘excellent’ products, he said he wished to see MSMEs vie and compete not only for public sector tenders but also mark their presence in private sector orders.  

He further said the telecom component ecosystem must develop in India. He also observed that it is not good enough to bring sub-systems and assemble them here and bring efficiencies in the low-value addition part. He added that the startup ecosystem will be a driver and enabler of employment, technology and manufacturing, going forward.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21698.15, down by 39.45 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 21655.25 and 21813.05. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 3.31%, ONGC up by 3.19%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.78%, JSW Steel up by 1.56% and Hindalco up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.53%, ITC down by 1.78%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.59%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.52% and Reliance Industries down by 1.35% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 248.51 points or 1.57% to 15,828.73, Taiwan Weighted lost 85 points or 0.47% to 18,034.63 and Shanghai Composite weakened 8.12 points or 0.28% to 2,875.24. However, Nikkei 225 surged 17.71 points or 0.05% to 36,044.65, Straits Times rose 12.77 points or 0.41% to 3,153.08, KOSPI increased 4.39 points or 0.18% to 2,505.04 and Jakarta Composite gained 26.86 points or 0.37% to 7,184.04.