Bourses trade in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets entered into red territory and traded near day’s low levels in late afternoon session amid fading hopes of a US rate cut. Selling pressure was seen in IT sector’s stocks. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index also traded in red. Traders overlooked labour ministry’s statement that retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers eased marginally to 7.52 per cent and 7.37 per cent in January 2024 as compared to the previous month, mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. In December 2023, Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Consumer Price Index-Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) was 7.71 per cent and 7.46 per cent, respectively. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red ahead of chipmaker Nvidia's quarter earnings and the FOMC meeting minutes release. European markets were trading mostly in green ahead of flash Eurozone consumer confidence figures for February and the FOMC meeting minutes due later in the day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72820.38, down by 237.02 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 72759.50 and 73267.80. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.82%, while Small cap index was down by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.07%, Metal up by 0.46%, Basic Materials up by 0.37%, Bankex up by 0.08% and FMCG was up by 0.02%, while Utilities down by 1.42%, IT down by 1.14%, TECK down by 1.10%, Power down by 1.00% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.68% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.45%, JSW Steel up by 2.14%, SBI up by 1.96%, ICICI Bank up by 0.67% and Indusind Bank up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.14%, NTPC down by 1.81%, Infosys down by 1.57%, HCL Tech down by 1.23% and Wipro down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, strengthening strategic and global partnership, the Government of Japan has committed Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of an amount of Japanese Yen (JPY) 232.209 billion for nine projects across various sectors in India such as road connectivity, climate change response, horticulture and water supply system. India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958. Economic partnership, a key pillar of India-Japan relations has steadily progressed in the last few years.

The ODA loan assistance has been committed to the North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project (Phase 3) (Tranche II): Dhubri-Phulbari bridge (JPY 34.54 billion); the North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project (Phase 7): NH 127B (Phulbari-Goeragre section) (JPY 15.56 billion); the Project for Promoting Start-up and Innovation in Telangana (JPY 23.7 billion); The Project for the Construction of Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (Phase 2) (JPY 49.85 billion) and the Project for Promoting Sustainable Horticulture in Haryana (Tranche I) (JPY 16.21 billion).

Besides, JPY 26.13 billion ODA loan assistance has been allocated to the Project for Climate Change Response and ecosystem Services Enhancement in Rajasthan, JPY 10 billion for the Project for the Establishment of the Medical College Hospital at Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kohima, JPY 16.21 billion for the Project for the Improvement of Urban Water Supply System in Uttarakhand and JPY 40 billion for the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (Phase 1) (Tranche V).

The road network connectivity projects aim to improve infrastructure development in India’s North East region, while the Chennai peripheral ring road project aims to alleviate traffic congestion and strengthen connections to the southern part of the state. The project in Nagaland will help develop tertiary level medical service delivery by developing a Medical College Hospital contributing towards universal health coverage. A unique project in Telangana will help discover entrepreneurial skills with focus on women and rural population and support business expansion of MSMEs.

Further, in Haryana, the project will promote sustainable horticulture and improve farmer's income by promoting crop diversification and infrastructure development. The forestry project in Rajasthan will enhance ecosystem services through afforestation, forest and biodiversity conservation. In the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, the project aims to provide stable water supply to urban towns. The fifth tranche of the Dedicated Freight Corridor project will help in construction of new dedicated freight railway system and bring about modernisation of intermodal logistics system enabling handling of increase freight traffic.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22139.05, down by 57.90 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 22105.40 and 22249.40. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 2.48%, JSW Steel up by 2.07%, SBI up by 1.96%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.01% and ICICI Bank up by 0.78%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.40%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.35%, Coal India down by 2.13%, Power Grid down by 2.03% and NTPC down by 1.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 101.45 points or 0.27% to 38,262.16, Taiwan Weighted lost 76.85 points or 0.41% to 18,676.31, Jakarta Composite plunged 51.83 points or 0.71% to 7,300.77, Straits Times fell 21.42 points or 0.66% to 3,222.64 and KOSPI was down by 4.48 points or 0.17% to 2,653.31. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 28.23 points or 0.96% to 2,950.96 and Hang Seng was up by 255.59 points or 1.55% to 16,503.10.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 0.36 points to 7,795.58 and Germany’s DAX was up by 5.94 points or 0.03% to 17,074.37. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 48.16 points or 0.63% to 7,671.05.