Bourses trim losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their losses in late afternoon session but continued to trade in red. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index also trading in red. Losses got restricted as India's services activity continued to expand in February, with the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the sector coming in at 60.6. At 60.6, the February services PMI is below the flash estimate of 62.0 released on February 22. It is, however, above the key level of 50, which separates expansion in activity from contraction, for the 31st month in a row. Meanwhile, unemployment rate in India declined to 3.1 per cent in the calendar year 2023 (CY23) from 3.6 per cent in CY22 and 4.2 per cent in CY21, reflecting continued improvement in the labour markets. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after China set an ambitious five per cent annual growth target and Wall Street shares dropped ahead of the release of key United States economic indicators. European markets were trading lower as markets struggle to find positive momentum ahead of the European Central Bank meeting later this week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73752.87, down by 119.42 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 73412.25 and 73915.54. 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 0.19%, while Small cap index was down by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.39%, PSU up by 0.92%, Telecom up by 0.62%, Oil & Gas up by 0.56% and Utilities was up by 0.55%, while IT down by 1.62%, FMCG down by 0.87%, TECK down by 0.86%, Industrials down by 0.49% and Capital Goods was down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.45%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.37%, SBI up by 1.66%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.50% and NTPC up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.25%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.51%, Infosys down by 2.01%, TCS down by 1.61% and Wipro down by 1.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector activity slowed in the month of February but remained comfortably above the neutral mark of 50.0 and signaled a sharp rate of expansion that was well above the series history (since December 2005), as positive demand trends supported sales and business activity. Business activity increased across all parts of the service sector. Finance & Insurance saw the strongest pace of growth by a considerable margin, with the slowest rise registered in Real Estate & Business Services.

According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index eased to 60.6 in February from 61.8 in January. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also slowed down to 60.6 in February as against 61.2 in January. The report said that companies created jobs on the back of rising workloads, but the easing of capacity pressures and lower confidence towards the outlook dampened employment growth.

Further, new business from abroad placed with services firms in India rose for the thirteenth successive month. Collectively, international sales expanded at a solid rate that was among the best in the nine-and-a-half-year series history. Outstanding business volumes expanded for the twenty-sixth consecutive month halfway through the final fiscal quarter, highlighting sustained pressure on the capacity of service providers. The latest increase was mild and the weakest in three months.

On the price front, operating expenses rose further, but did so at the second-weakest rate since August 2020. Higher food, freight and labour costs pushed up input prices. Indian companies operating in the service sector sought to protect their margins by raising prices charged to customers. The rate of inflation was slight, below its long-run average and cooled to the weakest in two years. Besides, business confidence regarding the year-ahead outlook for activity weakened in February.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22346.35, down by 59.25 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 22269.15 and 22416.90. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.12%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.09%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.71%, SBI up by 1.53% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.29%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.73%, Infosys down by 1.97%, Wipro down by 1.75% and LTIMindtree down by 1.72% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng fell 433.33 points 2.61% to 16,162.64, Straits Times lost 13.74 points 0.44% to 3,108.47, KOSPI Index dropped 24.87 points or 0.93% to 2,649.4, Jakarta Composite dipped by 10.69 points or 0.15% to 7,266.06, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI lower by 0.15 points or 2.29% to 1,536.98 and Nikkei 225 declined by 11.6 points 0.03% to 40,097.63, while Taiwan Weighted rose 81.61 points or 0.42% to 19,386.92 and Shanghai Composite increased by 8.48 points or 0.28% to 3,047.79.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 30.84 points or 0.41% to 7,609.49, France’s CAC fell 22.66 points or 0.29% to 7,933.75 and Germany’s DAX was down by 52.71 points or 0.3% to 17,663.46.