Domestic indices remain in red in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets remained in red in late morning deals on account of selling in NTPC, Wipro, Tata Steel and JSW Steel companies' stocks. The broader markets were also facing the heat of selling; the BSE mid-cap index declined by 1.65 per cent and the small-cap index was down 2.44 per cent. Market participants were cautious ahead of the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony this week, which would provide clues about the outlook for interest rates. On the sectoral front, most of the sectoral indices on BSE were trading in red, with only exception of Banking counter. Stocks from Power, Realty, Utilities, Telecom and Oil & Gas counters were the prominent losers. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite negative cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, Mahanagar Gas plunged after global brokerage downgraded the stock to 'Sell' from 'Buy'.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73533.61, down by 143.52 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 73448.09 and 73765.95. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.65%, while Small cap index down by 2.44%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Bankex up by 1.14%, while Power down by 2.26%, Realty down by 2.16%, Utilities down by 2.00%, Telecom down by 1.98% and  Oil & Gas down by 1.92% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 2.18%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.09%, ICICI Bank up by 1.45%, Indusind Bank up by 0.89% and HDFC Bank up by 0.44%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 2.83%, Power Grid down by 2.39%, Wipro down by 2.08%, Tata Steel down by 1.94% and JSW Steel down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ICRA Ratings in its latest report has said that amid continuing lower supplies, the borrowing cost for states fell to a 32-week low of 7.40 per cent on March 5, 2024, down by 4 bps from the previous week's auctions. Throughout January, the interest rates were hovering at a two-year high of close to 7.9 per cent. Then rates started falling after states began to auction lower than earlier disclosed debt after the government cleared the Central share of tax devolution in early February.

According to the report, eleven states raised Rs 28,000 crore from state government securities (SGS), which is 27 per cent lower than the Rs 38,200 crore indicated for this week in the auction calendar. As a result, the weighted average cut-off eased by 4 bps to 7.40 per cent, the lowest in the past 32 weeks.

The report further said the fall in the pricing was despite a mild increase in the weighted average tenor to 15 years from 14 during the week. The spread between the cut-off of the 10-year state bonds and the benchmark 10-year G-sec (7.18 GS 2033) yield narrowed to 35 bps from 37 bps last week. Year-to-date, states have borrowed Rs 8.423 lakh crore, 29.8 per cent more than what they had borrowed in the same period last fiscal at Rs 6.488 lakh crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22302.05, down by 54.25 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 22250.20 and 22369.45. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.31%, Axis Bank up by 2.23%, ICICI Bank up by 1.59%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.59% and Indusind Bank up by 1.02%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 2.75%, ONGC down by 2.54%, Power Grid down by 2.29%, Adani Enterprises down by 2.09% and Wipro down by 2.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 331.65 points or 2.05% to 16,494.29, Taiwan Weighted added 112.53 points or 0.58% to 19,499.45, Straits Times rose 39.39 points or 1.27% to 3,146.49, Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.14 points or 0.23% to 3,054.93 and Jakarta Composite gained 28.93 points or 0.4% to 7,276.39. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 6.85 points or 0.02% to 40,090.78 and KOSPI dropped 8.82 points or 0.33% to 2,640.58.