Sensex, Nifty off day’s lows in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks came off from intraday low points in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trimming some of their losses, supported by positive cues from other Asian markets. Some support came amid a private report stating that inflation expectations of Corporate India seem to be settling around 4.3 percent, showing that it declined to 4.37 percent in January. Traders also got some relief, after the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare in its latest report showed that the enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) increased by 27% in current year so far. Also it said that 42% of total farmers insured under the scheme in FY 2023-24 are non-loanee farmers.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after consumer prices in South Korea were up 3.1 percent on year in February. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.9 percent and was up from 2.8 percent in the previous month. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5 percent - again topping forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent, which would have been steady from the January reading.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73556.94, down by 120.19 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 73321.48 and 73765.95. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.67%, while Small cap index was down by 2.73%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Bankex up by 1.28%, while Realty down by 2.66%, Power down by 2.34%, Utilities down by 2.10%, Energy down by 1.96% and Telecom down by 1.92% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.60%, Axis Bank up by 2.21%, ICICI Bank up by 1.65%, Indusind Bank up by 1.10% and Sun Pharma up by 0.28%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.32%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.39%, JSW Steel down by 1.93%, Power Grid down by 1.93% and Wipro down by 1.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the amount of funds raised through securitisation by the small finance banks (SFBs) to exceed Rs 10,000 crore in FY24, as against Rs 6,400 crore in FY23, including both pass-through certificate issuances as well as direct assignments. The third quarter of FY24 alone witnessed the quarterly record high securitisation volumes of Rs 4,200 crore. 

According to the report, the market share of SFBs in the securitisation market would accordingly touch a peak of 6% in FY24 from levels of sub-2% prior to FY22. In FY2024, six SFBs raised funds through this route against four in FY23 and only two in FY22. The increase in the number of SFBs securitising their assets signals a deepening of the domestic securitisation market, as it provides them an alternate route to raise funds to sustain their growth momentum.

It said the overall domestic securitisation market has seen strong growth in recent years and is estimated to be around Rs 1.9 - 2.0 lakh crore for FY24 compared to Rs 1.8 lakh crore in FY23, supported by high funding needs for the originators, coupled with the increase in both originators and investors in the securitisation market. In line with the growing acceptance and familiarity on securitisation, the SFBs are also successfully utilising this channel to ensure that growth in the loan book remains robust even if the deposit growth was to witness any challenges. 

It further said the SFBs have securitised receivables from vehicle loans, microfinance loans, business loans as well as home loans, with a high share of the assets qualifying under priority sector lending (PSL), thereby finding good demand in the banking sector. Further, investor confidence is likely to have increased in recent years as the SFBs are demonstrating better asset quality for the post-Covid originated portfolio. The improvement in their credit profile is also an important factor since they would continue to act as the servicer for the securitisation transactions. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22291.60, down by 64.70 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 22224.35 and 22369.45. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.73%, Axis Bank up by 2.23%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.74%, ICICI Bank up by 1.73% and Indusind Bank up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 3.27%, NTPC down by 3.25%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.42%, ONGC down by 2.29% and BPCL down by 2.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 238.87 points or 1.48% to 16,401.51, Taiwan Weighted added 112.53 points or 0.58% to 19,499.45, Jakarta Composite gained 43.88 points or 0.61% to 7,291.34 and Straits Times rose 32.91 points or 1.06% to 3,140.01, while Shanghai Composite weakened 7.86 points or 0.26% to 3,039.93, KOSPI dropped 7.91 points or 0.3% to 2,641.49 and Nikkei 225 slipped 6.85 points or 0.02% to 40,090.78.