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

A mild recovery helped Indian equity benchmarks to come off from their intraday low points, amid strong buying in Nestle and Bajaj Finserv stocks, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Market participants got some relief, as the Government of India extended Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme support to additional export sectors i.e. Advance Authorisation (AA) holders, Export Oriented Units (EOU) and Special Economic Zones (SEZ) export units, with an aim to enhance India’s export competitiveness in international markets. 

However, indices remained in red, as there was some anxiety among traders, amid a private report stating that India's headline retail inflation rate in February is not likely to have changed from January's 5.1 percent, extending its stay within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance range of 2-6 percent to a sixth consecutive month. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will release retail inflation data for February and industrial production data for January on March 12.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2023. That was shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent following the 0.7 percent contraction in the previous three months. On an annualized basis, GDP was up 0.4 percent - exceeding expectations for a contraction of 0.4 percent after slumping 2.9 percent in the three month prior.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73824.07, down by 295.32 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 73664.41 and 74187.35. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.09%, while Small cap index was down by 1.47%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Healthcare up by 0.47%, while Telecom down by 1.05%, Bankex down by 0.96%, Metal down by 0.81%, Industrials down by 0.69% and Utilities down by 0.64% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 2.22%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.76%, HCL Tech. up by 1.19%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.10% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.03%, Power Grid down by 1.83%, SBI down by 1.58%, Indusind Bank down by 1.27% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to promote investments and boost two-way trade in goods and services, India and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). The agreement has 14 chapters, including trade in goods, rules of origin, intellectual property rights (IPRs), trade in services, investment promotion and cooperation, government procurement, technical barriers to trade and trade facilitation. The EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

Under free trade pacts, two trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them, besides easing norms to promote trade in services and investments. India and EFTA have been negotiating the pact, officially dubbed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), since January 2008. Thirteen rounds of talks were held till November 2013 before negotiations were put on hold. Both sides resumed the negotiations in October 2023 and concluded it in a fast-track mode.

EFTA countries are not part of the European Union (EU). It is an inter-governmental organisation for the promotion and intensification of free trade. It was founded as an alternative for states that did not wish to join the European community. India is negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement separately with the EU, the 27-nation bloc.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22418.00, down by 75.55 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 22366.85 and 22526.60. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 2.10%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.71%, Cipla up by 1.52%, Apollo Hospital Ent. up by 1.26% and HCL Tech. up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 2.76%, Tata Steel down by 1.97%, Power Grid down by 1.90%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.68% and SBI down by 1.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 59.24 points or 0.3% to 19,726.08, Straits Times fell 9.02 points or 0.29% to 3,138.07, KOSPI dropped 20.51 points or 0.77% to 2,659.84 and Nikkei 225 slipped 868.45 points or 2.24% to 38,820.49, while Shanghai Composite strengthened 20.92 points or 0.69% to 3,066.94 and Hang Seng advanced 217.04 points or 1.33% to 16,570.43.