Selling pressure continues in Indian markets

A selling pressure continued in Indian equity markets during early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in deep red, amid weak cues from other Asian markets. Heavy selling at Oil & Gas and PSU counters kept indices lower, while NTPC fell the most among industry majors on the BSE. Besides, hotter-than-expected U.S. producer price data dented hopes for an imminent rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Traders overlooked an industry body the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) report 'Unicorn 2.0: Adding the Next Trillion' stating that new unicorns are likely to add $1 trillion to the Indian economy, which would reach $7 trillion size by 2030, and add 50 million new jobs. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after Japan's tertiary activity index increased for the second straight month in January. According to data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the seasonally adjusted tertiary activity index rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in January, slower than the 0.5 percent recovery in December.

Back home, mines and minerals industry stocks were in watch, as State Governments of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have issued Notice Inviting Tenders (NIT) for the auction of Exploration Licence (EL), with an aim to unlock the potential of critical and deep-seated minerals.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72549.29, down by 547.99 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 72484.82 and 72998.07. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.62%, while Small cap index was down by 1.13%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was FMCG up by 0.17%, while Oil & Gas down by 4.77%, PSU down by 4.34%, Energy down by 4.08%, Utilities down by 2.40% and Power down by 2.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.94%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.40% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.94%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 4.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.04%, Power Grid down by 2.48%, SBI down by 2.13% and Tata Motors down by 2.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the US embassy has said that in this first trilateral technology meeting, the United States, Republic of Korea, and India discussed opportunities to cooperate on semiconductor supply chains, telecommunications and digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, quantum, space, advanced materials, clean energy and critical minerals. 

It said the meeting committed to coordinate measures to protect sensitive technologies and build trusted technology ecosystems in the region and globally. The meeting also deliberated on possible cooperation in defence industrial development and production, biotechnology, including active pharmaceutical supply chains.

It said the three sides committed to expand cooperation on critical and emerging technologies in support of shared economic national security interests, including spurring innovation and economic growth and delivering technology solutions for the broader Indo-Pacific region.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21953.05, down by 193.60 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 21931.70 and 22120.90. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 2.19%, ITC up by 2.01%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.48%, Britannia up by 0.93% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.89%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 7.70%, Coal India down by 5.68%, ONGC down by 5.28%, NTPC down by 4.09% and Hero MotoCorp down by 3.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 279.75 points or 1.68% to 16,681.91, Taiwan Weighted lost 255.42 points or 1.3% to 19,682.50, Jakarta Composite plunged 62.96 points or 0.85% to 7,370.36, Straits Times fell 9.47 points or 0.3% to 3,176.93, KOSPI dropped 51.92 points or 1.95% to 2,666.84 and Nikkei 225 slipped 99.74 points or 0.26% to 38,707.64, while Shanghai Composite strengthened 16.44 points or 0.54% to 3,054.67.