Domestic indices remain under pressure in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets remained in red and were trading with cut of over 0.75 percent each in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Selling in TCS, Indusind Bank, HCL and Larsen & Toubro companies stocks dragged the markets lower. Meanwhile, the broader indices were also trading in red with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index falling in the range of 0.75-1.20%. Traders were cautious as oil prices continued to climb on supply concerns. Meanwhile, investors awaited cues from a slew of central bank meetings. Further, foreign fund outflows dented sentiments in the domestic markets. Provisional data from the NSE showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 2,051.09 crore on March 18.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates in an historic policy shift. Back home, all the Sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Oil & Gas, FMCG, IT, Energy and Capital Goods. In the stock specific development, JBM Auto surged after the company's arm bagged an order for 1,390 electric buses from Convergence Energy Services (CESL) worth nearly Rs 7,500 crore. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72188.77, down by 559.65 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 72068.37 and 72490.09. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.20%, while Small cap index down by 0.79%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas down by 1.76%, FMCG down by 1.68%, IT down by 1.63%, Energy down by 1.61% and Capital Goods down by 1.54%, while there were no gainers. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.37%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.74%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.39%, ICICI Bank up by 0.32% and HDFC Bank up by 0.21%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 3.91%, TCS down by 2.93%, Indusind Bank down by 1.90%, HCL down by 1.70% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a trade notice to the exporters community, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said that starting from January 1, 2024, onwards, Indian exporters to the UK are required to adhere to the new rules under Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) to avail concessions on their exports to the UK. It added that goods that meet the UK DCTS Rules of Origin (RoO) requirements would be eligible to claim a concessional rate of import duty for exports to the UK.

In a trade notice, DGFT further said the United Kingdom (UK) has replaced its existing origin declaration process under Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) with the UK DCTS effective from June 19, 2023. The transition period for this change was extended until December 31, 2023. It said consequently, the origin criteria necessary for satisfying the Rules of Origin to avail tariff concessions on exports from India to the UK must be filled in through self-certification. Accordingly, it said, Indian exporters are directed to use origin declaration wording under DCTS scheme, in place of origin declaration wording under GSP. Certain labour-intensive sectors such as leather, carpets, chemicals, iron and steel and textiles were the major beneficiaries of the GSP scheme. 

The US, European Union (EU), Australia, Japan and many other developed countries grant unilateral import duty concessions to developing countries under their GSP schemes. As per estimates, India's exports worth $2.5 billion were entitled for the GSP benefit in the UK. India and the UK have been negotiating a free trade agreement since January 13, 2021. As many as 14 rounds of talks have been completed and both sides are aiming to conclude the negotiations at the earliest. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21863.95, down by 191.75 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 21833.25 and 21978.30. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 1.30%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.76%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.53%, Hindalco up by 0.50% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 3.81%, BPCL down by 3.54%, TCS down by 3.14%, Cipla down by 2.99% and Tata Consumer Produc down by 2.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 127.06 points or 0.32% to 39,867.50, Taiwan Weighted added 18.49 points or 0.09% to 19,898.34, Straits Times rose 1.04 points or 0.03% to 3,172.97 and Jakarta Composite gained 41.68 points or 0.57% to 7,344.13. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 6.73 points or 0.22% to 3,078.20, KOSPI dropped 29.20 points or 1.09% to 2,656.64 and Hang Seng declined 176.68 points or 1.06% to 16,560.44.