Bourses remain lower in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade lower in late afternoon session, as investors preferred to play safe ahead of the RBI MPC meeting from April 3 to April 5. Besides, traders booked their profit after previous day’s highs. Traders shrugged off India's manufacturing sector data. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 59.1 in March as against 56.9 in February. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as many regional markets resumed trading after a long holiday weekend. European markets were trading mostly in green as strong U.S. manufacturing data helped lift mining and energy stocks. Also, British manufacturers reported their first overall growth in activity in 20 months in March on the back of recovering demand in their home market.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73807.72, down by 206.83 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 73743.77 and 74099.78. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.98%, while Small cap index was up by 1.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.68%, Realty up by 1.25%, Oil & Gas up by 1.17%, PSU up by 1.12% and Auto was up by 0.98%, while TECK down by 0.67%, Telecom down by 0.46%, IT down by 0.44%, Bankex down by 0.26% and Healthcare was down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.05%, Indusind Bank up by 1.16%, Tata Motors up by 1.11%, Nestle up by 1.09% and HDFC Bank up by 1.01%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.57%, HCL Tech down by 1.57%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.48%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.48% and Sun Pharma down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's manufacturing sector continued to show a stellar performance, with the HSBC India PMI climbing to a 16-year high on the back of the strongest increases in output and new orders since October 2020, parallel to the second-sharpest upturn in input inventories in the history of the survey. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 59.1 in March as against 56.9 in February.

The report noted that growth of new orders accelerated to the quickest in nearly three-and-a-half years during March, amid buoyant demand conditions. Inflows of new work strengthened from both domestic and export markets with better sales to Africa, Asia, Europe and the US. New export orders increased at the fastest pace since May 2022.

Besides, quantities of purchases increased at the quickest rate since mid-2023, and one that was among the strongest in nearly 13 years, as companies sought to build-up stocks in advance of expected improvements in sales. Subsequently, inventories of purchases increased to the second-greatest extent in the survey history (behind May 2023). Capital goods was the brightest area regarding both input buying and stockpiling.

After leaving payroll numbers broadly unchanged in the previous two months, manufacturers in India took on additional workers in March. The pace of job creation was mild, but the best since September 2023. There was a mild pick-up in cost pressures during March, but customer retention remained a priority for goods producers who raised their charges to the least extent in over a year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22419.25, down by 42.75 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 22388.15 and 22497.60. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer up by 3.61%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.87%, BPCL up by 2.44%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.18% and Adani Ports &Special up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.64%, ICICI Bank down by 1.69%, HCL Tech down by 1.63%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.60% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.51% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 390.1 points or 2.3% to 16,931.52, Taiwan Weighted added 244.24 points or 1.19% to 20,466.57, Nikkei 225 surged 35.82 points or 0.09% to 39,838.91, Jakarta Composite gained 16.16 points or 0.22% to 7,221.22, Straits Times rose 13.17 points or 0.41% to 3,248.06 and KOSPI was up by 5.30 points or 0.19% to 2,753.16. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 2.42 points or 0.08% to 3,074.96.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 28.04 points or 0.35% to 7,980.66 and France’s CAC was up by 5.78 points or 0.07% to 8,211.59. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 12.03 points or 0.07% to 18,480.46.