Markets trim losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets trimmed some of their losses in late morning deals on account of buying in Asian Paints, TCS, HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma companies’ stocks.  Traders were getting some encouragement as India’s G20 Sherpa and former CEO of Niti Aayog Amitabh Kant has projected that the country is all set to overtake Japan as 4th largest economy in the world by 2025. However, markets continued to trade in red amid continuous foreign fund outflows, mixed trends from other Asian markets and heavy selling in Tata Motors. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,117.50 crore on May 11, 2024, according to exchange data. Meanwhile, broader indices were trading deeply in red with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index dropping in the range of 1.00-1.05%. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors assessed China’s stronger-than-expected April inflation data. China’s consumer price index climbed 0.3% year on year, beating street estimates of a 0.2% rise. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position only in Healthcare and Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in Auto, Utilities, PSU, Consumer Disc and Energy. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72220.84, down by 443.63 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 71866.01 and 72603.18. 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 1.05%, while Small cap index down by 1.02%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.29% and Capital Goods up by 0.28%, while Auto down by 2.25%, Utilities down by 1.57%, PSU down by 1.56%, Consumer Disc down by 1.52% and Energy down by 1.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.90%, TCS up by 0.53%, HDFC Bank up by 0.51%, Sun Pharma up by 0.22% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 8.43%, NTPC down by 1.71%, SBI down by 1.66%, Indusind Bank down by 1.54% and Titan down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its latest report has said that as many as 449 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or above, were hit by cost overrun of more than Rs 5.01 lakh crore in March 2024. Out of 1,873 projects, 449 reported cost overrun and 779 projects were delayed.

The report stated that total original cost of implementation of the 1,873 projects was Rs 26,87,535.69 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 31,88,859.02 crore, which reflects overall cost overrun of Rs 5,01,323.33 crore (18.65 per cent of original cost). The expenditure incurred on these projects till March 2024 is Rs 17,11,648.99 crore, which is 53.68 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects. However, the number of delayed projects decreased to 567 if delay is calculated on the basis of the latest schedule of completion.

Further, it said that for 393 projects neither the year of commissioning nor the tentative gestation period has been reported. Out of the 779 delayed projects, 202 have overall delays in the range of 1-12 months, 181 have been delayed for 13-24 months, 277 projects for 25-60 months, and 119 projects have been delayed for more than 60 months. The average time overrun in these 779 delayed projects is 36.04 months. 

The report noted that reasons for time overrun, as reported by various project implementing agencies, include delay in land acquisition, obtaining forest and environment clearances, and lack of infrastructure support and linkages. Delays in tie-up for project financing, finalisation of detailed engineering, change in scope, tendering, ordering and equipment supply, and law and order problems are among other reasons.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21936.15, down by 119.05 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 21821.05 and 22067.30. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 5.89%, Asian Paints up by 3.02%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.11%, Britannia up by 1.65% and Divi's Lab up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 8.42%, BPCL down by 2.40%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.34%, Coal India down by 2.04% and Shriram Finance down by 1.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 fell 48.77 points or 0.13% to 38,181.89, KOSPI dropped 9.91 points or 0.4% to 2,716.75, Jakarta Composite fell 5.83 points or 0.08% to 7,094.63 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.61 points or 0.03% to 3,154.11. However, Taiwan Weighted gained 148.87 points or 0.72% to 20,857.71, Hang Seng rose 115.96 points or 0.61% to 19,080.45 and Straits Times was up by 7.42 points or 0.22% to 3,298.12.