Benchmarks continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, tracking extremely weak trends from the global markets. Traders remained cautious with Credit rating agency ICRA’s report stated that the increasing delinquencies in the microfinance sector, which is likely to push up the Non-banking finance companies - microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFI) credit costs to 320-340 bps in FY2025 from 220 bps in FY2024. The evolving asset quality risks will dampen sectoral growth and earnings in the current fiscal. ICRA expects NBFC-MFIs’ AUM growth to dip to 17-19% in FY2025 from 29% in FY2024. Sector-wise, the banking stocks remained in watch with the latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showing that the liquidity in the banking system improved to a one-month high surplus of Rs 2.23 trillion on Monday. This came about on the back of government spending. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as weak manufacturing data added to concerns that the U.S. economy could be headed to a recession. Investors also looked ahead to the release of all-important U.S. jobs data on Friday for potential clues to Federal Reserve rate cuts. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82020.48, down by 534.96 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 81833.69 and 82199.94. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.61%, while Small cap index was up by 0.18%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 1.71%, IT down by 1.39%, TECK down by 1.29%, PSU down by 0.97% and Energy down by 0.88%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.16%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.56%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.11% and HDFC Bank up by 0.03%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.58%, Infosys down by 1.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.52%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.47% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.30% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour and Employment and Youth Affairs and Sports, has said that employment generation is a top priority for the government, and the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme is a step in the right direction to achieve this goal. Government is committed to working closely with stakeholders to design a scheme that is robust, inclusive, and aligned with the needs of the economy.

Mandaviya highlighted that the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme is a crucial step towards achieving the shared objective of creating a more prosperous and inclusive India. He stressed that the success of the scheme depends on the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, including the government, businesses, and workers.

Further, the Union Minister said that he encouraged suggestions from the Organisations on the formulation of the ELI scheme, emphasising its role in promoting employment generation and providing meaningful and sustainable jobs for the youth of India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25110.70, down by 169.15 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 25083.80 and 25158.40. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.34%, Grasim Industries up by 0.78%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.58%, BPCL up by 0.30% and HDFC Bank up by 0.22%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 3.28%, ONGC down by 3.00%, Wipro down by 2.54%, Hindalco down by 2.00% and LTIMindtree down by 1.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 189.24 points or 1.08% to 17,462.25, Shanghai Composite weakened 13.59 points or 0.49% to 2,789.39, Straits Times fell 51.07 points or 1.47% to 3,429.27, KOSPI dropped 85.95 points or 3.23% to 2,578.68, Nikkei 225 slipped 1731.95 points or 4.48% to 36,954.36 and Taiwan Weighted lost 897.87 points or 4.06% to 21,194.34.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 36.55 points or 0.48% to 7,653.07.