Bears hold grip in Indian markets in early noon

Bears held their grip over the Dalal Street in early afternoon session, due to heavy selling at Capital Goods, Industrials and Power counters along with weak cues from other Asian markets. The street paid no heed towards the estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that India is set to achieve its highest single-year GDP addition of $383 billion in 2025. This figure will be a record for India, except for the post-Covid surge in 2021. Despite India's projected growth rate of 6.5% in 2025, surpassing China's 4.5%, China is expected to add $1.26 trillion to its economy during the same period.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, as the manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in January, albeit at a slower pace, with a PMI score of 50.1 That's down from 50.5 in December, although it remains just barely above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76990.05, down by 515.91 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 76756.09 and 77138.19. There were 10 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 1.45%, while Small cap index was down by 1.88%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.62% and TECK up by 0.14%, while Capital Goods down by 4.85%, Industrials down by 4.24%, Power down by 4.23%, PSU down by 3.65% and Utilities down by 3.60% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.25%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.52%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.70%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.42% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.00%, NTPC down by 3.90%, Power Grid down by 3.22%, Hindustan Unilever down by 3.21% and Tata Steel down by 2.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's manufacturing sector activity witnessed a significant growth in the month of January, aided with rise in new orders along with steepest upturn in exports. Goods producers welcomed another substantial increase in new orders, which they attributed to better domestic demand and a pick-up in international sales. Total new business expanded at the fastest rate in six months. 

According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 57.7 in January as against 56.4 in December. January data also showed a pick-up in growth of buying levels and record job creation. Cost pressures retreated to their weakest in 11 months, but selling prices rose solidly amid buoyant demand. 

As per the report, companies turned more optimistic about output prospects, with nearly 32% of firms forecasting growth and just 1% expecting a reduction. The buoyant underlying demand, better customer relations, favourable economic conditions and marketing efforts all bode well for growth prospects. Besides, firms were successful in their efforts to lift inventories as suppliers were able to deliver materials in a timely manner.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23271.85, down by 210.30 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 23222.00 and 23345.15. There were 12 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.25%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.67%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.71%, Wipro up by 1.61% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.46%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.00%, Bharat Electronics down by 4.86%, ONGC down by 4.31%, NTPC down by 3.89% and Coal India down by 3.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng declined 78.29 points or 0.39% to 20,146.82, Jakarta Composite plunged 145.04 points or 2.08% to 6,964.16, Straits Times fell 25.2 points or 0.66% to 3,830.62, KOSPI dropped 63.42 points or 2.58% to 2,453.95, Nikkei 225 slipped 1052.4 points or 2.73% to 38,520.09 and Taiwan Weighted lost 830.7 points or 3.66% to 22,694.71.