Key gauges trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in morning deals, as uninterrupted foreign fund outflows continued to hit investors' sentiment. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,937.83 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Some concern also came as the commerce ministry’s data showed that India's merchandise exports declined for the third month in a row in January 2025, falling by 2.38 per cent year-on-year to $36.43 billion as against $37.32 billion a year ago, due to volatility in petroleum prices and global uncertainties. Traders overlooked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government and Reserve Bank are working in ‘sync’ to control inflation and in turn boost growth. On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher as markets react positively to easing geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump's decision to open talks with Russia on ending the war with Ukraine without a European presence.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75627.89, down by 368.97 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 75591.37 and 76091.69. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.00%, while Small cap index was down by 1.85%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.26% and TECK up by 0.08%, while Telecom down by 1.81%, Industrials down by 1.67%, PSU down by 1.46%, Consumer Durables down by 1.44% and Basic Materials down by 1.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.15%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.55%, Infosys up by 0.42%, HCL Technologies up by 0.33% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.30%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.00%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.89%, Tata Steel down by 1.60%, Tata Motors down by 1.60% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) has expressed concerns that the Trai's new norms to tackle spam calls and messages have prescribed substantially increased penalties for telcos, and rued the absence of any regulation for OTT Communication Services that, the industry body pointed out, has seen an influx of spam. While raising concerns about increased penalty it said COAI had submitted that Financial Disincentives (FDs) on Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), in being only intermediary this process, do not serve any purpose and have failed to address the issue in Trai's all attempts to curb UCC (Unsolicited Commercial Communication). Instead, if at all these penalties are required, it should be directed to TM-D or the principal entities who are actual originators and beneficiaries of the commercial communications. It has expressed disappointment over Trai's amendment of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018 to strengthen consumer protection against Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), has been issued without addressing all relevant issues. 

The COAI argued that by bringing telemarketers under the licensing regime, the government and the Trai will have legal control over entities responsible for sending such communications, in compliance with TCCCPR-2018. It also expressed concerns that the latest amendments did not bring OTT Communication Service Providers under the ambit of this regulation, nor does it address the UCC issues at its source. It also said while the TSPs have taken ample steps to curb spam calls and messages, there has been a significant increase in the quantum of unsolicited communications as well as legitimate commercial communication, that has moved to OTT communication apps, substantially leading to the rise in financial crimes in the country. COAI said Trai should take into consideration COAI's key submission and bring these entities under the ambit of its regulation, as it would make no sense to regulate one section of the traffic (TSPs) while the other section (OTT Communication Services) has no regulations at all. 

Recently, the telecom regulator had intensified its crackdown on pesky calls and messages with new rules that prescribe fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for recurring and repeated instances of violation, in cases where telcos misreport the count of such spams. The regulator has mandated all telecom operators to analyze call and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios to flag potential spammers in real-time. It has also increased duration for filing complaints against pesky callers and spammers from 3 days to 7 days.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22842.50, down by 117.00 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 22822.15 and 22992.50. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 1.23%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.00%, Wipro up by 0.88%, Infosys up by 0.62% and HCL Technologies up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.03%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.94%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.58%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.49% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.48% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 247.63 points or 0.63% to 39,421.88, Taiwan Weighted added 51.91 points or 0.22% to 23,557.24, Hang Seng advanced 464 points or 2.01% to 23,080.23, KOSPI increased 13.60 points or 0.52% to 2,624.02, Straits Times rose 9.24 points or 0.24% to 3,914.09, Jakarta Composite gained 48.24 points or 0.71% to 6,879.12 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 9.68 points or 0.29% to 3,365.51.