Bears take full control over Dalal Street in late trade

Indian equity markets continue to trade lower in late afternoon trade. The market participants remained on sidelines amidst persistent FII’s sell off and uncertainty surrounding US tariffs. The broader markets were trading lower with Midcaps taking most hit, traders also overlook HSBC Flash India PMI report stating India’s private sector output witnessed the fastest rise in the month of February, amid a quicker expansion in services activity along with improved international demand for goods and services. Further, the reports of Tesla’s entry in India and governments new proposed EV imports policy caused hiccups in auto sector. On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading higher despite US tariffs on Semiconductors, pharmaceutical and Automobile. While the European equity markets were trading lower amidst geopolitical concerns in the region.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75259.02, down by 476.94 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 75112.41 and 75748.72. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index down by 1.30%, while Small cap index was down by 0.67%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE were Metal up by 0.87%, while Auto down by 2.52%, Healthcare down by 1.62%, Consumer Disc down by 1.53%, Telecom down by 1.39% and Oil & Gas down by 1.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.67%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.23%, HCL Technologies up by 0.65%, Nestle up by 0.43% and NTPC up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 6.01%, Adani Ports down by 2.61%, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 2.31%, Tata Motors down by 2.22% and Zomato down by 1.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the HSBC Flash India PMI report has said that India’s private sector output witnessed the fastest rise in the month of February, amid a quicker expansion in services activity along with improved international demand for goods and services. However, there were quicker increases in prices charged for both Indian goods and services. Moreover, the overall rate of charge inflation was marked, the fastest in three months and above its long-run average.

The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index -- a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors -- surged to 60.6 in February from a final reading of 57.7 in January. However, the HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI index slipped from 57.7 in January to 57.1 in February. 

According to the report, factory orders rose sharply, albeit at a softer pace than in January, due to competitive pressures. On the other hand, service providers welcomed the steepest upturn in new business intakes since August 2024. In line with the trend for unfinished business, services companies recruited staff at a stronger pace than goods producers. 

The Flash PMI report further noted that private sector companies were strongly upbeat towards output prospects. The overall level of business sentiment was a tick above that seen in January, to reach its highest mark since November 2024. The improvement in confidence was centred at goods producers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22780.20, down by 132.95 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 22720.30 and 22921.00. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.10%, Tata Steel up by 1.79%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.35%, Eicher Motors up by 1.32% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 6.02%, BPCL down by 2.78%, Adani Ports down by 2.69%, Tata Motors down by 2.33% and Wipro down by 2.22% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 900.94 points or 3.84% to 23,477.92, Jakarta Composite gained 14.96 points or 0.22% to 6,803.00, KOSPI increased 0.52 points or 0.02% to 2,654.58, Nikkei 225 surged 98.9 points or 0.26% to 38,776.94, Taiwan Weighted added 242.79 points or 1.02% to 23,730.25, Straits Times rose 3.43 points or 0.09% to 3,930.94 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 28.33 points or 0.84% to 3,379.11.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 3.81 points or 0.04% to 8,659.16 and Germany’s DAX lost 8.4 points or 0.04% to 22,306.25, while France’s CAC rose 18.17 points or 0.22% to 8,140.75.