Downtrend continues over Dalal Street

Indian equity benchmarks continued to experience selling in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty lower by over 20% each, amid persistent FII selling, continuing uncertainty around tariffs and ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. However, losses were limited, as Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said that India R&D spending (GERD) is double in last one decade during the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from Rs 60,196 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1,27,381 crore and is shaping the future economy of India which will be defined by homegrown innovations in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computing.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as Japan's consumer sentiment decreased unexpectedly in February to the lowest level in almost two years. The survey data from the Cabinet Office showed that the seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index weakened to 35.0 in February from 35.2 in January. Further, the latest reading was the lowest since March 2023, when it was 33.7.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72912.30, down by 173.64 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 72633.54 and 73029.84. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 1.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.26%, PSU up by 1.24%, Industrials up by 1.18%, Basic Materials up by 0.46% and Healthcare up by 0.46%, while FMCG down by 0.78%, Auto down by 0.74%, TECK down by 0.50%, Telecom down by 0.41% and Realty down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.84%, Zomato up by 2.18%, TCS up by 1.28%, Tata Steel up by 1.26% and Indusind Bank up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.47%, Nestle down by 2.19%, Titan down by 1.80%, Sun Pharma down by 1.71% and HCL Tech. down by 1.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government data has showed that India's power consumption grew marginally to 131.54 billion units (BU) in February, higher than 127.34 BU in the year-ago period. However, the two figures are not comparable, as 2024 was a leap year.  

It said the highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) also rose to 238.14 GW from 222 GW in February 2024. The peak power demand touched an all-time high of about 250 GW in May 2024. The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023. 

Last year, the power ministry projected a peak power demand of 235 GW during the day and 225 GW during evening hours for May 2024, while 240 GW during daytime and 235 GW in the evening hours for June 2024. The ministry had also estimated that peak power demand may hit 260 GW in the summer of 2024. According to government estimates, peak power demand is expected to touch 270 GW in the summer of 2025. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22070.20, down by 49.10 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 21964.60 and 22104.25. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 2.70%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.30%, Trent up by 1.67%, BPCL up by 1.58% and TCS up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 3.06%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.45%, Nestle down by 2.22%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.14% and Titan down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 39.72 points or 0.17% to 22,966.55, Jakarta Composite plunged 87.12 points or 1.35% to 6,432.54, Straits Times fell 12.75 points or 0.33% to 3,896.17, KOSPI dropped 2.97 points or 0.12% to 2,529.81, Nikkei 225 slipped 541.82 points or 1.45% to 37,243.65 and Taiwan Weighted lost 159.37 points or 0.71% to 22,596.88, while Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.6 points or 0.11% to 3,320.53.