Indices remain under pressure in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained under pressure and were trading lower with cut of over half percent in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Selling witnessed in most of the key heavyweights namely Infosys, ICICI Bank and HCL Technologies, which dragged both the Sensex the NSE below their crucial 82,100 and 25,300 levels, respectively. Further, rising crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows dented the sentiments. Foreign investors offloaded shares worth Rs 393.97 crore on a net basis Thursday. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following muted cues from US markets overnight.  Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Telecom, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Basic Materials, IT, Energy and TECK.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82098.96, down by 467.41 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 81941.03 and 82282.39. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.24%, FMCG up by 0.99%, Consumer Durables up by 0.93%, Capital Goods up by 0.74%, Healthcare up by 0.62%, while Metal down by 4.13%, Basic Materials down by 1.99%, IT down by 1.24%, Energy down by 1.01% and TECK down by 0.91% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 0.69%, Adani Ports up by 0.62%, Axis Bank up by 0.52%, SBI up by 0.36% and ITC up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 4.47%, Infosys down by 2.14%, ICICI Bank down by 1.76%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.38% and HCL Technologies down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India unexpectedly gained a small bonus from its free trade (FTA) agreement with the European Union (EU), as Indian goods can enter Turkiye with duty concessions, while Turkish products are not able to use the pact to export to India. The European Union and Turkiye are linked by a customs union covering most industrial goods and processed agricultural products.

GTRI stated these goods travel freely between the EU and Turkey without tariffs or quotas, while Turkey imposes the EU's common external tariff on imports from third countries. As a result, when Indian goods enter the EU under the India-EU FTA, they are able to proceed into Turkey without facing extra tariffs. In effect, Indian exports gain indirect access to the Turkish market through the EU. However, the reverse does not apply.

Moreover, it stated Turkish goods cannot enter India duty-free through the India-EU FTA, even if they pass through EU ports. It added under the agreement’s rules of origin, only EU-origin goods qualify for preferential access, and Turkiye is not a party to the agreement. India and the EU recently announced the successful conclusion of their FTA negotiations.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25263.50, down by 155.40 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 25218.95 and 25323.15. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer up by 2.04%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.93%, Nestle up by 1.34%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.80% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 5.43%, Tata Steel down by 4.50%, Coal India down by 3.36%, Infosys down by 2.31% and ONGC down by 1.98% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 332.69 points or 1.02% to 32,203.58, Shanghai Composite weakened 21.57 points or 0.52% to 4,136.41, Hang Seng declined 506.09 points or 1.81% to 27,462.00 and Straits Times fell 8.11 points or 0.16% to 4,921.92. However, Nikkei 225 surged 113.4 points or 0.21% to 53,489.00, Jakarta Composite gained 96.95 points or 1.16% to 8,329.15 and KOSPI increased 37.31 points or 0.71% to 5,258.56.