Indian equity markets entered into the negative territory in late afternoon amid last hour volatility ahead of monthly and weekly expiry of BSE F&O contracts. Further, investors took a cautious approach as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers on Tuesday’s session. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 2,407.87 crore. Besides, investors overlooked India and the US signing key framework for cooperation in ensuring steady supplies of critical minerals. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the development as ‘very timely and significant’. He stated ‘This framework aims to deepen our cooperation across the entire critical minerals and rare earth supply chain, including mining, processing, recycling and related investment.’
On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed with Chinese and Hong Kong markets declining after China punished three brokerages for offering mainland investors access to overseas stocks without licenses. European equity markets were trading mostly in green despite heightened inflation concerns and expectations that major central banks could raise borrowing costs soon.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75822.83, down by 186.87 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 75748.21 and 76224.68. There were 18 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 2.71%, Capital Goods up by 2.53%, Utilities up by 2.22%, Metal up by 1.60% and Industrials up by 1.31%, while Bankex down by 0.55%, IT down by 0.50%, TECK down by 0.31%, Energy down by 0.24% and FMCG down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 2.82%, Eternal up by 2.72%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.20%, Tata Steel up by 1.92% and NTPC up by 1.90%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.45%, HDFC Bank down by 2.56%, Infosys down by 0.87%, ICICI Bank down by 0.74% and Bharat Electronics down by 0.63% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, showcasing sustained demand for rupee liquidity amid changing market landscapes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has received robust response for its USD/INR Buy/Sell swap auction with nearly twice subscriptions than the notified amount of $5 billion.
Participants in the auction placed bids totalling $9.80 billion against the announced $5 billion offer. The RBI received 254 bids at the auction and accepted 141 bids. The bid to cover ratio stood at 1.96. The cut-off premium was established at 910 paise, with weighted average premium of accepted bids at 920.64 paise.
Further, the partial allotment as percentage of competitive bids at cut-off premium stands at 18.10 per cent. The swap arrangement is set for a three-year term, with settlements planned for May 29, 2026, and May 29, 2029.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23881.40, down by 32.30 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 23858.25 and 23983.20. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.74%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.92%, Eternal up by 2.69%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.27% and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle up by 2.17%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 4.40%, ITC down by 3.30%, HDFC Bank down by 2.66%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.52% and Wipro down by 1.20% were the top losers.
Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 337.91 points or 0.52% to 65,334.00, Taiwan Weighted added 731.43 points or 1.65% to 44,256.80 and KOSPI increased 181.19 points or 2.2% to 8,228.70, while Shanghai Composite weakened 51.64 points or 1.26% to 4,093.73 and Hang Seng declined 283.45 points or 1.12% to 25,316.00. Meanwhile, Indonesian and Singaporean markets remained closed on account of holiday.
European equity markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 55.69 points or 0.68% to 8,228.80 and Germany’s DAX gained 95.11 points or 0.38% to 25,280.00, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 1.54 points or 0.01% to 10,489.85.
