Markets continue to trade deep in red during late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade deep in red during late afternoon session as Brent crude oil prices spiked over 3% to trade above $97 a barrel mark after US military conducted strikes against Iran for the twelfth consecutive night with both sides increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure. Further, traders have maintained risk-averse approach ahead of weekly expiry of Sensex F&O contracts. Besides, persistent capital outflows by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to weigh on investor sentiments. The FIIs were the net sellers on Wednesday’s session, offloading securities worth Rs 819.20 crore. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green as renewed AI optimism helped offset escalating West Asia tensions.  European equity markets were trading lower as investors awaited for outcome of European Central Bank meeting for further economic cues.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76412.75, down by 342.30 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 76190.27 and 76726.66. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.65%, IT up by 0.17% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.04%, while Realty down by 1.63%, Power down by 1.21%, Telecom down by 1.18%, Utilities down by 1.12% and Metal down by 1.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.73%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66%, TCS up by 0.76%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.66% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.47%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.71%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.70%, State Bank of India down by 1.42%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.38% and Axis Bank down by 1.35% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has cautioned that the proposed steep US tariffs on generic medicines could have a significant impact on India's largest pharmaceutical export market, although the effect is expected to vary across product categories. 

According to GTRI, Indian generic medicines are typically priced seven to ten times lower than their branded alternatives. It said as a result, even if a 100 per cent tariff is imposed, many Indian generics are likely to remain cheaper than branded medicines. Consequently, a substantial portion of the additional cost is expected to be absorbed by US healthcare providers, insurers and patients, rather than immediately eliminating Indian exports. It added that the greatest pressure is expected to fall on higher-value generic formulations and branded generics, where manufacturing in the United States could become commercially viable.

GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said the proposed tariffs could significantly affect India's largest pharmaceutical export market. He also urged India to reduce its reliance on the US by expanding pharmaceutical exports to Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23888.80, down by 107.45 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 23811.85 and 23990.75. There were 17 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.44%, TCS up by 1.87%, Eternal up by 1.86%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.74% and SBI Life Insurance up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 3.93%, Nestle India down by 3.05%, Shriram Finance down by 2.68%, JSW Steel down by 1.85% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 249.4 points or 0.38% to 66,365.00, Taiwan Weighted added 25.03 points or 0.06% to 44,850.81, Hang Seng advanced 293.34 points or 1.16% to 25,186.00, KOSPI increased 299.19 points or 4.22% to 7,096.89 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 9.75 points or 0.25% to 3,876.78, while Straits Times fell 18.69 points or 0.33% to 5,576.73 and Jakarta Composite plunged 8.57 points or 0.14% to 6,325.91.

European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 2.74 points or 0.03% to 10,714.23, France’s CAC fell 62.49 points or 0.74% to 8,375.40 and Germany’s DAX lost 82.01 points or 0.33% to 25,073.40.