A weak trade persisted over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, as bear held a tight grip, amid lackluster cues from other Asian markets but indices came off from their intraday low points. Investors monitored developments in energy markets and reacted to the Reserve Bank of India's latest measures to support the plunging rupee. With an aim to strengthen market discipline and ensure appropriate risk management in the foreign exchange market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unveiled several regulatory measures, including restrictions on rebooking of cancelled foreign exchange derivative contracts, reduction in the threshold for undertaking foreign exchange derivative transactions without establishing underlying exposure, and introduction of Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve (FERR).
Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, were trading in negative territory, with the Sensex witnessing a sharper decline than the Nifty, as traders remained cautious ahead of key inflation data and corporate earnings. Persistent foreign fund outflows, and concerns over interest rates continued to weigh on sentiment. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as investors assessed escalating tensions in the Middle East, potential disruptions to energy supplies, and expectations for a busy week of corporate earnings and inflation data.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71951.98, down by 520.35 points or 0.72% after trading in a range of 71848.10 and 72884.25. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.54%, Realty up by 1.19%, Industrials up by 0.81%, Auto up by 0.81% and Power up by 0.60%, while FMCG down by 1.13%, Telecom down by 1.05%, TECK down by 0.88%, Bankex down by 0.49%, and Consumer Durables down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.48%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.83%, Eternal up by 0.46%, Trent up by 0.31% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.03%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.08%, ITC down by 2.80%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.06%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.86% and State Bank of India down by 1.80% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, with an aim to strengthen market discipline and ensure appropriate risk management in the foreign exchange market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unveiled several regulatory measures, including restrictions on rebooking of cancelled foreign exchange derivative contracts, reduction in the threshold for undertaking foreign exchange derivative transactions without establishing underlying exposure, and introduction of Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve (FERR).
As per regulatory measures, Authorised Dealers shall not permit users to rebook any foreign exchange derivative contract involving INR, whether deliverable or non-deliverable, which has been cancelled with any Authorised Dealer after the issuance of the Directions. Rollover of foreign exchange derivative contracts on maturity shall continue to be permitted, subject to compliance with the extant regulatory provisions. Besides, Authorised Dealers will be required to obtain and retain an undertaking from users entering into foreign exchange derivative contracts involving INR to hedge contracted exposures, confirming that the same underlying exposure has not been hedged with any other Authorised Dealer.
Further, in respect of all foreign exchange derivative contracts involving INR that are for notional value exceeding USD two million equivalent, Authorised Dealers shall be required to maintain with the Reserve Bank an FERR in cash, equal to 20 per cent of the INR equivalent of the notional amount of each transaction. This FERR shall be applicable for foreign exchange derivative contracts involving INR undertaken to hedge current account exposures where the user purchases foreign currency against the INR.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22399.50, down by 120.95 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 22352.35 and 22651.10. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 3.14%, Dr. Reddy's Labs. up by 2.57%, BSE up by 1.68%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.25% and Eicher Motors up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.04%, ITC down by 2.63%, Coal India down by 1.96%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.75% and State Bank of India down by 1.72% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 165.45 points or 2.72% to 5,928.31, KOSPI dropped 241.69 points or 3.79% to 6,384.24, Taiwan Weighted lost 11.48 points or 0.02% to 49,301.96 and Shanghai Composite weakened 16.55 points or 0.43% to 3,797.24, while Hang Seng advanced 7.65 points or 0.03% to 24,219.00 and Straits Times rose 15.84 points or 0.29% to 5,417.73.
