Markets fail to hold gains; enter into negative terrain

Markets failed to hold gains and once again entered into red terrain in late afternoon session. Some bargain hunting at lower level helped markets to recover from day’s low and entered into green terrain for a brief period. However, indices failed to hold that gains and slipped below neutral lines as fears over lingering global trade wars owed to tension between US and European Union continued to weigh on investors’ sentiments. Besides, market participants remained concerned about weakening Indian rupee. The Indian rupee fell to 91.68 against the US dollar. Moreover, lack of domestic cues has kept traders’ risk appetite subdued.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed as risk aversion gripped financial markets on the back of rising bond yields and U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed push to acquire Greenland. European equity markets were trading mostly in green ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at Davos. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81851.79, down by 328.68 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 81124.45 and 82407.05. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.46%, while Small cap index was down by 1.15%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Telecom up by 0.03%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.55%, Capital Goods down by 1.41%, Industrials down by 1.27%, Realty down by 1.18% and Bankex down by 1.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 4.63%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.33%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.82%, Reliance Industries up by 0.61% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Trent down by 1.99%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.91%, ICICI Bank down by 1.57%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.36% and HDFC Bank down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Steel Daya Nidhan Pandey has said that India needs to significantly increase the share of steel scrap in its production processes to support sustainable growth, reduce emissions and meet future capacity targets. The move is seen as pivotal for achieving long-term energy efficiencies, supporting resource security and reducing the overall environmental footprint of the steel sector. He said India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, has registered 11.7 per cent growth in finished steel consumption over the last four years. 

He said India's scrap ecosystem today is still at an early stage of maturity and will require time to reach the global average. He said that as successive waves of infrastructure, vehicles, and industrial assets reach end-of-life, scrap generation in India will increase steadily. In this context, he said ship breaking, end-of-life vehicles and construction and demolition waste are expected to emerge as major and reliable sources of industrial-grade scrap in the coming years. 

The joint secretary further said that bridging this gap requires a concerted approach across the steel ecosystem, encompassing both government and industry. Stronger supply-side measures are essential, including stricter enforcement of ELV deregistration, mandatory compliance for construction and demolition waste recovery, and the modernization of shipbreaking facilities. In parallel, he said demand-side policies must create assured and cost-competitive markets for scrap, enabling steel producers to adopt scrap at scale and with confidence.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25120.85, down by 111.65 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 24919.80 and 25300.95. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 4.78%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.44%, Hindalco up by 0.95%, Max Healthcare Inst up by 0.87% and ONGC up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Trent down by 2.09%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.99%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.94%, ICICI Bank down by 1.61% and Nestle down by 1.45% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 94.49 points or 0.36% to 26,582.00, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.29 points or 0.08% to 4,116.94 and KOSPI increased 24.18 points or 0.49% to 4,909.93, while Nikkei 225 slipped 232.1 points or 0.44% to 52,759.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 513.62 points or 1.64% to 31,246.37, Straits Times fell 19.69 points or 0.41% to 4,808.31 and Jakarta Composite plunged 141.56 points or 1.57% to 8,993.14.

European equity markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 5.15 points or 0.05% to 10,131.93 and France’s CAC rose 0.02 points or 0% to 8,062.60, while Germany’s DAX lost 4.82 points or 0.02% to 24,698.30.