Sensex, Nifty extend opening losses in early deals; Adani group stocks under pressure
The BSE Mid cap index fell 0.90%, while Small cap index was down by 0.99%
Detail
Indian equity benchmarks made negative start on Thursday amid mixed global cues, as traders remained cautious and are reluctant to make significant moves keeping close eye on the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Sensex and Nifty soon have extended their losses and are trading deeply in red with cut of around a percent each in early deals, led by selling at Utilities, PSU and Power counters. However, only IT and TECK stocks eked out slender gains in the weak markets. Foreign fund outflows continued to dent domestic markets. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling as they sold equities of Rs 3,411 crore worth on November 19. Traders were concerned as domestic rating agency Icra said India's real GDP growth for the September quarter is likely to decline to 6.5 per cent due to heavy rains and weaker corporate performance. Some cautiousness came as Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said India’s economic growth may have slowed in the September quarter, but overall, there is not much downside risk to 6.5-7 per cent growth in the current fiscal year.
On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as traders remained cautious as the People's Bank of China holding rates steady along with the US Fed's interest rate moves. Back home, Adani group stocks traded under pressure after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, the group founder with allegations of fraud and bribery in securing RE supply contracts. The group’s existing US-currency notes plunged in Asian trading.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76941.34, down by 637.04 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 76802.73 and 77711.11. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.90%, while Small cap index was down by 0.99%.
The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.49% and TECK up by 0.39%, while Utilities down by 4.55%, PSU down by 2.80%, Power down by 2.75%, Oil & Gas down by 2.25% and Energy down by 1.93% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 0.91%, HCL Technologies up by 0.73%, TCS up by 0.63%, Power Grid up by 0.14% and HDFC Bank up by 0.07%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 10.00%, SBI down by 4.68%, NTPC down by 3.06%, Indusind Bank down by 3.04% and Tata Motors down by 1.90% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth has said that economic growth of India may have slowed in the September quarter (Q2), but overall there is not much downside risk to 6.5-7 per cent growth in the current fiscal year (FY25). Seth said while some goods and services may not have grown at the same pace as in the last year in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, data on e-way bills and e-invoices does not indicate any significant downside possibility to the full year 6.5-7 per cent growth projected in the Economic Survey.
The secretary also said food prices have been a concern but other than that, inflation is not a challenge for India. On capex, he said the government’s capital expenditure may see some undershooting of the Rs 11.11 lakh crore in the current fiscal year. But the capex will be higher than Rs 9.5 lakh crore in the last fiscal year.
The Indian economy grew 6.7 per cent year-over-year in the April-June period of FY25. Although this marks the slowest growth in five quarters, India ranks among the fastest-growing major economies globally. India grew 8.2 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23321.60, down by 196.90 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 23263.15 and 23507.30. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 1.19%, HCL Technologies up by 0.90%, TCS up by 0.76%, Hindalco up by 0.61% and Trent up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 10.00%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 10.00%, SBI down by 4.71%, Indusind Bank down by 3.00% and NTPC down by 2.85% were the top losers.
Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 340.7 points or 0.9% to 38,011.64, Taiwan Weighted lost 79.6 points or 0.35% to 22,608.76, Hang Seng declined 26.83 points or 0.14% to 19,678.18 and Shanghai Composite weakened 3.35 points or 0.1% to 3,364.64. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite gained 14.97 points or 0.21% to 7,195.31, KOSPI increased 12.64 points or 0.51% to 2,494.93 and Straits Times was up by 3.81 points or 0.1% to 3,747.45.