Markets remain under pressure in late morning deals

Indian equity markets remained in red and were trading with cut of over 0.75 percent in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Both Sensex and Nifty were trading below their psychological 73,000 and 22,150 levels respectively. Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in red with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index falling in the range of 0.80-1.05%. Hectic selling in Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finserv, ITC and Indusind Bank companies’ stocks dragged markets lower. Mixed cues from the global markets weighed on the domestic sentiments. Traders were cautious as Foreign Institutional Investors have net sold Rs 6,669.10 crore worth of Indian shares on May 08. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position only in Auto and Consumer Disc, while selling was witnessed in Capital Goods, Industrials, Energy, Oil & Gas and Metal.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders remained cautious and have been reluctant to make more significant moves amid lingering uncertainty over the outlook for interest rates after recent economic data and hawkish comments from some US Fed officials. Back home, in the stock specific developments, gold financing companies -- Muthoot Finance, and Manappuram Finance came under heavy selling pressure after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cautioned them against breaching the Rs 20,000-cap on cash loan disbursal.  The central bank referred to the provisions of the Section 269 SS of Income Tax Act, 1961, that stipulates no individual can receive more than Rs 20,000 as loan amount in cash.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72910.29, down by 556.10 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 72886.96 and 73499.49. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.80%, while Small cap index down by 1.04%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.63% and Consumer Disc up by 0.39%, while Capital Goods down by 2.20%, Industrials down by 1.79%, Energy down by 1.77%, Oil & Gas down by 1.69% and Metal down by 1.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.58%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.56%, HCL up by 1.79%, Infosys up by 0.80% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 4.83%, JSW Steel down by 1.72%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.48%, ITC down by 1.38% and Indusind Bank down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Mines secretary V L Kantha Rao has said that the government is likely to soon finalise a framework for a state mining index. He said the index would serve as a tool for stakeholders of the mining sector to understand different aspects related to the ease of doing mining business within a state.

The secretary has stated that a state mining index would boost cooperative federalism as well as competition among states. He also made a plea to states to help in data collection efforts by properly submitting the statistical returns in time. 

He said principal secretaries, directors and other officials from 26 states participated in a day-long workshop on State Mining Index to discuss and finalise the indicators and sub-indicators of performance which form part of the index framework and methodology. He also said post consultations and feedback from states, a framework of the state mining index will be finalized and released in July 2024 for actual ranking to take place in April next year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22133.90, down by 168.60 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 22122.05 and 22307.75. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.37%, Tata Motors up by 2.66%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.55%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.83% and HCL up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 4.92%, Divi's Lab down by 2.53%, Coal India down by 2.21%, Tata Consumer down by 2.10% and ONGC down by 2.06% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 34.07 points or 0.09% to 38,168.30, Taiwan Weighted lost 94.32 points or 0.46% to 20,606.19 and KOSPI dropped 32.46 points or 1.18% to 2,712.59. However, Hang Seng advanced 205.99 points or 1.12% to 18,519.85, Shanghai Composite strengthened 23.74 points or 0.76% to 3,152.22 and Straits Times rose 0.51 points or 0.02% to 3,265.04.