Domeic indices remain in red in late morning deals

Domestic indices remained in red and were trading lower with cut of over half a percent in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in red with BSE Mid cap index and BSE Small cap index falling in the range of 0.15-0.65%. Hectic selling in TCS, Infosys, NTPC, Tech Mahindra and HCL companies’ stocks dragged the markets to trade lower.  Traders were cautious as India's foreign exchange reserves dipped by another $6.477 billion in the week to November 8 to $675.653 billion as foreign institutional investors continued offloading their investment from local equities. This was the sixth straight weekly fall in reserves after reaching the all time high of $704.885 seen on September 27. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Metal, Realty, Consumer Durables, Auto and Basic Materials, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK, Oil & Gas, Energy and Utilities.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors awaited China LPR, Japan inflation data this week.  Back home, city gas distribution (CGD) companies namely Mahanagar Gas, Indraprastha Gas and Gujarat Gas were trading lower after the government has cut the Administered Price Mechanism (APM) allocation to CGD players by 20%. This was the second straight month in a row that the gas allocation has been cut. In the stock specific development, Hero MotoCorp surged after the company reported robust financial results for the second quarter of FY24.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77141.86, down by 438.45 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 76965.06 and 77886.97. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.17%, while Small cap index down by 0.63%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.98%, Realty up by 0.87%, Consumer Durables up by 0.77%, Auto up by 0.59% and Basic Materials up by 0.31%, while IT down by 2.66%, TECK down by 2.37%, Oil & Gas down by 1.67%, Energy down by 1.28% and Utilities down by 1.10% were top the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.16%, Adani Ports up by 1.12%, HDFC Bank up by 1.01%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.71% and Asian Paints up by 0.58%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.41%, Infosys down by 3.30%, NTPC down by 2.50%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.34% and HCL down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor C Rangarajan has said that India's healthcare expenditure is currently less than 2 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the governments must urgently increase it. He stressed on the importance of ensuring efficient fund utilisation before increasing healthcare spending.

Rangarajan said ‘in India, there is a consistent discussion on raising healthcare expenditure to at least 2.8 per cent of the GDP. However, current data indicates that we are spending only about 1.8 or 1.9 per cent of the GDP’. He said the governments should increase healthcare spending, focus on establishing hospitals that offer free services, and ensure these funds are utilised efficiently. He also stated that education and health are crucial for accelerating the country's progress. However, in India's social expenditure system, more resources are allocated to education than to health, which may not be the ideal approach.

Talking on international practices, he noted that insurance-linked medical services, common in developed nations, have limited relevance in India. Instead, he advocated for cross-subsidisation principles to establish more institutions that can serve both the poor and the affluent. He added that medical services in many Indian hospitals are comparable to those in developed countries. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23397.90, down by 134.80 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 23350.40 and 23606.80. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.28%, Hero MotoCorp up by 4.25%, Tata Steel up by 1.17%, Adani Ports up by 1.07% and HDFC Bank up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 3.61%, TCS down by 3.40%, Infosys down by 3.30%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.00% and NTPC down by 2.55% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite plunged 14.46 points or 0.2% to 7,146.80, Straits Times fell 3.01 points or 0.08% to 3,741.69, Nikkei 225 slipped 400.03 points or 1.04% to 38,242.88 and Taiwan Weighted lost 228 points or 1% to 22,514.77. However, Hang Seng advanced 171.34 points or 0.88% to 19,597.68, Shanghai Composite strengthened 31.33 points or 0.94% to 3,362.06 and KOSPI increased 43.39 points or 1.8% to 2,460.25.