Bourses trade deeply in red during late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded deeply in red during late afternoon session on account of selling in IT sector’s stocks. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index also traded with heavy losses. Traders took note of report that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 55th meeting of the GST Council in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer due on tomorrow. The most significant agenda for the GST Council is the proposed rate cut on term health and life insurance. The Council is set to address the matter of GST exemptions on term life insurance premiums tomorrow.  On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as concerns persisted about the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory and the U.S. faced a government shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan. European markets were trading lower as focus shifts to U.S. personal income and spending data for November due later in the day, which includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78382.17, down by 835.88 points or 1.06% after trading in a range of 78317.29 and 79587.15. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.60%, while Small cap index was down by 1.54%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.38%, Capital Goods down by 2.28%, IT down by 2.23%, Power down by 2.21% and Industrials was down by 2.09%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 0.40%, JSW Steel up by 0.23%, Titan Company up by 0.14% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.57%, Indusind Bank down by 2.88%, Axis Bank down by 2.73%, Tata Motors down by 2.28% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, World Economic Forum (WEF) in its Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 report has showed that India is ranked 39th among 119 countries. In the previous index published in 2021, India was ranked 54th. However, due to a revision in the WEF's methodology, India's 2021 rank was adjusted to 38th place.

This achievement was on the back of improved infrastructure and friendly government policies to boost tourism in the country. The Ministry of Tourism under the schemes of ‘Swadesh Darshan’, ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)’ and ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development’ provides financial assistance to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations/Central Agencies for the development of tourism related infrastructure and facilities at various tourism destinations in the country. 

Besides, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched India’s official portal for Medical Value Travel (MVT), which is the Advantage Healthcare India portal. It is a ‘One-Stop’ portal developed for the facilitation of information for those who want to avail medical treatment in India from abroad. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23708.45, down by 243.25 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 23676.20 and 24065.80. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.08%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.44%, Nestle up by 0.44%, SBI Life up by 0.28% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.61%, Indusind Bank down by 2.91%, Axis Bank down by 2.80%, Trent down by 2.67% and Tata Motors down by 2.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 422 points or 1.87% to 22,510.25, Nikkei 225 slipped 111.68 points or 0.29% to 38,701.90, Straits Times fell 35.79 points or 0.95% to 3,727.09, Hang Seng declined 31.81 points or 0.16% to 19,720.70, KOSPI dropped 31.78 points or 1.32% to 2,404.15 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.96 points or 0.06% to 3,368.07. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 32.53 points or 0.47% to 7,009.77.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 55.43 points or 0.68% to 8,049.89, France’s CAC fell 93.17 points or 1.28% to 7,201.20 and Germany’s DAX was down 241.57 points or 1.21% to 19,728.29.