Domestic equity indices remained under pressure and were trading in red with cut of around one percent in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Meanwhile, the broader markets were also facing the heat of selling; the BSE mid-cap index declined by 2.77 per cent and the small-cap index was down 3.85 per cent. Hectic selling in Power Grid, Tata Motors, Zomato, Indusind Bank and HCL companies’ stocks dragged the markets lower. A cautious undertone prevailed in the markets due to continued foreign fund flows, tariff uncertainties and concerns over slowing corporate earnings growth. Traders were also cautious as the RBI said India's forex reserves dropped by $1.88 billion to $623.983 billion in the week ended January 17.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors assessed China’s manufacturing and industrial profit data. China’s factory activity growth in January unexpectedly contracted, with the official purchasing managers’ index for January coming in at 49.1 versus street estimates of 50.1. In December, China’s industrial profits jumped 11% from a year earlier. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Telecom, Industrials, Power, Utilities and Capital Goods.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75482.07, down by 708.39 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 75348.06 and 75925.72. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 2.77%, while Small cap index down by 3.85%.
The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom down by 3.31%, Industrials down by 3.23%, Power down by 2.71%, Utilities down by 2.68% and Capital Goods down by 2.65%, while there were no gainers.
The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 1.70%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.04%, SBI up by 0.60%, Asian Paints up by 0.45% and ITC up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 3.85%, Tata Motors down by 2.77%, Zomato down by 2.66%, Indusind Bank down by 2.48% and HCL Technologies down by 2.46% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in its latest data has said that automobile exports from India rose 19 per cent year-on-year in 2024 led by a robust dispatch of two-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. Overall shipments rose to 50,98,810 units last year, up 19 per cent from 42,85,809 units exported in 2023.
According to the data, in 2024, passenger vehicle exports grew 10 per cent to 7,43,976 units as compared to 6,77,956 units in January-December period of 2023. Utility vehicle shipments rose 33 per cent year-on-year to 3,23,621 units while van shipments also jumped 14 per cent annually to 8,207 units. However, passenger car dispatches declined 4 per cent in 2024 to 4,12,148 units as compared to 4,27,876 units in 2023.
It said two-wheeler exports rose 23 per cent to 39,77,162 units in 2024 as compared to 32,43,673 units shipped in 2023, led by motorcycles which grew by 24 per cent to 33,97,586 units. Scooter shipments rose to 5,73,230 units in 2024 from 4,91,329 units in 2023. Besides, moped exports rose to 6,346 units in 2024, registering an annual growth of 89 per cent. Commercial vehicle shipments witnessed a growth of 6 per cent at 72,511 units in 2024 as against 68,473 units in 2023. Three-wheeler shipments grew by 2 per cent to 2,98,235 units in 2024 as against 2,91,919 units in 2023.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22866.90, down by 225.30 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 22826.85 and 23007.45. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia up by 2.04%, ICICI Bank up by 1.78%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.17%, SBI up by 0.81% and Asian Paints up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 4.06%, Wipro down by 2.80%, Tata Motors down by 2.77%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.56% and Indusind Bank down by 2.45% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 186.87 points or 0.93% to 20,253.06 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 5.12 points or 0.16% to 3,257.75. However, Straits Times fell 6.59 points or 0.17% to 3,797.67 and Nikkei 225 slipped 327.16 points or 0.82% to 39,604.82.