Indian equity markets traded at day’s low levels in late afternoon session following weak cues from European markets. Traders were worried ahead of Union Budget for the financial year 2025-26 and Fed meet. Investor remained cautious as the RBI said India's forex reserves dropped by $1.88 billion to $623.983 billion in the week ended January 17. Sector wise, Automobile industry remained in focus as 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.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors reacted to weak Chinese data and awaited interest-rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Banks this week for directional cues. European markets were trading lower as worries persist over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies. The Trump administration said it was pausing punitive tariffs against Colombia after its leader agreed to grant entry to U.S. military flights carrying deported migrants.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75420.15, down by 770.31 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 75335.17 and 75925.72. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.61%, while Small cap index was down by 3.74%.
The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Bankex up by 0.12%, while Telecom down by 3.54%, IT down by 3.32%, TECK down by 3.02%, Industrials down by 2.84% and Healthcare was down by 2.77% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 1.49%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.07%, SBI up by 1.07%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.85% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.23%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 4.27%, HCL Tech down by 3.94%, Zomato down by 3.66%, Infosys down by 3.06% and Tata Motors down by 2.64% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in its latest provisional payroll data has showed that 16.07 lakh new employees have been added in the month of November 2024, as against 15.92 lakh during November 2023, marginally higher by 0.942%.
According to the report, 20,212 new establishments have been brought under the social security ambit of the ESI Scheme in the month of November 2024 thus ensuring social security to more workers. Out of the total 16.07 lakh employees added during the reported month, 7.57 lakh employees amounting to around 47.11% of the total registrations belong to the age group of up to 25 years.
The gender-wise, net enrolment of female members has been 3.28 lakh in November 2024. Besides, a total of 44 transgender employees have also got registered under ESI Scheme in the month of November 2024 which attests the commitment of ESIC to deliver its benefits to every section of the society.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22845.20, down by 247.00 points or 1.07% after trading in a range of 22822.40 and 23007.45. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 1.48%, Britannia up by 1.34%, SBI up by 1.18%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.08% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 4.27%, HCL Tech down by 3.94%, Wipro down by 3.61%, Infosys down by 3.00% and Hindalco down by 2.87% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 366.18 points or 0.93% to 39,565.80, Straits Times fell 5.06 points or 0.13% to 3,799.20 and Shanghai Composite was down by 2.03 points or 0.06% to 3,250.60. On the flip side, Hang Seng was up by 131.58 points or 0.65% to 20,197.77.
European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 25.79 points or 0.3% to 8,476.56, France’s CAC fell 72.95 points or 0.92% to 7,854.67 and Germany’s DAX was down by 254.81 points or 1.19% to 21,140.12.