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Indian equity benchmarks continued their weak trade in the afternoon session as funds and retail investors indulged in booking profits at prevailing levels. Broader markets also weakened with the midcap and smallcap indices down by 1.21 percent and 1.99 percent, respectively. Sentiments were dented as Former World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu said that even though the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong, the rise in divisiveness and polarisation in the country is damaging the foundations of the nation’s growth. Also, surging global crude prices and persistent foreign capital outflows weighed on investor’ mood. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,393.45 crore, exchange data showed. Traders were taking cautious approach ahead of US Fed's minutes scheduled to be released later. Meanwhile, volatility also remained high ahead of the F&O expiry. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors remain fearful about the economic outlook owing to the impact of inflation, higher interest rates, China's slowdown and the Ukraine war.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53913.36, down by 139.25 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 53835.01 and 54379.59. There were 12 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 1.21%, while Small cap index was down by 1.99%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Bankex was up by 0.76%, while IT down by 2.67%, TECK down by 1.98%, Realty down by 1.88%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.77% and Basic Materials was down by 1.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.10%, Nestle up by 1.53%, NTPC up by 1.50%, ICICI Bank up by 1.28% and HDFC was up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 5.82%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.19%, Wipro down by 3.16%, TCS down by 2.71% and HCL Tech was down by 1.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India has said that export of engineering goods to CIS countries including Russia and Ukraine fell the most year-on-year during April 2022, while that to North America registered the highest growth during this period. As per the region-wise data, exports to CIS countries slumped to $25.1 million in April 2022 from $90 million in the same month last year. On the other hand, exports to North America surged 52.9 per cent year-on-year to $2.26 billion in April compared to $1.48 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. The region remained the top market ahead of the European Union (EU) for Indian engineering goods during the period under review. Engineering export to the EU was $2 billion last month as compared to $1.42 billion in the same month of the previous year,

EEPC said India’s engineering exports recorded 21.97 per cent growth in April 2022 over the same month last fiscal by registering $9.73 billion of shipments last month as against $7.97 billion in April 2021. The share of engineering exports in total merchandise exports was recorded at 24.20 per cent during this period. The target for India’s engineering exports for 2022-23 has been set at $127 billion by the government. In line with the target for the entire fiscal, that for April 2022 on a pro-rata basis was $10.58 billion while actual export during the month was $9.73 billion.

Following the remarkable performance in FY 2021-22, it said India’s merchandise, as well as engineering exports, recorded impressive numbers in the first month of the new FY 2022-23. During this time while India’s merchandise exports grew by 30.7 per cent to reach $40.19 billion, engineering exports grew by nearly 22 per cent to reach $ 9.73 billion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16098.55, down by 26.60 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 16052.60 and 16223.35. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 3.74%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.25%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.25%, NTPC up by 1.77% and Nestle was up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 5.66%, Adani Ports down by 4.43%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.18%, Wipro down by 2.99% and TCS was down by 2.74% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 57.94 points or 0.29% to 20,170.04, Shanghai Composite gained 29.90 points or 0.97% to 3,100.83, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 140.40 points or 0.88% to 16,104.03 and KOSPI was up by 11.34 points or 0.44% to 2,617.21.

On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 21.13 points or 0.66% to 3,173.91 Nikkei 225 slipped 70.34 points or 0.26% to 26,677.80 and Jakarta Composite was down by 30.72 points or 0.44% to 6,883.42.

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