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Indian equity markets continued their weak trade in the afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. Traders were worried as the government’s total liabilities rose to Rs 125.71 lakh crore in the September quarter from Rs 120.91 lakh crore in the three months ended June, according to the latest public debt management report. The increase reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of 3.97 per cent in the July-September period of 2021-22. However, downfall remain capped as India approved Merck's (MRK.N) COVID-19 pill and two more vaccines for emergency use as the world's second most populous country braces for a possible spike in coronavirus cases due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower amid continued fears over the Omicron variant as well as uncertainty about economic prospects for 2022. Back home, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its last board meeting of the year, tightened norms for public share sales. The board has tightened rules for IPO proceed utilisation, prescribed a minimum 5 per cent gap in IPO price bands, extended the lock-in period for anchor investors to 90 days, and capped the amount a majority investor can sell through an offer for sale.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57826.86, down by 70.62 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 57721.47 and 58097.07. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.19%, Capital Goods up by 0.25%, Telecom up by 0.14%, Industrials up by 0.13% and Auto was up by 0.01%, while Metal down by 1.21%, PSU down by 0.64%, Utilities down by 0.63%, Power down by 0.54% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.52% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.75%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.58%, Indusind Bank up by 1.16%, Titan Company up by 0.82% and Ultratech Cement was up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.33%, ITC down by 1.11%, SBI down by 0.75%, Power Grid down by 0.71% and Reliance Industries was down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21 has said that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are expected to remain buoyant going ahead, with the increased pace of vaccinations and the broadening revival of the economy. It said the COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of NBFCs, but so far, the sector has emerged stronger with reasonable balance sheet growth, increased credit intermediation, higher capital, lower delinquency ratio and enlarged liquidity cushions.

According to the report, the financial system is maturing from a bank-dominated space to a hybrid system, wherein non-bank intermediaries are gaining prominence. The developments in the sector in 2020-21 are a harbinger of even brighter prospects in the years ahead. It said various policies in the aftermath of the pandemic ensured liquidity support, moratorium and asset classification standstill eased financial conditions and gave NBFCs adequate time and wherewithal to weather the shock and leverage on their grass-root level reach to channelise credit to productive sectors and revive growth. Many NBFCs have adopted strong credit risk assessment frameworks to ensure the quality of credit creation.

The report further said housing finance companies (HFCs) also took several proactive steps to counter the impact of COVID-19 and ensure continuity of business during the lockdown by resorting to digitally-enabled services for sourcing, processing, and disbursing loans. Going forward, given the growing population and the under-penetrated market, affordable housing finance has huge potential.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17205.15, down by 28.10 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 17180.95 and 17285.95. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 1.76%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.67%, Divi's Lab up by 1.43%, Indusind Bank up by 1.19% and SBI Life Insurance was up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.41%, ONGC down by 1.40%, Tata Steel down by 1.40%, Grasim Industries down by 1.21% and ITC was down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite lost 2.78 points or 0.04% to 6,595.56, Hang Seng decreased 241.67 points or 1.04% to 23,038.89, KOSPI fell 26.95 points or 0.89% to 2,993.29, Shanghai Composite declined 25.89 points or 0.71% to 3,604.22 and Nikkei 225 was down by 162.28 points or 0.56% to 28,906.88.

On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 51.47 points or 0.28% to 18,248.28 and Straits Times was up by 10.71 points or 0.34% to 3,139.12.

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