IGI Logo

Indian equity benchmarks added losses to continue their weak trade in afternoon session amid persistent foreign fund outflows and mixed trend on Asian bourses. Sentiments got hurt as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out as much as Rs 6,834 crore from Indian markets in the first four trading sessions of February. As per depositories data, FPIs took out Rs 3,627 crore from equities, Rs 3,173 crore from the debt segment and Rs 34 crore from hybrid instruments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,267.86 crore on Friday, according to stock exchange data. Traders were seen piling positions in Utilities, Metal and PSU stocks while selling was witnessed in Capital Goods, Healthcare and Telecom sector stocks. In scrip specific development, IndiGo flies high on reporting consolidated net profit at Rs 129.79 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 as compared to net loss Rs 620.14 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as a forecast-busting US jobs report reinforced optimism that the world's top economy was well on the recovery track but also ramped up interest rate hike expectations. Back home, market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1387:1957 while 154 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57904.86, down by 739.96 points or 1.26% after trading in a range of 57902.07 and 58707.76. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.88%, while Small cap index was down by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.28%, Metal up by 1.09%, PSU up by 1.05%, Power up by 0.94% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.13%, while Capital Goods down by 2.14%, Healthcare down by 1.70%, Telecom down by 1.47%, FMCG down by 1.43% and Consumer Durables was down by 1.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.52%, Tata Steel up by 2.28%, Power Grid up by 1.79%, NTPC up by 1.08% and Tech Mahindra was up by 0.19%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.87%, HDFC Bank down by 2.60%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.46%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.36% and Dr. Reddy's Lab was down by 2.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest data has said that passenger vehicle retail sales dropped to 2,58,329 units in January 2022, down 10.12 per cent from 2,87,424 units in January 2021, as the companies continued to suffer production loss amid semiconductor shortage. It said in spite of good demand, passenger vehicles continue to face the brunt of semiconductor shortage, resulting in the absence of a healthy inventory.

According to the data, Two-wheeler sales in January 2022 declined by 13.44 per cent to 10,17,785 units, compared to 11,75,832 units in January 2021. It said rural distress coupled with price rise and omicron wave led to a drop in the sales in the segment. Tractor sales stood at 55,421 units in January 2022, down 9.86 per cent from 61,485 units in January 2021. Three-wheeler retail sales also grew by 29.8 per cent to 40,449 units in January 2022 as compared to 31,162 units a year ago.

However, it said commercial vehicle sales witnessed a growth of 20.52 per cent in January 2022 at 67,763 units, as against 56,227 units in the year-ago month. With the revival in the economy, the commercial vehicle segment continues to show year-on-year growth, especially in the HCV category. With increased infrastructure spending by the central as well as state governments, the overall CV segment remains in momentum.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17288.95, down by 227.35 points or 1.30% after trading in a range of 17287.65 and 17536.75. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 2.63%, Tata Steel up by 2.36%, Power Grid up by 1.84%, Coal India up by 1.22% and NTPC was up by 1.12%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.23%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.96%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.76%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.59% and HDFC Bank was down by 2.43% were the top losers.

Asian markerts Jakarta Composite soared 46.25 points or 0.69% to 6,777.64, Straits Times advanced 19.37 points or 0.58% to 3,350.78, Shanghai Composite gained 65.37 points or 1.94% to 3,426.81 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 225.90 points or 1.28% to 17,900.30. On the other hand; Nikkei 225 slipped 191.12 points or 0.7% to 27,248.87, Hang Seng decreased 74.88 points or 0.3% to 24,498.41 and KOSPI was down by 10.32 points or 0.38% to 2,739.94.