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Benchmarks continued to hold their head above water in afternoon session with Sensex and Nifty trading above 57,800 and 17,200 levels respectively. Among the BSE sectoral indices, buying was observed in IT, TECK and Energy sectors, while selling pressure was seen in Healthcare, Utilities and Realty sectors. Traders took some solace with an article on the state of the economy published in RBI Bulletin said that upbeat high-frequency indicators and consumer confidence show that the Indian economy continues to forge ahead, emerging out of shackles of the pandemic. However, upside remain capped on relentless FII selling in capital markets which impacted traders’ sentiment. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 3,407.04 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve’s indications that its run of ultra-easy monetary policy since the start of the pandemic is coming to a close.

Back home, initial public offering of Supriya Lifescience, an active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturer, has been subscribed 1.27 times, so far, on December 16, the first day of bidding. It received bids for 1.84 crore lakh equity shares against the offer size of 1.45 crore equity shares.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57856.00, up by 67.97 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 57763.31 and 58337.20. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.75%, while Small cap index was down by 0.69%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.04%, TECK up by 0.76%, Energy up by 0.35%, Oil & Gas up by 0.32%, Consumer Durables was up by 0.16%, while Healthcare down by 0.92%, Utilities down by 0.90%, Realty down by 0.89%, Auto down by 0.78% and Telecom was down by 0.62% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.19%, Infosys up by 2.06%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.95%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.61% and Titan Company was up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.85%, Sun Pharma down by 1.57%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.33%, Indusind Bank down by 1.24% and ICICI Bank was down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ratings agency ICRA in its latest report has revised downwards growth forecast for the domestic passenger vehicles industry to 8-11 percent in the ongoing fiscal (FY22) from the earlier estimate of 14-17 percent on account of the ongoing semiconductor shortage.

Similarly, for the two-wheeler segment, ratings agency said the volumes are expected to contract by 1-4 percent in FY22 against an earlier prediction of 6-8 percent growth as affordability and demand sentiment of target clientele was hit sharply by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. For the commercial vehicles segment ICRA maintained it is expected to grow by 18-22 percent in FY2022 and 1-4 percent growth for the tractor segment on a high base of last year.

With around 5 lakh units of production lost by various automakers in the passenger vehicles segment due to the semiconductor shortage, ICRA said the earnings loss for the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) could be around Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore for the ongoing fiscal. With electric mobility gaining traction, it also said a total investment of around Rs 20,000 crore has been announced in the auto components and electric two-wheeler segments in India by various companies spread over the next three to seven years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17232.55, up by 11.15 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 17208.15 and 17379.35. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.35%, Infosys up by 1.95%, Grasim Industries up by 1.25%, BPCL up by 1.17% and Wipro was up by 1.13%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.42%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.77%, Hindalco down by 1.65%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.60% and Sun Pharma was down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Shanghai Composite gained 20.00 points or 0.55% to 3,667.63, Nikkei 225 surged 606.60 points or 2.13% to 29,066.32, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 125.64 points or 0.71% to 17,785.74, KOSPI rose 17.02 points or 0.57% to 3,006.41 and Straits Times was up by 10.73 points or 0.34% to 3,125.61.

On the flip side; Jakarta Composite lost 42.17 points or 0.64% to 6,584.09 and Hang Seng was down by 71.58 points or 0.31% to 23,349.18.

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