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Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their losses in noon session, but continue to trade below the neutral lines with Sensex and Nifty trading below at 55500 and 16500 respectively. Sentiments were fragile as US Federal Reserve could rein in vast stimulus measures this year, coupled with the rapid spread of the coronavirus Delta variant, signs of faltering Chinese economic growth, and the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Traders were also concerned after industry body FIEO said that bilateral trade with Afghanistan has been impacted and Indian exporters are concerned about their payments as banking services and remittances may face restrictions due to the ongoing situation in that country. However, markets trimmed some losses as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch an ambitious Ubharte Sitaare Fund for export-oriented firms and startups. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of declines which thumped advances in the ratio of 2293:764; while 137 shares remained unchanged. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as worries surrounding the spread of the delta variant again took center stage.

Back home, insurance stocks were in focus as government has amended the Foreign Exchange Management (non-debt instruments) Rules, 2019 to enable the increase in foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent. In scrip specific development, Bharti Airtel was under pressure it has approached the Supreme Court with a review petition, seeking correction of ‘arithmetical errors’ in calculations linked to the adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The second-largest telecom company had filed a similar petition in the SC earlier as well but the court disallowed any rectification of 'arithmetical errors' in the calculation of AGR dues.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55438.33, down by 191.16 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 55013.98 and 55495.60. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 1.22%, while Small cap index was down by 1.11%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.85%, while Metal down by 5.16%, Basic Materials down by 2.77%, Realty down by 2.02%, PSU down by 1.86% and Healthcare was down by 1.57% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.69%, Asian Paints up by 2.59%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.34%, Nestle up by 0.98% and HDFC was up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.21%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.97%, Sun Pharma down by 2.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.46% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 1.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that even as there has been an 11 per cent decline in primary fertiliser sales volume during the first four months of FY2021-22, it is likely to improve and expected to be only marginally lower than the previous financial year. It noted that fertiliser sales volumes during the first four months of FY2022 has registered an 11 per cent decline, given the large base effect of FY21 when panic buying by farmers amid covid-19 pandemic had led to strong growth of 15 per cent y-o-y in H1 FY21. However, it said the sales volume declined in H2 FY21 due to inventory destocking at the farmer's end.

According to the report, the sowing levels in current Kharif season are marginally lower and the fertiliser intensity is also expected to remain stable. Also, it said the fertiliser availability remains adequate for the ongoing Kharif season and the government is making several efforts to ensure adequate availability for the upcoming rabi season. Thus, it said overall fertiliser sales volumes for FY22 are not expected to witness a sharp decline.

The report further said that as for the fertiliser production volumes, they have largely remained stable in four months of FY22 compared to 4M FY21, whereas imports have declined by 16 per cent. The combined, both production and import, volumes have declined by only 6 per cent in the period under review, whereas the retail sales have declined by 11 per cent, indicating availability of fertiliser inventory with the fertiliser companies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16474.05, down by 94.80 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 16376.05 and 16509.55. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.42%, Asian Paints up by 2.75%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.24%, Britannia Inds up by 1.70% and HDFC up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.32%, JSW Steel down by 5.16%, Hindalco down by 4.38%, UPL down by 3.40% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Taiwan Weighted dropped 33.46 points or 0.2% to 16,341.94, KOSPI fell 37.32 points or 1.2% to 3,060.51, Shanghai Composite declined 40.99 points or 1.18% to 3,424.56, Hang Seng decreased 414.65 points or 1.64% to 24,901.68 and Nikkei 225 was down by 267.92 points or 0.98% to 27,013.25.

On the other side, Straits Times advanced 22.87 points or 0.74% to 3,109.84 and Jakarta Composite was up by 26.93 points or 0.45% to 6,019.25.

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