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Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their losses in noon session, but continue to trade below the neutral lines. Sentiments were impacted as data showed foreign portfolio investors have sold equities worth Rs 4,197 crore so far this month. Mood on the street also remained cautious as domestic rating agency ICRA’s report stated that the recent surge in fresh Covid infections as well as subsequent localised lockdowns emanating from Omicron spread are likely to shave off around 100 bps of growth in toll collections in fiscal year 2021-22. Besides, broader indices were also trading in red, dragging their larger peers lower during the trade. However, markets trimmed some of their losses as traders took some solace as India is inching toward a major milestone by opening its $1 trillion government bond market to more international investors, one of the most ambitious attempts to attract foreign inflows since the country liberalized its economy three decades ago.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower after U.S. stocks took a knock overnight, hurt by lingering concerns over the Federal Reserve's tightening and weaker-than-expected economic and earnings data. Back home, Adani Wilmar will launch its initial public offering (IPO) on January 27. The Ahmedabad-based company will sell its shares in the price band of Rs 218-230. Adani Wilmar is a 50:50 joint venture between Gautam Adani's Adani Group and Singapore-based Wilmar Group. It sells cooking oils and some other products under the Fortune brand.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59133.89, down by 330.73 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 58683.01 and 59214.90. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.99%, while Small cap index was down by 0.62%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.72% and FMCG was up by 0.05%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.10%, Telecom down by 1.89%, Metal down by 1.74%, Capital Goods down by 1.37% and Realty was down by 1.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.29%, HDFC up by 0.86%, Power Grid up by 0.54%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.51% and ITC was up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.92%, Tata Steel down by 2.98%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.96%, Indusind Bank down by 2.18% and Bharti Airtel was down by 2.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow at 7.6 per cent year-on-year in 2022-23. It said after a gap of two years, the Indian economy will show a meaningful expansion, as the real GDP in 2022-23 is expected to be 9.1 per cent higher than that in 2019-20 (pre-COVID level).

However, the report said the size of the Indian economy in FY23 will be 10.2 per cent lower than the FY23 GDP trend value. It noted that a continued weakness in private consumption and investment demand is estimated to contribute 43.4 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, to this shortfall. It said if the impact of Omicron on the fourth quarter growth turns out to be greater than its estimate, then there could be some upside to 2022-23 growth originating from the base effect.

Ind-Ra further said the government will not be in a hurry to move towards fiscal consolidation, which means there will be a significant amount of fiscal deficit even in the 2022-23 Budget, essentially to support growth. It expects the fiscal deficit to come in at 5.8-6 per cent of GDP in 2022-23. as inflation trajectory is on the higher side and economic recovery is still fragile, RBI will resist from raising policy rate in the near future. It also expects the current account deficit in FY23 to widen to 2.3 per cent of GDP.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17651.05, down by 105.95 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 17525.35 and 17680.10. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 4.23%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.35%, Tata Consumer Products up by 2.11%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.70% and HDFC was up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.96%, Shree Cement down by 3.63%, Coal India down by 3.48%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.89% and Tata Steel was down by 2.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; KOSPI fell 28.39 points or 0.99% to 2,834.29, Hang Seng decreased 166.32 points or 0.67% to 24,786.03, Nikkei 225 slipped 250.67 points or 0.9% to 27,522.26, Shanghai Composite declined 29.07 points or 0.82% to 3,525.99, Straits Times trembled 4.05 points or 0.12% to 3,290.77 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 318.98 points or 1.75% to 17,899.30. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up was 35.87 points or 0.54% to 6,662.74.