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Mirroring other Asian peers, Indian equity benchmarks continued to reel under heavy selling pressure as spread of Omicron variant of Coronavirus rattled investors' sentiment. Traders were worried as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out Rs 17,696 crore from the Indian markets in December so far amid uncertainty due to a new coronavirus strain, Omicron. Additional pressure came in as RBI data showed declining for the third consecutive week, India’s forex reserves dipped by $77 million to reach $635.828 billion for the week ended December 10. Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm without transacting any business as Opposition members continued their protests over suspended MPs and other issues. Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 pm after Speaker Om Birla requested Opposition members to stop protesting and return to their seats. Mid- and small-cap shares were facing selling pressure as BSE Mid cap declined 3.62%, and BSE Small cap dropped by 3.51%. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as surging Omicron cases triggered tighter restrictions in Europe and threatened to drag on the global economy into the New Year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55542.05, down by 1469.69 points or 2.58% after trading in a range of 55533.80 and 56538.15. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 3.62%, while Small cap index was down by 3.51%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 5.18%, Bankex down by 3.71%, Metal down by 3.64%, PSU down by 3.61% and Industrials was down by 3.61%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The only gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.70% and Dr. Reddy's Lab was up by 0.19%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 5.62%, SBI down by 4.54%, Tata Steel down by 4.47%, Indusind Bank down by 4.40% and NTPC was down by 4.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing concerns, rating agency ICRA has said the growth momentum lost steam in November 2021 on the back of ‘some satiation’ of pent-up demand as well as supply chain disruptions in parts of south India on account of untimely rainfall. It said that as many as 12 of the 15 lead indicators recorded a deterioration in their Y-o-Y performance in that month, relative to October 2021. On the other hand, it said vehicle registrations, passenger vehicles (PV) output and non-food bank credit of scheduled commercial banks showed a modest YoY improvement in November 2021, relative to the previous month.

The agency said the number of indicators surpassing their pre-Covid levels eased to seven in November 2021 from nine in October 2021. It added the early data for December 2021 is mildly positive, and second shot coverage appears set to rise to 61 per cent of Indian adults by the end of the month. However, it remains to be seen whether the existing Covid-19 vaccines will offer protection against the Omicron variant and avert a third wave in India. The ratings agency also said that amidst the heightened uncertainty generated by Omicron, convincing signs of a durable and sustainable recovery are yet to emerge. In month-on-month (MoM) terms, the agency cited that nine of the 13 non-financial indicators witnessed a decline in November 2021, broadly reflecting the impact of a higher number of festive-related holidays.

Moreover, untimely heavy rainfall in the southern states appears to have led to supply chain disruptions, weighing upon activity in November 2021. Only the output of PV and Coal India (CIL), domestic airlines' passenger traffic and auto retail volumes recorded an improvement in November 2021, relative to the previous month. In addition, 'FASTag' toll collections and retail payments declined in November 2021, after having reached all-time highs in October 2021, while the mobility for retail and recreation continued to improve sequentially.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16531.55, down by 453.65 points or 2.67% after trading in a range of 16529.35 and 16840.10. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 2.56%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.57% and Dr. Reddy's Lab was up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 5.52%, Tata Motors down by 4.79%, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.71%, SBI down by 4.54% and Tata Steel was down by 4.48% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Shanghai Composite declined 32.71 points or 0.9% to 3,599.65, Nikkei 225 slipped 607.87 points or 2.13% to 27,937.81, Straits Times trembled 32.85 points or 1.06% to 3,078.78, Jakarta Composite lost 38.22 points or 0.58% to 6,563.71, Hang Seng decreased 435.93 points or 1.88% to 22,756.70, Taiwan Weighted dropped 143.48 points or 0.81% to 17,669.11 and KOSPI was down by 52.05 points or 1.72% to 2,965.68.

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