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Sensex, Nifty trade in red during late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks were trading in red terrain during late morning session, despite positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders remained cautious amid a private report that current account leading to higher imports and a rise in current account deficit, which is likely to print at 1.3 per cent of the GDP or $40 billion, up from 0.9 per cent surplus last fiscal. Besides, India is ranked at 71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 of 113 countries, but the country lags behind its neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka in terms food affordability, according to a report.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Indonesia central bank left its key rates unchanged for the eighth consecutive meeting. The board of governors of Bank Indonesia decided to hold the BI 7-Day reverse repo rate at 3.50 percent. The previous change in the rate was a quarter-point reduction in February.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61654.66, down by 61.39 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 61489.69 and 61880.36. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.94%, while Small cap index was down by 1.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.82%, TECK up by 0.78%, Bankex up by 0.25% and IT up by 0.23%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.31%, Metal down by 2.04%, Utilities down by 1.52%, Basic Materials down by 1.41% and Power down by 1.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.76%, SBI up by 3.27%, HCL Tech. up by 1.87%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.59% and ICICI Bank up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 2.37%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.41%, ITC down by 1.22%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.15% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said the government is looking at rolling out a five-year strategic perspective plan to make India a significant tech player. He added that the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) will partner with the private sector in areas not just limited to soliciting business for them but for future technology developments like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and semiconductors.

Further, he stated that there have been tremendous strides in digitising the country's economy and public services in the past six years, which has helped India remain resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said ‘We have created Unicorns at the rate of two a month, attracting USD 65 billion investment in the tech space.’

He added said the post-COVID-19 era offers a new set of opportunities and there has never been a more exciting time for those in technology than today. Besides, he said the government is willing to walk the extra mile and is open to all sorts of consultations to prepare a road map for India to emerge as a significant player in the technology space.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18380.60, down by 38.15 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 18326.95 and 18458.30. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 3.69%, SBI up by 3.37%, HCL Tech. up by 1.86%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.63% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.00%, Coal India down by 2.68%, Eicher Motors down by 2.42%, Titan Co down by 2.37% and BPCL down by 1.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 338.75 points or 1.31% to 26,125.96, Nikkei 225 surged 60.64 points or 0.21% to 29,276.16, Shanghai Composite gained 1.23 points or 0.03% to 3,594.38 and Straits Times advanced 0.29 points or 0.01% to 3,199.30. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 7.59 points or 0.25% to 3,021.45 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 18.62 points or 0.11% to 16,882.05.

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