Indian benchmarks continued to trade lower in late afternoon session ahead of monthly F&O expiry. Besides, traders avoided to take long position ahead of key macroeconomic data. Traders shrugged off rating agency ICRA’s latest report stating that the borrowing cost for states continued to fall for the third week in a row, with the weighted average price falling to 7.44 per cent in the debt auction on February 27, 2024. The cost had remained at a two-year high throughout January sniffing at 7.8 per cent. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as worries over rate cuts persisted, and investors awaited the release of U.S. and Eurozone inflation readings as well as Chinese PMI data this week for near-term direction. European markets were trading mostly in green with investors largely making cautious moves ahead of a slew of crucial U.S. and European data, including reports on inflation and manufacturing activity, due later in the week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72616.67, down by 478.55 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 72299.72 and 73223.11. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.32%, while Small cap index was down by 1.50%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.59%, Utilities down by 2.22%, Power down by 1.75%, Auto down by 1.55% and Oil & Gas was down by 1.48%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.54%, TCS up by 0.52%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.44% and Infosys up by 0.40%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 3.50%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.53%, Asian Paints down by 2.10%, Tata Steel down by 2.08% and Indusind Bank down by 2.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting efforts being taken by the government through various initiatives to promote manufacturing in the country, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said that with the triple track of strong macroeconomic fundamentals, huge thrust in infrastructure creation and social welfare push India has been at the forefront of global growth for the past decade. The Minister further said that the thrust of increased foreign investments coupled with the nation’s contribution of a 3D vision of democracy, demography and demand, India’s economy is on fast track. The Minister added that the projected earnings from exports that the government expects from the manufacturing sector in the coming years will also help boost the economy.

The Minister said that India is one of the preferred destinations both for investment and as a sourcing hub to cater to the world demand and added that the aspirational India is a big demand aggregator and also acts as a booster for the manufacturing industry. Sector wise, Goyal said India has become an important player in the renewable energy manufacturing sector. He emphasized that India has stepped up automobile manufacturing and will double its manufacturing capacities in the construction sector too.

He also said that India is a leader in the electrical manufacturing space and with the inclusion of women and youth in the workforce, the consumption of fast moving goods and electronic products have seen a rapid increase giving a leg up to the electronic manufacturing industry. Goyal said that the auto component industry has become a pride of the nation exporting $20 billion of goods with an aspiration target of $100 billion by 2030. He added that the government has set its focus to develop a semiconductor industry and is also looking to promote ship building and tourism industry in the country providing impetus to increase in goods manufacturing in the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22026.40, down by 171.95 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 21938.90 and 22229.15. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life up by 0.80%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.60%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.54%, TCS up by 0.51% and Infosys up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 3.68%, Power Grid down by 3.59%, Bajaj Auto down by 3.39%, Eicher Motors down by 3.23% and Maruti Suzuki down by 2.51% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 253.95 points or 1.54% to 16,536.85, Shanghai Composite weakened 57.63 points or 1.95% to 2,957.85, Nikkei 225 slipped 31.49 points or 0.08% to 39,208.03 and Straits Times was down by 16.42 points or 0.52% to 3,140.90. On the flip side, KOSPI increased 27.24 points or 1.03% to 2,652.29 and Jakarta Composite was up by 27.81 points or 0.38% to 7,313.13.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 3.26 points or 0.04% to 7,951.66 and Germany’s DAX was up by 27.9 points or 0.16% to 17,584.39. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 18.74 points or 0.24% to 7,664.28.