Indian equity markets widened their losses in late afternoon session. Currently, markets traded at near day’s lowest levels owing to selling pressure in key index heavyweights. Investors were cautious ahead of key macroeconomic data.  Besides, traders were worried as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that India's services exports declined 1.3 per cent in March to $30 billion while imports fell by 2.1 per cent to $16.61 billion. As per RBI's data on India's international trade in services, the trade surplus during March 2024 was $13.4 billion. Both exports and imports of services were in positive zone in the preceding two months. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green with tech shares leading the charge following Apple's quarterly earnings beat and massive buyback program. European markets were trading higher after a closely watched survey showed the British economy is ‘pulling further out of last year's shallow recession’ as the dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly a year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73616.40, down by 994.71 points or 1.33% after trading in a range of 73467.73 and 75095.18. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.46%, while Small cap index was down by 0.81%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.26%, Healthcare up by 0.14% while, Telecom down by 1.57%, TECK down by 1.38% and Capital Goods was down by 1.35%, Realty down by 1.20% and Oil & Gas down by 1.10% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.83%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.45% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.25%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.13%, Reliance Industries down by 2.94%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.81%, Nestle down by 2.71% and Maruti Suzuki down by 2.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has maintained a neutral outlook on the construction sector for FY25, while maintaining a deteriorating sub-sector outlook for roads engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). 

According to the rating agency, EPC players are likely to post a healthy performance in FY25, albeit with a moderation in the revenue growth rate, accompanied with a modest uptick in operating margins while maintaining adequate liquidity buffers.

Krishan Binani, Director, Corporate Ratings, Ind-Ra said that the neutral sector outlook is backed by an expectation of 10%-12% year on year (YoY) revenue growth in FY25. Order inflows are likely to pick up in H2 FY25, led by supportive government budgets along with expectation of acceleration of private sector’s capex. He also noted that margins are expected to modestly pick-up with credit metrics improving further.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22393.30, down by 254.90 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 22348.05 and 22794.70. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.06%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.03%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.78%, Grasim Industries up by 1.57% and ONGC up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 3.04%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.96%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.93%, Nestle down by 2.81% and Maruti Suzuki down by 2.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 268.79 points or 1.45% to 18,475.92, Taiwan Weighted added 107.88 points or 0.53% to 20,330.32, Jakarta Composite gained 8.06 points or 0.11% to 7,125.49 and Straits Times rose 3.14 points or 0.1% to 3,300.03. On the flip side, KOSPI was down by 7.02 points or 0.26% to 2,676.63.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 25.95 points or 0.32% to 8,198.10, France’s CAC rose 40.41 points or 0.51% to 7,955.06 and Germany’s DAX was up by 61.26 points or 0.34% to 17,957.76.