NIFTY50 and SENSEX trade 0.5% lower; M&M, Wipro and Tata Motors among top losers

Indian equities continued to trade under pressure in the mid-market session even after positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were cautious ahead of monetary policy meeting minutes, which are due later in the day.

The market breadth was in favour of declines as 1,539 stocks declined on NSE against 1,174 stocks that gained. Similarly, 18 stocks made a new 52-week high and 66 made a 52-week low.

The private sector output in India increased at the fastest pace in six months during February, amid a quicker expansion in services activity. The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index was at 60.6 in February, up from a final reading of 57.7 in January. It is a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors.

On the global front, all Asian markets are trading higher despite US Labor Department's report on Thursday, initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 5,000, reaching a seasonally adjusted total of 219,000 for the week ending February 15.

The SENSEX traded at 75248, down by 487 points or 0.64% after trading between 75175.97 and 75748.72. Eight stocks advanced on the index, while 22 stocks declined.

The NIFTY50 traded at 22775.45, down by 137.70 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 22733.30 and 22921.00. The index had 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Hindalco, up by 2.11%, Eicher Motors, up by 1.33%, Shriram Finance, up by 1.16%, Tata Steel, up by 1.04%, and NTPC, up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra, down by 5.36%, BPCL, down by 2.47%, Adani Ports, down by 2.37%, Wipro, down by 2.07%, and Tata Motors, down by 1.93%, were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 744.84 points or 3.19% to 23,321.82, Taiwan Weighted added 242.79 points or 1.02% to 23,730.25, Nikkei 225 surged 98.9 points or 0.26% to 38,776.94, Shanghai Composite strengthened 27.92 points or 0.83% to 3,378.70, Jakarta Composite gained 11.19 points or 0.16% to 6,799.23, Straits Times rose 3.36 points or 0.09% to 3,930.87 and KOSPI was up by 0.52 points or 0.02% to 2,654.58.