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Bourses trade flat in early afternoon session
Mar-13-2025

In volatile trading session, Indian equity markets traded flat in early afternoon session despite robust domestic macroeconomic data. Investors were worried as credit rating agency Icra has said that the Indian IT companies are expected to see moderate revenue growth of 4-6% in FY26, with hiring likely to remain subdued until growth accelerates towards the end of the fiscal year. The agency projected attrition level to average 12-13% over the near term. Sector wise, Oil& Gas sector remained in limelight as Lok Sabha cleared the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, that seeks to amend the existing law governing exploration and production of oil and gas as well as delink petroleum operations from mining operations to boost investment in the sector. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 3, 2024.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red, as concerns about the impact of the ongoing trade war continued to weigh on the markets.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73979.18, down by 50.58 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 73898.10 and 74401.11. There were 9 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. 

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.20%, while Small cap index was down by 0.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.82%, Industrials up by 0.53%, PSU up by 0.47%, Telecom up by 0.38% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.28%, while Auto down by 0.79%, Realty down by 0.75%, IT down by 0.66%, TECK down by 0.61% and Consumer Discretionary was down by 0.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 0.71%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.66%, ICICI Bank up by 0.64%, Tata Steel up by 0.47% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.18%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.59%, Infosys down by 0.89%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.77%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.74% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha cleared the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, that seeks to amend the existing law governing exploration and production of oil and gas as well as delink petroleum operations from mining operations to boost investment in the sector. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 3, 2024.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India is the only country in the world where in the reference period of last three years, the prices of petrol and diesel have actually come down. He said prices in neighbourhood countries are 15 to 25 per cent higher than in India. Equally, prices in Western Europe and US are much higher than in India. While moving the bill for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, Puri said it does not alter the existing level-playing field for both public and private sectors.

The minister said the oil bill aims to resolve one of the biggest grievances of global oil companies interested in investing in India by providing stability in operation, both in terms of tenure of the lease and the condition. The bill also does not alter the rights of the states, which will continue to give petroleum leases and receive royalties as before. The bill also does not alter the existing level-playing field and offers no preference to either the private or the public sector. Among others, the bill aims to decriminalise some of the provisions of the original Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948, by introducing penalties, adjudication by an adjudicating authority and appeal as against the order of adjudicating authority.

Besides, he said the bill seeks to introduce 'petroleum lease' and expands the definition of mineral oils to include crude oil, natural gas, petroleum, condensate, coal bed methane, oil shale, shale gas, shale oil, tight gas, tight oil and gas hydrate, with a view to raising domestic output and cutting reliance on imports. He stressed that the government is taking a holistic approach, and that the overall strategy is to increase domestic exploration and production as also to increase clean energy. Elaborating further, he said the long-term strategy for energy security revolves around the trilemma of availability, affordability and sustainability.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22439.55, down by 30.95 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 22403.15 and 22558.05. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 2.30%, ONGC up by 0.98%, SBI up by 0.84%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.67% and ICICI Bank up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 2.52%, Hindalco down by 2.01%, Tata Motors down by 1.61%, Wipro down by 1.38% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.22% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 316.68 points or 1.44% to 21,961.68, Hang Seng declined 203.2 points or 0.86% to 23,397.11, Nikkei 225 slipped 29.06 points or 0.08% to 36,790.03, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.01 points or 0.42% to 3,357.91, Jakarta Composite plunged 13.34 points or 0.2% to 6,651.71 and KOSPI was down by 1.18 points or 0.05% to 2,573.64. On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 1.2 points or 0.03% to 3,834.27.
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