Domestic equity indices erased all gains and were trading in red in late morning deals on account of selling in Bajaj Finance, Infosys, SBI, Adani Ports &Special and TCS companies’ stocks. Rising crude oil prices weighed on the domestic sentiments. Crude oil prices rose as uncertainty lingered over a U.S.-led coalition to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Sentiments were also weak as the government data showed the country's merchandise exports dropped marginally by 0.81 per cent to $36.61 billion in February. Imports increased by 24.11 per cent to $63.71 billion in February this year from $51.33 billion recorded a year ago. Besides, foreign fund outflows from the domestic markets also dented sentiments. Data from the National Stock Exchange showed that foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 9,365.52 crore on Monday.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Auto, Basic Materials, Telecom and Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK, Oil & Gas, FMCG and PSU.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75390.71, down by 112.14 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 75324.73 and 76014.31. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.23%, Auto up by 0.85%, Basic Materials up by 0.68%, Telecom up by 0.58% and Capital Goods up by 0.57%, while IT down by 1.18%, TECK down by 0.48%, Oil & Gas down by 0.48%, FMCG down by 0.47% and PSU down by 0.36% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 3.94%, Tata Steel up by 2.14%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.90%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.09% and Bharat Electronics up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.70%, Infosys down by 1.50%, SBI down by 1.47%, Adani Ports down by 1.28% and TCS down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has said that banks have written off loans worth Rs 9.75 lakh crore in the last 11 financial years. The peak in write off occurred in FY20 at Rs 1.59 lakh crore, and since then it has been declining to Rs 47,568 crore in FY25. Banks have written off Rs 31,723 crore in FY15, Rs 40,416 crore in FY16, Rs 68,308 crore in FY17, and Rs 99,132 crore in FY18.

He stated ‘Banks write off NPAs, including those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of four years, as per RBI guidelines and policy approved by banks' boards. Such a write-off does not result in waiver of liabilities of borrowers, and therefore, it does not benefit the borrower.’

Further, he said the borrowers remain responsible for repayment, and banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated in these accounts. He noted the recovery in written-off loans is a continuous process, and banks persistently pursuing their recovery actions initiated against borrowers under various recovery mechanisms available to them. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23384.35, down by 24.45 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 23346.60 and 23577.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 3.59%, Tata Steel up by 2.14%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.67%, Hindalco up by 1.17% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.69%, Cipla down by 1.73%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.66%, SBI down by 1.57% and Infosys down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 494.06 points or 1.46% to 33,836.57, Jakarta Composite gained 79.92 points or 1.13% to 7,102.21, KOSPI increased 116.30 points or 2.05% to 5,666.15, Hang Seng advanced 55.98 points or 0.22% to 25,890.00 and Straits Times rose 54.97 points or 1.13% to 4,923.66. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 136.15 points or 0.25% to 53,615.00 and Shanghai Composite weakened 15.76 points or 0.39% to 4,069.03.