Bourses continue to trade under pressure in afternoon session

Indian equity markets added losses in afternoon session on account of selling in frontline counters. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading in red. Investors sentiments continued to hit as India’s factory output growth, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed to a five-month low of 4.2 per cent in June 2024, mainly due to poor performance of the manufacturing sector, though power and mining sectors continue to perform well. On the global front, all Asian markets are trading higher amidst an assessment that concerns about economic growth in the U.S. were overdone. Investors were looking forward to key US inflation reports, which scheduled to be release later in the day and tomorrow. Back home, HDFC Bank remained in limelight after an MSCI release said the weightage of the lender in the Global Standard index will be increased in two tranches. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79422.86, down by 226.06 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 79390.53 and 79692.55. There were 18 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.   

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.17%, while Small cap index was down by 0.12%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.96%, Healthcare up by 0.51%, Capital Goods up by 0.25%, FMCG up by 0.23% and Power was up by 0.16%, while Basic Materials down by 0.98%, Telecom down by 0.87%, Oil & Gas down by 0.81%, Realty down by 0.80% and Bankex was down by 0.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 1.98%, Sun Pharma up by 0.74%, HCL Tech up by 0.60%, Indusind Bank up by 0.45% and TCS up by 0.42%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.91%, Tata Motors down by 1.59%, Tata Steel down by 0.72%, Power Grid down by 0.72% and Asian Paints down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that revenue of domestic active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) producing firms is expected to see a 7-8 per cent rise by 2029. It expects the revenues of its sample set of companies to expand at a CAGR of 7-8 per cent between 2023 and 2029, from an estimated size of $13-14 billion in 2023.

According to the report, this will be driven by a steady ramp-up in the pharmaceutical formulations industry, which in turn, will be aided by an increasing geriatric population, higher prevalence of chronic diseases, and rising demand for contract manufacturing with global customers looking to diversify their supply chain along with greater focus on domestic sourcing. It also forecasts the operating profit margin (OPM) of its sample set of companies to improve mildly in FY2025.

The report said domestic API industry players faced considerable volatility in earnings over FY2021-FY2023 on account of multiple headwinds such as rising raw material costs. The production cost went up due to elevated crude oil prices and pandemic-induced lockdowns in China, resulting in a shortage of key starting materials (KSMs) and APIs globally among others. India imported APIs and bulk drugs worth Rs 37,700 crore in FY2024, accounting for 35 per cent of its total API requirement. Imports from China accounted for 70 per cent. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24278.10, down by 68.90 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 24268.80 and 24359.95. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Company up by 2.09%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.97%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.92%, Tata Consumer up by 0.71% and Sun Pharma up by 0.65%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.89%, BPCL down by 2.71%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 2.09%, Shriram Finance down by 1.71% and Tata Motors down by 1.63% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 1207.51 points or 3.33% to 36,232.51, Hang Seng advanced 64.41 points or 0.38% to 17,176.06, Jakarta Composite gained 43.8 points or 0.6% to 7,341.43, Straits Times rose 23.71 points or 0.73% to 3,259.09, Taiwan Weighted added 23.31 points or 0.11% to 21,796.57, Shanghai Composite strengthened 4.47 points or 0.16% to 2,862.67 and KOSPI was up by 3.20 points or 0.12% to 2,621.50.