Domestic indices trade in green in afternoon deals

Domestic equity indices were trading in green in afternoon deals on account of buying in Tata Steel, NTPC, Power Grid, Reliance Industries and SBI companies’ stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.60 to 1.25%. Traders were getting some encouragement as Chief negotiators of India and Australia will begin the next round of talks for the comprehensive free trade agreement from today in Sydney, where both sides are likely to close negotiations on several chapters of the pact. Traders took note of International Monetary Fund’s deputy managing director Gita Gopinath’s statement that India should invest in creating a skilled workforce, putting in place a better infrastructure while undertaking land, labour and taxation reforms to meet its aspiration to become a developed country by 2047. Almost all the sectoral indices on BSE were trading into positive territory; however stocks from Auto counter was the only exception. Stocks from were Oil & Gas, Energy, Utilities, PSU and Metal counters were the prominent gainers of the session. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors awaited a slew of central bank releases and inflation data this week. The Bank of Korea will release its rate decision on Thursday, while inflation data from Japan and Singapore will be released on Friday. China will announce its one- and five-year loan prime rates on Tuesday. Back home, in the stock specific development, Action Construction Equipment (ACE) jumped after the company has bagged an order from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80497.31, up by 60.47 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 80332.65 and 80724.40. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.66%, while Small cap index up by 1.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.69%, Energy up by 1.41%, Utilities up by 1.23%, PSU up by 1.22% and Metal up by 1.13%, while Auto down by 0.63% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.24%, NTPC up by 1.12%, Power Grid up by 0.94%, Reliance Industries up by 0.89% and SBI up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.95%, Tata Motors down by 0.97%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.95%, Axis Bank down by 0.84% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that the unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in urban areas remained unchanged at 6.6 per cent in the April-June quarter (Q1FY25). The unemployment rate in the June quarter of FY24 (Q1FY24) was also 6.6 per cent. Joblessness, or unemployment rate, is defined as the percentage of unemployed people in the labour force.

According to survey, the unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in the previous January-March quarter of FY24 (Q4FY24) was 6.7 per cent in urban areas. It also showed that the unemployment rate among females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas declined to 9 per cent in April-June 2024 from 9.1 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The rate was 8.5 per cent in January-March, 2024. Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas declined to 5.8 per cent in April-June from 5.9 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The rate was 6.1 per cent in January-March 202.

It also stated that labour force participation rate in Current Weekly Status (CWS) in urban areas for people aged 15 years and above increased to 50.1 per cent in April-June from 48.8 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The rate was 50.2 per cent in the January-March 2024. At the all-India level, in the urban areas, a total number of 5,735 FSUs (urban sampling unit curved out from Urban Frame Survey) have been surveyed during April-June 2024. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24579.55, up by 38.40 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 24522.95 and 24638.80. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.03%, LTIMindtree up by 2.18%, BPCL up by 2.17%, ONGC up by 1.73% and Shriram Finance up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.08%, Tata Consumer down by 0.99%, SBI Life down by 0.98%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.96% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 139.02 points or 0.79% to 17,569.18, Jakarta Composite gained 4.03 points or 0.05% to 7,436.12, Shanghai Composite strengthened 14.84 points or 0.51% to 2,894.27 and Taiwan Weighted added 29.83 points or 0.13% to 22,379.16. However, Straits Times fell 3.63 points or 0.11% to 3,349.26, KOSPI dropped 25.97 points or 0.97% to 2,671.26 and Nikkei 225 slipped 603.31 points or 1.61% to 37,459.36.