Bourses continue to trade higher in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade higher in late afternoon session on account of buying in front line counters. Globally traders took support as Fed officials have indicated a potential rate cut in September. Meanwhile, India and Malaysia decided to elevate their bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, following a series of discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid dovish Fed expectations and signs of easing Middle East tensions. European markets were trading mostly in green with investors holding back from major bets as they awaited critical euro zone data. Back home, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest monthly Bulletin noted that in India, aggregate demand conditions are gathering momentum with revival in rural consumption on the back of growing incomes.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80854.65, up by 429.97 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 80517.95 and 80942.96. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.82%, while Small cap index was up by 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.05%, Bankex up by 1.05%, Power up by 0.80%, IT up by 0.62% and Auto was up by 0.58%, while FMCG down by 0.23% and Capital Goods was down by 0.02% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 3.73%, Indusind Bank up by 2.33%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.10%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.07% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.37%, ITC down by 0.49%, Tata Steel down by 0.39%, Adani Ports &Special down by 0.35% and Tata Motors down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest monthly Bulletin has said that persistent geopolitical tensions, rekindled fears of a potential recession in key economies and financial market volatility in response to monetary policy divergence cast a shadow on global economic prospects even as inflation moderated grudgingly across countries. 

The Bulletin further noted that in India, aggregate demand conditions are gathering momentum with revival in rural consumption on the back of growing incomes. This stimulus to demand is expected to reinvigorate the hitherto subdued participation of the private sector in total investment. Headline inflation moderated from its spike in June to 3.5 per cent in July, but this was primarily due to the downward statistical pull of base effects.

According to the Bulletin, the persistence of food inflation - in terms of the time taken to return to normalcy after a shock - has increased mainly on account of rising expectations driven by repeated supply shocks due to adverse climatic incidents of rising intensity. Persistent food inflation is spilling over through general inflation expectations to costs, services charges and output prices, although this fuller impact is offset by monetary policy. It further noted that monetary policy vigil is warranted so as to prevent the generalisation of inflationary pressures, in order to achieve overall price stability and thereby preserve and strengthen the foundations of a high growth trajectory.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24715.10, up by 142.45 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 24607.20 and 24734.30. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life up by 4.89%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.83%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.54%, Shriram Finance up by 3.17% and Indusind Bank up by 2.35%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.88%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.38%, Adani Enterprises down by 0.97%, Cipla down by 0.79% and Tata Consumer down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 674.3 points or 1.77% to 38,062.92, Jakarta Composite gained 65.02 points or 0.87% to 7,531.85, KOSPI increased 22.27 points or 0.83% to 2,696.63, Taiwan Weighted added 19.47 points or 0.09% to 22,429.10 and Straits Times was up by 17.69 points or 0.53% to 3,373.25. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 27.01 points or 0.94% to 2,866.66 and Hang Seng was down by 58.49 points or 0.33% to 17,511.08.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 12.11 points or 0.16% to 7,514.12 and Germany’s DAX was up by 17.92 points or 0.1% to 18,439.61. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 46.35 points or 0.55% to 8,310.59.