Sensex, Nifty move in narrow range; trade tad lower in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made slightly negative start on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from the Wall Street overnight as well as weakness in Asian counterparts, with traders booking some profits after the recent upward trend in the markets. Sensex and Nifty are moving in a narrow range as investors await the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for clues on the U.S. interest-rate cuts this year. At this point of trade, benchmark indices are trading lower with marginal cut amid selling in Realty and Banking stocks. However, downside remained capped with traders taking note of Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, executive director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that Indian economy is slated to grow to $55 trillion by 2047, if the country is able to register an average real growth rate of 8 per cent in the coming years with average inflation remaining around 5 per cent.

On the sectoral front, mining sector stocks are in focus as Moody's Ratings said the Supreme Court ruling on royalties and taxes will be credit negative for mining companies like Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, and Vedanta Resources, as it will dent their cash flows and affect their profitability. In stock specific development, shares of PNB Housing Finance surged after General Atlantic reportedly sold around 5% stake in the company via a block deal in the pre-market block window.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80685.44, down by 117.42 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 80627.03 and 80814.75. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.60%, Healthcare up by 0.55%, Oil & Gas up by 0.48%, Energy up by 0.45% and Industrials up by 0.41%, while Realty down by 0.79%, Bankex down by 0.57%, Auto down by 0.18%, IT down by 0.17% and Power down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 0.91%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.88%, Nestle up by 0.77%, JSW Steel up by 0.57% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.66%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.89%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.81%, ICICI Bank down by 0.80% and Indusind Bank down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost India’s exports, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has emphasised the need to enhance exports from eastern India and sought cooperation from the state governments in the region. He also underscored the government's commitment to ensuring the region benefits from various free trade agreements under the export promotion policy.

He added that in this year's budget, eastern India was highlighted as a priority area for development under the Purvodaya scheme, with matching infrastructure creation being a key focus. He said ‘We have initiated long-term policy reforms, particularly in the mineral sector, which have already begun benefiting the eastern states’. He also said ‘The Centre is making efforts, but state governments must cooperate. Industrial growth and job opportunities are contingent on a stable environment’.

The minister also highlighted the need to diversify beyond the mineral sector, advocating for growth in various sectors like food processing, marine products, animal husbandry, and especially the IT sector, given the talent and presence of reputed educational institutions in cities such as Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Patna, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar. He also stressed that law and order must be a priority to attract industrial development and job creation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24684.70, down by 14.15 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 24654.50 and 24708.10. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 2.81%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.76%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.10%, Nestle up by 0.87% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.32%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.87%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.87%, Indusind Bank down by 0.80% and HDFC Bank down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 175.75 points or 0.78% to 22,253.35, Hang Seng declined 163.74 points or 0.94% to 17,347.34, Nikkei 225 slipped 121.12 points or 0.32% to 37,941.80, Straits Times fell 11.46 points or 0.34% to 3,358.85 and Shanghai Composite weakened 11.31 points or 0.4% to 2,855.35. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite rose 24.24 points or 0.32% to 7,558.23 and KOSPI was up by 0.16 points or 0.01% to 2,696.79.