Bourses continue to trade in green in late afternoon session

Following positive cues from European markets, Indian equity markets continued to trade in green in late afternoon session.  As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index traded in red while, Small cap index traded in green. Globally, investors eyeing Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Traders overlooked report that domestic rating agency ICRA has projected India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth to moderate to a six-quarter low of 6 per cent in April-June (Q1FY25) from 7.8 per cent in Q4 FY2024 on account of contraction in government capital expenditure and a dip in urban consumer demand. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors awaited Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech later in the day for confirmation U.S. rate cuts would start in September. European markets were trading higher as higher oil prices lifted energy stocks and investors braced for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech later in the day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81146.49, up by 93.30 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 80883.26 and 81231.49. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.37%, while Small cap index was up by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.02%, Industrials up by 0.38%, Capital Goods up by 0.35%, Power up by 0.34% and Consumer discretionary was up by 0.28%, while Realty down by 2.14%, IT down by 0.75%, TECK down by 0.52%, Oil & Gas down by 0.44% and Basic Materials was down by 0.36% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.68%, Tata Motors up by 1.44%, ICICI Bank up by 1.08%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.98% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.94%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.91%, Infosys down by 0.86%, Nestle down by 0.82%, Asian Paints down by 0.70% and Titan Company down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest release ‘the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting’ has said that the MPC expects domestic growth to hold up on the strength of investment demand, steady urban consumption and rising rural consumption. 

According to the minutes, risks from volatile and elevated food prices remain high, which may adversely impact inflation expectations and result in spillovers to core inflation. There are also indications of core inflation bottoming out. Accordingly, the MPC decided to remain watchful on how these forces play out, going forward. The MPC stays resolute in its commitment to aligning inflation to the 4 per cent target on a durable basis. In these circumstances, the MPC decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent in the meeting.

The MPC reiterates the need to continue with the disinflationary stance, until a durable alignment of the headline CPI inflation with the target is achieved. Enduring price stability sets strong foundations for a sustained period of high growth. Hence the MPC also considers it appropriate to continue with the disinflationary stance of withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24842.75, up by 31.25 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 24771.65 and 24858.40. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 4.48%, Coal India up by 2.13%, Sun Pharma up by 1.67%, Tata Motors up by 1.53% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.45%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.40%, Wipro down by 1.21%, LTIMindtree down by 0.92%, Nestle down by 0.90% and TCS down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 153.26 points or 0.4% to 38,364.27, Jakarta Composite gained 63.9 points or 0.85% to 7,552.58, Straits Times rose 14.63 points or 0.43% to 3,388.21, Taiwan Weighted added 9.22 points or 0.04% to 22,158.05 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.6 points or 0.2% to 2,854.37. On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 5.98 points or 0.22% to 2,701.69 and Hang Seng was down by 28.9 points or 0.16% to 17,612.10. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.73 points or 0.17% to 8,301.73, France’s CAC rose 29.49 points or 0.39% to 7,553.60 and Germany’s DAX was up by 71.44 points or 0.38% to 18,564.83.