Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks eked out marginal gains on Tuesday, as investors waited for looming U.S. inflation figures. Increased tensions in the Middle East and the Canadian government's action to impose a large tax on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) also checked risk sentiment. After a positive start, markets traded volatile during morning deals, as cautiousness came after a report by SBI Research, released just days before the government is set to publish the official data, stated that the Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.0-7.1 per cent in the April-June period, the first quarter of 2024-25. This growth forecast comes with a downward bias. Traders were also concerned with a private report stating that the newly-announced Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) is expected to shoot up the fiscal deficit by 15 basis points (bps) to 5.1 per cent from the budgeted 4.9 per cent in the financial year 2025 (FY25). 

However, markets managed to keep their heads above water in afternoon, amid foreign fund inflows. The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying as they bought equities worth Rs 483 crore on August 26. The last hour selling witnessed over the Dalal Street but indices somehow managed to end in green with minor gains. Sentiments were cautious, as India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has been highlighting increasing borrower leverage as a key concern for the microfinance (MFI) segment. Post the COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of harmonisation guidelines including the removal of interest rate caps, the ease of funding from banks to non-banks, along with a growing need for priority sector loans led to substantial growth in disbursement by existing MFI lenders in FY24. This, coupled with the advent of technology has improved the reach of credit to the bottom of the pyramid post pandemic, also raising a concern on the adherence on accessing repayment capability of the MFI borrower.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green, even after the German economy contracted, as initially estimated, in the second quarter due to weak household consumption and investment. The final results from Destatis showed that gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent sequentially, in line with the flash estimate, following a 0.2 percent rise in the first quarter. Asian markets settled mixed on Tuesday, as producer prices in Japan were up 2.8 percent on year in July. That was beneath expectations for an increase of 2.9 percent and down from the upwardly revised 3.1 percent gain in June (originally 3.0 percent). On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.3 percent - up from 0.1 percent in the previous month. Back home, small finance banking stocks were in focus as Crisil Ratings said Small Finance Banks' (SFBs) loan growth will moderate to 25-27 per cent in FY25 against 28 per cent in FY24. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 81711.76, up by 13.65 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 81600.51 and 81919.11. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.50%.(Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.13%, TECK up by 0.70%, IT up by 0.59%, Healthcare up by 0.44% and Industrials up by 0.32%, while FMCG down by 0.88%, Metal down by 0.86%, Consumer Durables down by 0.85%, Energy down by 0.20% and Utilities down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.07%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.04%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.71%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.37% and Infosys up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Titan down by 2.19%, JSW Steel down by 2.01%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.90%, Tata Motors down by 1.37% and NTPC down by 1.24% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that the new Bioeconomy (BioE3) policy rolled out by the Government is set to place India as a global leader in the years to come. Singh hailed PM Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership for spearheading a forward-looking policy that aims to pivot from traditional consumptive practices to high-performance, regenerative bio manufacturing, marking a significant step towards a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous Bharat.

While talking on the surge in Bio economy, Union Minister Singh said ‘India's bio economy has experienced remarkable growth, skyrocketing from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024, with projections to reach $300 billion by 2030. This surge reflects India's robust economic growth. The recent policy will reignite growth spirits and position India as a potential leader in the 4th industrial revolution.’ Singh said ‘the BioE3 Policy is set to accelerate this growth trajectory, making substantial contributions to the 'Make in India' initiative by fostering the development of bio-based products with minimal carbon footprints.’ 

According to him, the BioE3 Policy is designed to address critical global challenges such as climate change and depleting non-renewable resources by: Facilitating the shift from chemical-based industries to sustainable bio-based models; Promoting a circular bio economy; Achieving net-zero carbon emissions through innovative waste utilization from biomass, landfills, and greenhouse gases and Encouraging the development of bio-based products and expanding job creation.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25017.75, up by 7.15 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 24973.65 and 25073.10. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 2.38%, Shriram Finance up by 2.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.07%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.95% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Titan down by 2.17%, JSW Steel down by 2.02%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.92%, Tata Motors down by 1.39% and Grasim Industries down by 1.34% were the top losers. (Provisional)