Domestic indices wipe out opening losses to trade tad higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks started the trading session in red and are hovering around neutral lines on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight coupled with weakness in Asian counterparts as traders book some profits as they await a slew of crucial economic data, including reports on U.S. personal income and spending in July, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the US Fed. While the data is not likely to affect optimism the Fed will lower rates next month, it could impact expectations for how quickly the central bank cuts rates. Closer home, markets are trading with volatility on account of monthly expiry of derivative contracts later in the day. Investors are also eyeing index heavy weight Reliance Industries’ Annual General Meeting, scheduled for today afternoon. At this point of trade, Sensex and Nifty gained some traction and are trading higher with marginal gains as buying in stocks such as Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance supported the sentiments. 

On the sectoral front, stocks related to railways are in focus after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved three railway projects with a total estimated cost of Rs 6,456 crore. In stock specific development, P&G Hygiene trading under pressure after posting 46% decline in net profit for June quarter. However, NLC India rose after the company signed power sage deal with Telangana state discom.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81921.12, up by 135.56 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 81682.78 and 81925.20. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.23%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.27%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.22%, IT up by 0.21%, Utilities up by 0.20% and PSU up by 0.14%, while Metal down by 0.39%, Basic Materials down by 0.29%, Capital Goods down by 0.06%, Oil & Gas down by 0.05% and Energy down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.51%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.81%, NTPC up by 0.77%, Tata Motors up by 0.54% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 0.93%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.57%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.46%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.46% and Power Grid down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid global geo-political uncertainties, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in its Monthly Economic Review for August has said that the Indian economy has remained resilient but the outlook seems softer due to moderation in a couple of high-frequency indicators. The report said bank credit growth of scheduled commercial banks (both food and non-food) moderated in June 2024.

It added that personal loan credit growth and bank credit for the services sector has decelerated. It also said ‘the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing and services declined marginally in July 2024 but maintained its expansionary momentum’. However, growth in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and IIP for core industries moderated in June 2024.

NCAER said that while Consumer Price Index (CPI) headline inflation declined in July 2024, mainly due to an easing of food inflation, wholesale price inflation also declined in July 2024. It also said the merchandise trade deficit widened while the services trade surplus increased sequentially in July 2024.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25090.00, up by 37.65 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 25017.50 and 25091.35. There were 32 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.84%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.93%, Eicher Motors up by 0.86%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.85% and NTPC up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.03%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.83%, Grasim Industries down by 0.75%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.74% and LTIMindtree down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 220.15 points or 0.99% to 22,150.51, Hang Seng declined 103.18 points or 0.59% to 17,589.27, Nikkei 225 slipped 31.44 points or 0.08% to 38,340.32, KOSPI dropped 25.57 points or 0.96% to 2,664.26 and Shanghai Composite weakened 12.81 points or 0.45% to 2,824.62. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite rose 42.94 points or 0.56% to 7,701.82 and Straits Times was up by 11.94 points or 0.35% to 3,402.97.