Bourses trade mix in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded mixed in late afternoon session amid monthly F&O Expiry. Sensex traded slightly in green, while nifty traded in red. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded with deep cut. Traders took note of report that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that The government will continue to build on the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and initiate even more steps to build a Viksit Bharat. In scrip specific, Reliance Industries remained in focused as board to consider bonus issue next week. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red with tech stocks bearing the brunt of selling after Nvidia's earnings forecast fell short of investor expectations. Investors also awaited the release of a key U.S. inflation reading on Friday that is likely to show that consumer price increases continued to run cool in July. European markets were trading higher after data showed a measure of Eurozone economic sentiment rose more than expected in August. Flash inflation data from Germany and revisions to U.S. GDP figures are awaited later in the day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81838.56, up by 53.00 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 81682.78 and 82220.68. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.82%, while Small cap index was down by 1.01%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 0.23%, FMCG up by 0.19% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.04%, while Power down by 1.55%, Capital Goods down by 1.44%, Utilities down by 1.41%, Basic Materials down by 1.34% and Metal was down by 1.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.28%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.88%, Reliance Industries up by 1.84%, ITC up by 1.03% and HCL Tech up by 1.01%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.87%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.75%, Tata Steel down by 1.43%, Power Grid down by 1.41% and NTPC down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in an effort towards providing an agile and world-class regulatory and business environment in the International Financial Service Centres (IFSCs), the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, has amended the Securities Contracts Regulation Rules (SCRR), 1956 to ease the listing requirements for Indian companies seeking to list on international exchanges within IFSCs at par with global standards.

‘Direct Listing of Equity Shares of Companies Incorporated in India on International Exchanges Scheme’ under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments), 2019 and Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024 together, provide an overarching regulatory framework to enable public Indian companies to issue and list their shares in permitted international stock exchanges at GIFT-IFSC.

To further facilitate this, the new rules stipulate that: For public Indian companies desiring to list solely on international exchanges in IFSCs, the minimum offer and allotment to the public as per the offer document shall be at least 10% of the post-issue capital; and the continuous listing requirement for such companies has also been set at 10%, as outlined under Rules 19 (2)(b) and 19A of the SCRR.

By reducing these thresholds, the amendments in SCRR facilitate easier access to global capital for Indian start-ups and companies in the sunrise and the technology sectors. This will particularly benefit Indian companies going global and having ambitions to look at opportunities for expanding their presence in other markets.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25026.05, down by 26.30 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 24998.50 and 25174.55. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.70%, Reliance Industries up by 1.70%, Britannia up by 1.56% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 2.40%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.94%, JSW Steel down by 1.84%, Hindalco down by 1.71% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 168.81 points or 0.76% to 22,201.85, KOSPI dropped 27.55 points or 1.03% to 2,662.28, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.32 points or 0.51% to 2,823.11, Nikkei 225 slipped 9.23 points or 0.02% to 38,362.53 and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.71 points or 0.01% to 7,658.17. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 18.77 points or 0.55% to 3,409.80 and Hang Seng was up by 93.87 points or 0.53% to 17,786.32.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 17.62 points or 0.21% to 8,361.47, France’s CAC rose 35.2 points or 0.46% to 7,612.87 and Germany’s DAX was up by 72.77 points or 0.39% to 18,855.06.