Lackluster trade continues near neutral lines

A lackluster trade continued over the Dalal Street, with both Sensex and Nifty trading just below their respective neutral lines, amid mixed cues from other Asian markets along with selling at Realty and Capital Goods counters, as traders remain cautious ahead of the release of the more closely watched US monthly jobs report on Friday. However, losses remained limited, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that India's growth story remains intact. He noted that the central bank’s 7.2 percent GDP growth projection for FY25 is not out of place and structural drivers are playing a bigger role in macroeconomic outcome. RBI Governor further said that data shows fundamentals of growth drivers are gaining momentum.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as South Korea's gross domestic product contracted a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2024. That was in line with expectations following the 1.3 percent increase in the first quarter. On an annualized basis, GDP was up 2.3 percent - again matching forecasts and slowing from 3.3 percent in the three months prior. On an annualized basis, GDP was up 2.3 percent - again matching forecasts and slowing from 3.3 percent in the three months prior.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82281.01, down by 71.63 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 82190.72 and 82617.49. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.66%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.23%, Healthcare up by 1.12%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.61%, Basic Materials up by 0.59% and Telecom up by 0.51%, while Realty down by 0.58%, Capital Goods down by 0.46%, TECK down by 0.30%, IT down by 0.21% and Industrials down by 0.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan up by 3.70%, ITC up by 0.68%, Asian Paints up by 0.63%, SBI up by 0.55% and Sun Pharma up by 0.50%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 0.95%, HCL Tech. down by 0.90%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.77%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.74% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest data has showed that passenger vehicle retail sales in India witnessed a 5 per cent on-year decline in August 2024 on account of delayed customer purchases, poor consumer sentiment and persistent heavy rains. The overall passenger vehicle (PV) registrations in August 2024 stood at 3,09,053 units, as compared to 3,23,720 units in August 2023. 

According to the data, commercial vehicle registrations saw a 6 per cent year-on-year dip in August, while tractor retail sales also witnessed a drop of 11 per cent as compared to the year-ago period. Two-wheeler sales, however, increased 6 per cent year-on-year to 13,38,237 units in August, as compared to 12,59,140 units in the same month last year, on the back of improved stock availability and the onset of the festive season. 

It further stated that three-wheeler retail sales also increased by 2 per cent to 1,05,478 units in August 2024, as compared to 1,03,782 units in the year-ago period. Overall registrations in August 2024 saw an increase of 3 per cent year-on-year at 18,91,499 units, as against 18,38,501 units in August last year.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25182.85, down by 15.85 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 25151.55 and 25275.45. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan up by 3.80%, Divi's Lab up by 1.05%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.01%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.85% and ITC up by 0.78%. On the flip side, Britannia down by 1.18%, Nestle down by 0.94%, HCL Tech. down by 0.90%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.84% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 82.6 points or 0.47% to 17,374.74, Straits Times fell 1.31 points or 0.04% to 3,440.07, KOSPI dropped 5.30 points or 0.21% to 2,575.50 and Nikkei 225 slipped 390.52 points or 1.07% to 36,657.09, while Jakarta Composite gained 37.48 points or 0.49% to 7,710.38, Shanghai Composite strengthened 4.34 points or 0.16% to 2,788.62 and Taiwan Weighted added 94.96 points or 0.45% to 21,187.71.