Post Session: Quick Review

After the initial uptick, markets spent the entire day in red territory and ended with minor losses amid weekly F&O expiry. Investors remained cautious ahead of a slew of US economic data, which would provide insights into the potential magnitude of the Federal Reserve's anticipated rate cut in its September meeting. Investors turned their focus towards 54th GST Council meeting, which scheduled to be held on September 09. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index ended in green.

Markets made positive start amid overnight fall in crude oil prices on pessimism about demand in the coming months as crude producers offered mixed signals about supply increases. However, markets failed to remain in green and turned negative in late morning session. Traders overlooked report that NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being negotiated between India and the UK is in the final stages with both sides within finger-touching distance to clinch an agreement. The FTA is aimed at significantly enhancing the estimated GBP 38.1 billion a year bilateral trading partnership. Markets continued to trade below neutral lines in afternoon session despite Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das 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. In late afternoon session, indices added some losses as investors sold their riskier assets. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green after official data revealed Germany's factory orders grew unexpectedly in July largely due to the surge in demand for transport equipment. Asian markets ended 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. Back home, 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 BSE Sensex ended at 82,201.16, down by 151.48 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 82,130.44 and 82,617.49. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.56%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.82%, Telecom up by 0.70%, Consumer Disc up by 0.47%, IT up by 0.43% and Healthcare was up by 0.35%, while Realty down by 0.95%, Capital Goods down by 0.61%, Utilities down by 0.59%, Energy down by 0.55% and Industrials was down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 3.11%, ITC up by 0.89%, Infosys up by 0.49%, HCL Tech. up by 0.33% and Tata Steel up by 0.30%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.41%, Tata Motors down by 1.05%, Nestle down by 0.99%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.96% and Power Grid down by 0.80% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, emphasizing need to increase women participation in the labour force as India's data is lower than global average, 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, pointing out that the headline growth dipped because of lower government expenditure at central and state levels due to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to him, the expenditure of both the Centre and the state governments would pick up pace in line with respective budget estimates.

While calling the corporate sector to come forward to step up their current investments in the backdrop of visible signs of such private investments in the country, Das said that the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reforms in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have yielded long-term positive outcomes. He also added that the country now needs reforms in land, labour and agri market.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25,145.10, down by 53.60 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 25,127.75 and 25,275.45. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Company up by 3.19%, LTIMindtree up by 1.29%, Wipro up by 1.10%, BPCL up by 0.97% and ITC up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 1.46%, Reliance Industries down by 1.42%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.35%, Coal India down by 1.32% and Britannia down by 1.29% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 6.73 points or 0.08% to 8,276.33 and Germany’s DAX was up by 13.59 points or 0.07% to 18,605.44. On the flip side, France’s CAC was down by 39.36 points or 0.53% to 7,461.61.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday with caution ahead of more US data this week, including Friday's all-important jobs report for directional cues. The latest job openings and labour turnover summary report signalled cooling hiring in July and fuelled bets on a big rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month. Seoul shares declined amid concerns of an economic recession in the United States, while revised data showed South Korea's economy shrank 0.2% in the second quarter on weaker domestic consumption and investment by private businesses. Hong Kong shares fell after a private survey revealed growth in China's services sector activity slowed in August. Japanese shares declined sharply on stronger yen and losses in semiconductor-related shares. Meanwhile, Chinese shares gained after reports that in an efforts to shore up the battered property market and economy, Chinese authorities are considering cutting interest rates on as much as $5.3 trillion of mortgages to lower borrowing costs for millions of families.