Benchmarks extend losses in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended losses in morning deals, tracking losses in the most valuable firm SBI, HCL Technologies and Adani Ports & SEZ. Global market uncertainty and mixed Asian cues contributed to the subdued trade. Traders took a note of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in association with FICCI and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in latest report titled ‘Banking for a Viksit Bharat’ stated that a 20-fold increase in the financial services sector is needed for India’s goal to achieve a $30 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2047. The report estimates that banks will need a capital base of $4 trillion, with one-third of this needing to be fresh capital deployment. Sector-wise, stocks related to railway sector remained in watch as the Railway Board said that the freight loading statistics for August 2024 highlighted the remarkable performance of Indian Railways as a total of 126.97 MT of freight was loaded in August alone, contributing to a cumulative total of 653.22 MT for the financial year 2024-25 up to August. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed after U.S. private payrolls data showed the weakest growth since 2021, heightening fears of a slowing labor market. All eyes now remain on the Eurozone GDP data and the all-important U.S. jobs report due later in the day. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81446.07, down by 755.09 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 81304.46 and 82254.79. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.77%, while Small cap index was down by 0.34%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom down by 2.98%, PSU down by 1.78%, Oil & Gas down by 1.72%, Energy down by 1.67% and Capital Goods down by 1.13%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.17%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.71%, Asian Paints up by 0.29% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.07%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.87%, HCL Technologies down by 1.82%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.77%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.63% and Reliance Industries down by 1.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore has said that India and Singapore agreed to cooperate in the development of the semiconductor ecosystem. Both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the sector. The MOU was exchanged in the presence of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during Prime Minister Modi’s Official Visit to Singapore.

The MoU aims to support India’s growing semiconductor industry while facilitating Singapore’s ecosystem of semiconductor companies and related supply chains to participate in the fast-growing Indian market. Under the MOU, Singapore and India will leverage complementary strengths in their semiconductor ecosystems and tap into opportunities to build resilience in their semiconductor supply chains. This will include government policy exchanges on ecosystem development, supply chain resilience, and workforce development.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will establish a Policy Dialogue to facilitate discussions, oversee the implementation of the areas of collaboration, and exchange best practices. A parallel business-to-business Cooperation Forum will be established and led by Enterprise Singapore and the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) to encourage and catalyze more private-sector partnerships between both countries.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24930.20, down by 214.90 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 24878.65 and 25168.75. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were LTIMindtree up by 2.02%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.15%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.65%, Asian Paints up by 0.28% and Britannia Industries up by 0.26%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.88%, Coal India down by 2.11%, HCL Technologies down by 1.78%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.75% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.60% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Jakarta Composite gained 50.45 points or 0.65% to 7,731.49, Straits Times rose 6.17 points or 0.18% to 3,464.83 and Taiwan Weighted added 227.13 points or 1.07% to 21,414.84.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 6.31 points or 0.23% to 2,782.00, KOSPI dropped 23.40 points or 0.91% to 2,552.10 and Nikkei 225 slipped 153.92 points or 0.42% to 36,503.17.