Domestic indices trade in green in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets erased all thier losses and were trading in green with slightly gains on account of buying in ITC, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever companies’ stocks. Falling crude oil prices supported domestic sentiments. Some support also came in as India's foreign exchange reserves rose $2.3 billion in the week ending August 30 to a new record high of $683.99 billion. However, gains were limited as weaker-than-expected U.S. job growth signaled an economic slowdown and fueled worries that the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in FMCG, Bankex, TECK, IT and Consumer Durables, while selling was witnessed in PSU, Oil & Gas, Energy, Metal and Telecom. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following negative cues from the US markets. Traders were cautious after Japan’s second-quarter GDP came in at 2.9% on an annualized basis, less than the 3.2% expected by street. A softer GDP growth figure will constrain the Bank of Japan’s options to raise rates. Back home, in the stocks specific development, Suzlon Energy surged after the company has received a large order from NTPC Green Energy for a wind energy plant.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81305.52, up by 121.59 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 80895.05 and 81448.79. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.56%, while Small cap index down by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.57%, Bankex up by 0.26%, TECK up by 0.21%, IT up by 0.18% and Consumer Durables up by 0.18%, while PSU down by 1.51%, Oil & Gas down by 1.42%, Energy down by 1.18%, Metal down by 1.10% and Telecom down by 0.82% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 0.89%, ICICI Bank up by 0.85%, Indusind Bank up by 0.79%, Infosys up by 0.78% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.78%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.64%, Tata Motors down by 1.41%, Power Grid down by 0.96%, Tata Steel down by 0.83% and SBI down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal has suggested that the government should have a working group on tourism between the nations of the Mediterranean and India, as there is a huge potential for cooperation and mutual benefit. He said that India offers a large market for Mediterranean goods and services given the close connection both nations have shared over the decades. He stated that India and Mediterranean countries have a huge common interest in the shipping sector, whether in shipbuilding, ownership, the maritime sector, or the cruise business. He added that the Centre sees a huge opportunity in developing ports and has doubled the port capacity in the last decade. He also hopes to double the capacity of ports in the next 5 years. 

Goyal stated that he is optimistic about the India-Mediterranean partnership and will work towards economic prosperity and mutual growth for Mediterranean countries and India for a cleaner, sustainable, more resilient, secure, inclusive, and brighter future for all. He said that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is an important initiative that can add to India’s maritime security and faster movement of goods between Europe and Asia.  He noted that lower logistics costs, faster connectivity, and secure movement of goods are dependent on better cooperation in this area. He noted that initiatives like the PLI scheme, Centre’s efforts towards Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) through FTAs and economic partnerships have boosted India’s manufacturing growth story, and the nation’s efforts to promote agri-value chains can support the initiatives between India and Mediterranean countries.

The minister said India is one of the fastest growing economies with young demography and that it will drive global growth for decades to come. India is expected to become the third largest economy in the next few years. Further, he said that India has embarked on Make in India and digitisation of the economy and has initiated a holistic effort to make doing business in India easier. Areas like renewable energy, manufacturing, maritime and blue economy, digitisation, pharma, information technology, agriculture, and tourism have huge potential in the country, and investors have the opportunity to be a part of this growth story.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24880.75, up by 28.60 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 24753.15 and 24916.75. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life up by 1.44%, Cipla up by 1.41%, Tata Consumer up by 1.12%, Shriram Finance up by 1.07% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.03%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.69%, Hindalco down by 1.93%, Tata Motors down by 1.50%, NTPC down by 1.42% and Coal India down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 315.53 points or 1.84% to 17,128.77, Jakarta Composite plunged 64.61 points or 0.84% to 7,657.24, Shanghai Composite weakened 28.44 points or 1.04% to 2,737.37, KOSPI dropped 8.74 points or 0.34% to 2,535.54, Nikkei 225 slipped 257.5 points or 0.71% to 36,133.97 and Taiwan Weighted lost 274.67 points or 1.3% to 21,160.52. However, Straits Times rose 33.06 points or 0.95% to 3,487.53.