Indian equity benchmarks turned negative in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red. Negative cues from other Asian markets impacted domestic sentiments. Traders got worried, after the Reserve Bank lowered the country's growth projection for the current financial year to 9.5 percent from 10.5 percent estimated earlier, amid uncertainties created by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The street overlooked reports that overall hiring activity has shown some improvement with a marginal 1 percent month-on-month contraction recorded in May as against a decline of 14.95 percent in April. The job postings during May stood at 2,047 compared to 2,072 in April on the Naukri.com platform, according to Naukri JobSpeak Index.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after China's service sector growth moderated in May as activity and new order growth softened since April. The survey results from IHS Markit showed that the Caixin services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 55.1 in May from a four-month high of 56.3 in April. Nonetheless, the score remained firmly above the neutral 50.0 level to suggest a marked growth in activity. Business activity as well as new orders rose sharply in May, despite rates of expansion softening since April. Customer demand continued to expand due to the successful containment of COVID-19 in China, while there were also reports of new product offerings boosting sales.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52130.26, down by 102.17 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 52055.40 and 52389.02. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.26%, while Small cap index was up by 0.59%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.99%, Telecom up by 0.46%, Industrials up by 0.46%, Capital Goods up by 0.42% and PSU up by 0.32%, while Metal down by 0.79%, Bankex down by 0.64%, Consumer Durables down by 0.45%, Basic Materials down by 0.38% and FMCG down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 1.96%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.25%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.84%, HDFC up by 0.79% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.67%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.42%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.91%, SBI down by 0.89%, ICICI Bank down by 0.85% and HDFC Bank down by 0.81% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan has said that the time frame to resume negotiations for the stalled free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) and to initiate fresh talks for a pact with the UK will be ‘very early’ and the talks will start soon after completion of the preparatory work. He expressed hope that within this year, or close to the end of the year, the negotiations with both the regions should start.
Wadhawan has stated that the preparatory work is going to be some more elaborate since the negotiations are starting for the first time and with the EU also, some amount of preparatory work has to happen because there was long disruption in the negotiations. He noted that the proposed free trade agreement with the EU, officially dubbed as Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), has been stalled since May 2013 as both sides are yet to iron out differences over several issues.
Last month, the UK government stated that it has kicked off preparations for a free trade agreement with India, launching a 14-week consultation to seek the views of the public and business before formal negotiations begin later this year. With the EU, Commerce Secretary said that at the highest level, a clear agreement was there on resumption of negotiations, tracks on which talks will happen, and a clear resolve to expedite finality in the negotiations at an early date.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15667.75, down by 22.60 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 15642.55 and 15733.60. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.31%, ONGC up by 2.16%, Indian Oil Corp. up by 2.05%, BPCL up by 1.32% and Tata Consumer Products up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.46%, Hindalco down by 1.35%, Tata Steel down by 1.15%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.94% and ICICI Bank down by 0.87% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 118.43 points or 0.69% to 17,127.73, Nikkei 225 slipped 115.49 points or 0.4% to 28,942.62, Jakarta Composite lost 33.09 points or 0.54% to 6,058.42, KOSPI fell 3.37 points or 0.1% to 3,244.06 and Straits Times trembled 2.81 points or 0.09% to 3,162.19. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 5.07 points or 0.14% to 3,589.28 and Hang Seng increased 41.29 points or 0.14% to 29,007.32.