In line with Asian peers, Indian Equity benchmarks continue to trade in red terrain in noon deals with Sensex and Nifty trading below their psychological levels of 52700 and 15,850, respectively. Sentiments were fragile as uncontrolled pandemic in parts of Asia and fear of faltering economic growth. This is despite regular assurances by the US Fed that it will keep pumping cheap money into the system until the economy is out of the woods. Traders were also worried amid reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out Rs 4,515 crore from the equities segment in the first half of July as they turn cautious towards the Indian market. Investors’ shrugged of RBI’s report stating that the overseas direct investment of domestic companies more than doubled to $2.80 billion in June this year. On the global front, all Asian markets were under pressure as pessimism took hold following rising COVID-19 infections regionally and Wall Street’s first weekly loss following three weeks of gains.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52695.30, down by 444.76 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 52506.40 and 52821.17. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 0.24%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.99%, Telecom up by 0.74%, Healthcare up by 0.26%, Utilities up by 0.25% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.20%, while Bankex down by 1.60%, Auto down by 0.66%, IT down by 0.65%, TECK down by 0.54% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 0.75%, NTPC up by 0.71%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.52%, Tata Steel up by 0.38% and Larsen & Toubro was up by 0.30%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.88%, Indusind Bank down by 1.97%, HDFC down by 1.85%, Axis Bank down by 1.48% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.33% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India's continuous wide-ranging reforms make the country an attractive destination for foreign investments. She also mentioned about stimulus packages announced recently; as well as strong, calibrated relief and reforms during COVID leading to sharp decline in new infections with ramping up of the vaccination programme.
Continued macro-economic stability and resilience in economic recovery in the recent months, focus on infrastructure-led economic growth, and multi-sectoral opportunities for investors are some of key highlights shared by the Finance Minister. She also said India has vibrant and pulsating financial markets, enormous investments opportunity in infrastructure sector and R&D.
Sitharaman also mentioned this year's budget initiative pertaining to International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, where the government is committed towards developing it into a globally competitive hub for innovation and financial activities to serve the Indian economy and the region as a whole.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15803.05, down by 120.35 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 15735.95 and 15836.90. There were 15 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.08%, Divi's Lab up by 0.90%, Nestle up by 0.84%, Tata Consumer Products up by 0.71% and NTPC was up by 0.63%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.87%, Indusind Bank down by 1.98%, HDFC down by 1.75%, Axis Bank down by 1.50% and ONGC was down by 1.41% were the top losers.
All Asian markets were trading lower, KOSPI fell 32.87 points or 1% to 3,244.04, Shanghai Composite declined 1.52 points or 0.04% to 3,537.78, Taiwan Weighted dropped 106.00 points or 0.59% to 17,789.25, Nikkei 225 slipped 350.34 points or 1.25% to 27,652.74, Hang Seng decreased 504.08 points or 1.8% to 27,500.60, Jakarta Composite lost 52.81 points or 0.87% to 6,019.70 and Straits Times was down by 26.78 points or 0.85% to 3,125.52.