Mirroring weak global cues, Indian equity benchmarks continued to show a sluggish trend in late afternoon session. Tata Steel, Dr. Reddy's Lab and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the prime losers among heavy-weights. Traders failed to took support, as Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said exports have reached nearly $15 billion for the first half of August, after posting the highest-ever monthly performance in July at $35 billion. He said “It will be a record-breaking year for exports. Exports are engaging with new products, new services, new markets and the world is looking at India as a trusted partner”. Traders took note of report that government will support the setting up of the semiconductor industry in India, which will also help reduce foreign exchange outflows. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as worries surrounding the spread of the delta variant again took center stage. European markets were trading lower as retail sales data coming out of the UK showed that the road to economic recovery will not be an easy one. Back home, Sectorwise, Fertiliser sector remained in focus, as rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that even as there has been an 11 per cent decline in primary fertiliser sales volume during the first four months of FY2021-22, it is likely to improve and expected to be only marginally lower than the previous financial year.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55,462.59, down by 166.9 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 55013.98 and 55495.60. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.68%, while Small cap index was down by 1.50%.
The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.77%, while Metal down by 5.45%, Basic Materials down by 3.24%, Realty down by 3.00%, PSU down by 2.33%, Healthcare down by 1.95% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 5.57%, Asian Paints up by 3.41%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.50%, Nestle up by 2.49% and HDFC up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.19%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.65%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.63%, SBI down by 2.42% and Sun Pharma down by 2.26% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the nation is working towards making a quantum jump in merchandise exports. He said that this has been made possible, thanks to the structural changes initiated by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Minister said that the merchandise export target of $400 billion for the year 2021-22 has been set, in line with the Prime Minister’s clarion call, “Local goes Global: Make in India for the World”. The Minister said this during a meeting with Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), Commodity Boards and Authorities and other stakeholders in Mumbai, to discuss measures to enhance and increase exports.
Piyush Goyal also exhorted all Export Promotion Councils to take immediate and effective steps to rise to the challenge of achieving the merchandise export target of $400 billion for 2021-22. Besides, the Minister announced that two separate divisions are being set up in the Commerce Ministry focused on the services sector, in order to attain the $1 trillion services exports target.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16,487.20, down by 81.65 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 16376.05 and 16509.55. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 5.33%, Britannia up by 3.84%, Asian Paints up by 3.39%, Nestle up by 2.50% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.49%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.29%, JSW Steel down by 5.83%, UPL down by 4.66%, Hindalco down by 4.30% and Divi's Lab down by 2.91% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 466.61 points or 1.84% to 24,849.72, Nikkei 225 slipped 267.92 points or 0.98% to 27,013.25, Shanghai Composite declined 38.22 points or 1.1% to 3,427.33, KOSPI fell 37.32 points or 1.2% to 3,060.51, Taiwan Weighted dropped 33.46 points or 0.2% to 16,341.94. However, Straits Times advanced 15.88 points or 0.51% to 3,102.85 and Jakarta Composite was up by 38.45 points or 0.64% to 6,030.77.
European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 21.38 points or 0.3% to 7,037.48, France’s CAC decreased 28.89 points or 0.44% to 6,577.00 and Germany’s DAX was down by 93.39 points or 0.59% to 15,672.42.