Benchmarks continue lackluster trade in afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade in early afternoon session, on the back of selling activities by market-participants. The mood on the street remained cautious with Assocham’s report that the escalation of global trade protectionist measures into a full-scale global trade war will damage the Indian economy as well. A full-scale global trade war will impact the country’s exports and enlarge its current account deficit (CAD). Moreover, weakness in Asian markets on trade war concerns, too dampened investors’ sentiments. However, traders got some relief with report that SEBI is planning to increase the maximum investment by angel funds in venture capital undertakings to Rs 10 crore from the current Rs 5 crore. In this fast changing ecosystem, wherein angels are investing much higher amounts, such increase is needed to provide more opportunities to angel funds. In the currency front, the rupee emerged strong in early trade, and was trading at 64.88 against US Dollar, higher by 13 paise. In scrip specific development, JSW Steel was up by over a percent with its subsidiary -- JSW Steel (USA) Inc -- signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with Office of Governor, Texas USA to develop and augment the steel industry in Texas.

On the global front, Asian market were trading mostly in red, as fears of a full-blown trade war between the United States and China battered investor sentiment as investors fretted over the fate of global growth. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32631.65, up by 35.11 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 32515.17 and 32667.16. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.10%, while Small cap index was down by 0.22%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.07%, Bankex up by 0.67%, Capital Goods up by 0.55%, FMCG up by 0.31% and Realty up by 0.25%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.54%, IT down by 1.13%, TECK down by 0.89%, Utilities down by 0.85% and Energy down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 2.70%, SBI up by 2.11%, ICICI Bank up by 1.09%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.03% and Coal India up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 4.23%, Infosys down by 1.93%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.77%, Tata Motors down by 1.40% and Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with India’s exports taking a hit, the industry chamber Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in its latest report has said that the country’s economy may be impacted if global trade war escalates further into a ‘full-scale global trade war’. The Industry body added that it may reflect in enlarging the country’s current account deficit (CAD) and it will impact Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as well.

ASSOCHAM stated that tensions in the market look quite justified, as Trump's move to levy tariff on trading partners could lead to a further retaliation against the US. Though, it said that the measures taken by the US may not have a direct impact on India but the collateral damage could be in the form of adverse impact on the overall sentiment.

Besides, the chamber suggested the government to formulate a backup plan which should include opening bilateral trade with key trading partners, while taking precautions that we remain WTO compliant. It further said that if market confidence is eroded, there would be an outflow of portfolio investment taking a toll on the dollar rates.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9995.50, down by 2.55 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 9958.55 and 10010.75. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 2.83%, SBI up by 2.07%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.49%, ICICI Bank up by 1.14% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.00%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 4.81%, Wipro down by 4.04%, HPCL down by 3.58%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.15% and BPCL down by 1.98% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite shed 27.38 points or 0.87% to 3,125.38, Hang Seng decreased 26.78 points or 0.09% to 30,282.51, Jakarta Composite dipped 26.54 points or 0.43% to 6,184.16 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 7.16 points or 0.38% to 1,858.06.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted surged 16.72 points or 0.15% to 10,840.05, KOSPI Index increased 20.32 points or 0.84% to 2,437.08 and Nikkei 225 was up by 148.24 points or 0.72% to 20,766.10.