Local bourses continue trade in red

Indian equity benchmarks continued trading in red as their Asian peers continued to remain weak due to US-China trade tensions. Sentiments remained down-beat with report stating that foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 14,500 crore from the Indian capital markets this month so far, primarily due to global trade war and hawkish commentary by the US Federal Reserve. Some concern also came in with Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data showing that India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $3.03 billion to $410.070 billion as on June 15. Foreign currency assets, which form a key component of reserves, fell by $3.05 billion from the previous week to $385.333 billion. Moreover, a depreciating rupee, which slipped 33 paise to quote at 68.15 against the dollar in early trade, also kept investors nervous. However, losses were limited as traders found some support with the industry body, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stating that Indian companies’ overseas investments are likely to go up. The industry chamber, citing a World Investment Report of UNCTAD, has said that India’s total cumulative stock of overseas foreign direct investment (OFDI) amounted to $155 billion in 2017. In the scrip specific development, Bosch was trading in green on planning to invest Rs 1,700 crore in India over the next three years to meet growing demand in the domestic automotive market.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as investors attempted to shake off jitters about trade tensions between the United States and China. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35632.20, down by 57.40 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 35584.24 and 35806.97. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.15%, while Small cap index was down by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.00%, Metal up by 0.81%, IT up by 0.77%, Basic Materials up by 0.71% and TECK up by 0.60%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.10%, PSU down by 1.06%, Auto down by 1.00%, Power down by 0.88% and Utilities down by 0.68% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 4.35%, Sun Pharma up by 2.45%, Infosys up by 1.89%, Indusind Bank up by 0.84% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.84%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 3.94%, Tata Motors down by 3.52%, ICICI Bank down by 2.64%, Coal India down by 2.11% and Power Grid down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the minister of state for corporate affairs PP Chaudhary has said that his ministry is working closely with professional regulatory bodies to improve the regulations for the auditors and corporate professionals. According to him, the ministry is looking to improve the fabric of corporate governance in India. Besides, he said that the ministry is also probing recent instances of auditors resigning from companies on various grounds.

The minister’s remarks come against the backdrop of some auditing entities coming under the scanner of the ministry following various complaints. Besides, he said that the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) can investigate chartered accountants and their firms, and its powers extend to listed companies and large unlisted public companies. Recruitment of chairperson/ members for the NFRA has already begun.

Talking about instances of auditors resigning from companies citing lack of access to financial information and other issues, Chaudhary said that the ministry is examining such recent cases of resignation. However, he noted that this is a regular practice and too much should not be read into such cases. Listing out the immediate priorities, he said that the ministry would be completing the action against struck off companies and ensure effective working of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10804.20, down by 17.65 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 10788.30 and 10831.05. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 4.18%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.28%, Sun Pharma up by 2.10%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.80% and Infosys up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.64%, BPCL down by 3.15%, HPCL down by 2.57%, ICICI Bank down by 2.56% and Coal India down by 2.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 declined 178.68 points or 0.80% to 22,338.15, Straits Times shed 23.36 points or 0.72% to 3,264.04, Hang Seng dropped 337.53 points or 1.16% to 29,001.17, Taiwan Weighted slipped by 112.82 points or 1.05% to 10,786.46, Jakarta Composite lost 12.04 points or 0.21% to 5,809.77 and Shanghai Composite fell 16.11 points or 0.56% to 2,873.65.

On the flip side, KOSPI was up by 0.66 points or 0.03% to 2,357.88.