Sensex, Nifty remain sluggish

Indian equity benchmarks remained sluggish in late afternoon deals, tracking weak European markets. Market participants got anxious with the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry’s (CITI) statement that India must tread cautiously during negotiations for the proposed mega-pact RCEP against the backdrop of US-China trade war so as not to cede space to China in the global textiles and clothing sector. Traders were seen taking a note of reports stating that apex industry chamber FICCI made a strong case for fiscal stimulus to pump-prime the slowing economy amid global headwinds and weakening domestic demand in the next budget as the Narendra Modi government is all set to begin its second innings. 

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Germany's consumer confidence is set to drop slightly in June. The survey data from the market research group GfK showed that the forward-looking consumer confidence index fell slightly to 10.1 in June from revised 10.2 in May. Besides, Switzerland's exports fell for the second month in April, while imports rose. The data from the Federal Customs Administration showed that exports declined a real 0.6 percent month-on-month in April, following a 0.5 percent fall in March. However, Asian markets were trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39599.55, down by 83.74 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 39498.65 and 39785.02. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.39%, TECK up by 1.10%, Metal up by 0.93%, Energy up by 0.60% and Utilities up by 0.28%, while Telecom down by 1.38%, Capital Goods down by 1.04%, Bankex down by 0.68%, Industrials down by 0.41% and Auto down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.38%, Coal India up by 2.21%, Infosys up by 1.40%, TCS up by 1.34% and HCL Tech up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.55%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.68%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.54%, ICICI Bank down by 1.49% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's massive victory in India's national election, international rating agency S&P Global Ratings has said the reform potential of new government is likely to maintain buoyancy in local funding markets and improve the flow of foreign capital for corporates in India.

The rating agency also said that Indian corporates, especially the rated ones, remain hostage to a number of worries surrounding a slowdown in global growth and trade wars. But now, the continuity of government -- which was widely cited as an additional source of uncertainty in the run-up to the elections -- is no longer one of them.

According to the S&P Global Ratings, improvements in India's bankruptcy code, simplification of the country's tax regime and privatization of inefficient state-owned enterprises are all expected to create opportunities for private enterprises going forward. It further added that a focus on the revival of private consumption may boost growth in much-needed private investment.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11889.70, down by 35.05 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 11864.90 and 11958.55. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 4.63%, Yes Bank up by 3.44%, Coal India up by 2.11%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.08% and JSW Steel up by 1.86%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.34%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.43%, Grasim Industries down by 2.16%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.69% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 rose 77.56 points or 0.37% to 21,260.14, Hang Seng increased 62.63 points or 0.23% to 27,350.72, Shanghai Composite gained 9.86 points or 0.34% to 2,902.24 and KOSPI was up by 4.62 points or 0.23% to 2,048.83. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 6.12 points or 0.19% to 3,164.65, Jakarta Composite lost 20.07 points or 0.33% to 6,078.90 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 21.82 points or 0.21% to 10,312.31.

All European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 lost 4.46 points or 0.06% to 7,273.27, France’s CAC fell 25.70 points or 0.48% to 5,310.49 and Germany’s DAX was down by 49.14 points or 0.41% to 12,022.04.