Markets turn negative

Indian equity benchmarks turned negative in late afternoon session, despite firm cues from European markets. Domestic sentiments got cautious as the first time since May 2018, India’s services sector activity contracted in the month of June, as weak sales, competitive pressures and unfavourable taxation all hampered output. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index eased to 49.6 in June from 50.2 in May. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services – fell to 50.8 in June as against 51.7 in May. Adding anxiety on the street, the CBI launched a massive crackdown by carrying out searches at over 61 locations in 18 cities after registering 17 cases involving swindling of funds to the tune of Rs 1,139 crore,

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, after Spain's service sector growth improved to the most in last three months in June on stronger gains in new work. The data from IHS Markit showed that the Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.6 in June from 52.8 in May. A score above 50 indicates expansion. However, Asian markets were trading in red.
 
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39796.41, down by 20.07 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 39732.38 and 39934.99. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.56%, Capital Goods up by 0.49%, PSU up by 0.38%, Power up by 0.37% and Industrials up by 0.32%, while IT down by 0.88%, TECK down by 0.75%, Healthcare down by 0.29%, Telecom down by 0.22% and Utilities down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.07%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.63%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.92%, Tata Steel up by 0.72% and Power Grid up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.58%, Yes Bank down by 1.44%, Vedanta down by 1.37%, Infosys down by 1.07% and TCS down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the first time since May 2018, India’s services sector activity contracted in the month of June, as weak sales, competitive pressures and unfavourable taxation all hampered output. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index eased to 49.6 in June from 50.2 in May. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services – fell to 50.8 in June as against 51.7 in May.

The survey found that new business rose only fractionally during June, with the respective index posting at a nine-month low. Some firms secured new work amid successful advertising, while others saw order books shrink due to competitive pressures and weak underlying demand. Besides, unfinished business continued to rise in June, due to delayed client payments.

The report also noted that operating expenses rose among service providers, on account of higher prices for cosmetics, fuel, gold, meat and vegetables. The overall rate of input cost inflation was negligible and below the average over the survey history, despite accelerating from May's 28-month low. Still, the latest uptick in cost burdens was sufficient to drive another round of upward revisions to selling prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11908.35, down by 1.95 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 11887.05 and 11945.20. There were 24 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 6.87%, Indusind Bank up by 3.25%, Britannia up by 1.07%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.90% and ITC up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.27%, GAIL India down by 2.02%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.64%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.35% and Yes Bank down by 1.29% were the top losers.

All the Asian counters are trading in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 121.35 points or 1.12% to 10,743.77, Straits Times trembled 11.36 points or 0.34% to 3,359.44, KOSPI fell 26.00 points or 1.23% to 2,096.02, Jakarta Composite lost 32.62 points or 0.51% to 6,352.28, Shanghai Composite declined 36.65 points or 1.2% to 3,007.29, Nikkei 225 slipped 116.11 points or 0.53% to 21,638.16 and Hang Seng decreased 74.70 points or 0.26% to 28,800.86.

All European markets were trading in green; FTSE gained by 46.25 points or 0.61% to 7,605.44, CAC rose 36.10 points or 0.65% to 5,612.92 and DAX was up 100.25 points or 0.80% to 12,626.97.