Indian bourses continue to trade under pressure

Tracking regional indices, Indian bourses were trading under selling pressure in afternoon session, on the back of sustained selling activities by market-participants. Sentiments remained downbeat with the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data showed that the government's fiscal deficit touched Rs 4.32 trillion for the June quarter, which is 61.4 per cent of the budget estimate for 2019-20 fiscal. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, the gap between expenditure and revenue, was Rs 4.32 trillion at June-end. The mood of the markets remain impacted with the government data showing that growth of eight core industries dropped to 0.2 per cent in June mainly due to a contraction in oil-related sectors as well as in cement production. The key indices also suffered due a sinking rupee which slipped 22 paise to quote at 69.02 against the US dollar so far in intra-day trade. On the sectoral front, stocks related to Coffee sector edged lower after the Coffee Board showed that Coffee shipments from India, Asia’s third-largest producer, and exporter, remained flat at 2,38,669 tonnes so far this calendar year with maximum shipments made to Italy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as the U.S. Federal Reserve poured cold water on market expectations of a lengthy easing cycle following a 25 basis-point rate cut. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37015.59, down by 465.53 points or 1.24% after trading in a range of 36973.06 and 37387.18. There were 3 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.68%, while Small cap index was down by 1.07%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.31%, Consumer Durables up by 0.14% and Power was up by 0.04%, while Metal down by 3.11%, Basic Materials down by 2.17%, Capital Goods down by 1.83%, Industrials down by 1.70% and TECK was down by 1.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.11%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.92% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 4.64%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 4.29%, Tata Motors down by 4.17%, Tata Steel down by 3.00% and Infosys was down by 2.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, stressing the importance of innovation, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that it is a crucial factor which will boost growth and help to achieve target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.

Pradhan has said that India will become the largest consumer of fossil fuel in the next 15 years, so there is need to reduce India’s crude oil import bill. He added that the country’s crude oil import bill is pegged at Rs 6 lakh crore per annum. He also stated that India produces approximately 600MT of non-fossilised biomass through farm waste, which if converted to energy can help usher prosperity in rural economy, and promote a sustainable energy future.

In order to support the Niti Aayog's Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) programme, the minister said he will direct oil and steel public sector undertakings (PSUs) to contribute their corporate social responsibility (CSR) money to the programme. He noted that ACIC will encourage students, researchers and other individuals/group of individuals to ideate and design novel solutions. He also said “the scheme will also connect innovative thinkers to our market and mainstream economy.”

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10989.35, down by 128.65 points or 1.16% after trading in a range of 10966.75 and 11076.75. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 2.56%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.40%, Power Grid up by 2.18%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.08% and Bajaj Finserv was up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 4.48%, Zee Entertainment down by 4.18%, Tata Motors down by 4.02%, JSW Steel down by 3.90% and Hindalco was down by 3.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 260.83 points or 0.94% to 27,516.92, Taiwan Weighted dropped 92.06 points or 0.85% to 10,731.75, Shanghai Composite declined 23.50 points or 0.8% to 2,909.01, Straits Times trembled 11.39 points or 0.35% to 3,289.36, KOSPI fell 7.21 points or 0.36% to 2,017.34 and Jakarta Composite was down by 2.12 points or 0.03% to 6,388.39.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 19.46 points or 0.09% to 21,540.99.