Benchmarks trade flat in early noon session

Indian equity markets were trading mixed in early noon session, with Sensex losing 40 points, while Nifty was up by 9 points. Selling in frontline blue chip stocks such as Indusind Bank, ITC and TCS restricted the markets to go up. Broader indices were trading in mixed with the BSE Mid cap index surged 0.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.07%. Investors sentiment remain dented as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised questions regarding the NDA government’s revenue targets in the light of the below-trend revenue collections amid the worsening slowdown in the broader economy. However, investors took some relief with Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that the government is considering a number of measures which will be taken at an appropriate time to deal with financial stress and unleash animal spirit in the economy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors eyed for additional clues on interest rates, from the much awaited US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium which will be held later today. Back home, telecom sector remained buzzing as Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to provide relief to the ailing sector by slashing levies such as licence fees and Goods and Services Tax (GST). Prasad has also sought the Rs 36,000 crore collected as input tax credit collected from the telecom companies to be adjusted against future GST charges.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36431.97, down by 40.96 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 36102.35 and 36624.74. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.12%, PSU up by 1.19%, Basic Materials up by 1.04%, Oil & Gas up by 1.01% and TECK was up by 1.00%, while FMCG down by 0.90%, Bankex down by 0.53%, Realty down by 0.27%, Capital Goods down by 0.16% and Healthcare was down by 0.01% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.51%, Vedanta up by 4.69%, Tata Steel up by 3.01%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.47% and TCS was up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.41%, ITC down by 1.40%, ICICI Bank down by 1.29%, HDFC Bank down by 1.16% and Maruti Suzuki was down by 1.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid a slowdown in the expansion of industry and agriculture, credit rating agency ICRA has estimated India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate at 5.5-6 percent in the first quarter (April-June) of the fiscal year 2019-20. It highlighted that the country’s economy accelerated to 8.2% during the same quarter of the previous year, on the back of a strong core performance and a healthy base.

According to the report, industrial growth is expected to decelerate sharply to 5.0% in Q1 FY20 from 9.8% in Q1 FY19, due to factors like weakening domestic demand, a contraction in exports, muted investment activity during the elections and an unfavourable base effect. Based on a modest rise in volumes and subdued earnings in various sectors, it expects manufacturing gross value added (GVA) growth to ease significantly to around 5.0% in Q1 FY20 from 12.1% in Q1 FY19. It also expects construction GVA growth to record a considerable easing to around 5.0% in Q1 FY20 from 9.6% in Q1 FY19. However, it said that electricity generation is expected to record an improved performance in Q1 FY20 on the back of a turnaround in hydroelectricity.

Rating agency further said that services sector growth is expected to remain steady at around 7.1% in Q1 FY20, in line with the performance in Q1 FY19. It said an improved performance of financial, real estate and professional services, and public administration and defence, is likely to offset a slowdown in the growth of trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting. It added that the enhanced profitability metrics of the banking system, led by lower provisioning and treasury gains, as well as a turnaround in FII inflows, are expected to boost the GVA growth of financial, real estate and professional services in Q1 FY20.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10750.50, up by 9.15 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 10637.15 and 10795.40. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 5.42%, Vedanta up by 4.69%, Zee Entertainment up by 4.51%, Indiabulls Housing up by 4.21% and UPL was up by 3.69%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.46%, Indusind Bank down by 1.36%, ICICI Bank down by 1.29%, HDFC Bank down by 1.18% and Maruti Suzuki was down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 87.81 points or 0.43% to 20,715.82, KOSPI rose 1.37 points or 0.07% to 1,952.38, Hang Seng increased 117.24 points or 0.45% to 26,165.96, Shanghai Composite gained 10.71 points or 0.37% to 2,894.15 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 8.33 points or 0.08% to 10,538.11.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 4.30 points or 0.07% to 6,234.95 and Straits Times was down by 15.51 points or 0.5% to 3,112.23.