Indian equities continue to exhibit weakness in afternoon deals

Adding some losses, Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in afternoon session, as selling momentum in the equities persisted. Cautiousness remained in markets with Moody's Investors Service’s statement that the economic measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are unlikely to provide some form of confidence and improve business sentiment and consumer sentiment. Sentiments also remained grim Moody's, which has lowered India's gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 6.4% for FY20, said there is significant uncertainty in terms of the growth prospects both because of domestic as well as external factors. Traders also took a note of Federation of Indian Export Organisations’ (FIEO) statement that despite trade headwinds there is scope for a 15 percent growth in exports this fiscal. But, such a growth is possible only when the Centre can ease regulations and increased capacities can be built for increased exports to US, China and the UK. The rupee has also come under pressure, falling 23 paise to 71.71 against US dollar in early trade at the forex market. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as investors assessed the latest in the unpredictable path of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37462.60, down by 178.67 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 37428.40 and 37687.82. There were 8 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.36%, while Small cap index was down by 0.10%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.23%, IT up by 0.70% and TECK up by 0.53%, while Metal down by 2.40%, Auto down by 0.96%, Energy down by 0.84%, Bankex down by 0.74% and Basic Materials down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech. up by 1.62%, Infosys up by 1.57%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.28%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.91% and Indusind Bank up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 5.44%, Vedanta down by 3.16%, Tata Steel down by 2.41%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.02% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has said that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in Indian chemical sector is meagre at only 9 percent of the total inflow in the country despite conducive policy. Therefore, he asked the industry players to introspect the reasons for the same and also asked to suggest if measures or policy interventions are essential to boost growth of the sector which has the potential to reach to $304 billion by 2025 from the present $163 billion.

Gowda also assured the industry to address major hurdles being faced such as delay in getting green clearances and roll back of tax incentive for research and development (R&D). He noted that the government already has taken necessary measures to resolve the challenges and set up a Development Council and Advisory Forum for the chemical and petrochemical sector. He added that FDI up to 100%, under the automatic route is permitted for chemical industry.

Stating that the Indian chemical market size accounts for only 3% of the global chemical industry of $5 trillion, the minister said chemical industry could register double digit growth with the current initiatives of the industry as well as the government. He also said that the R&D spending needs to be enhanced from the present 2-3% to 5-8% of the revenue in line with overseas companies, and sustainable development should a prerequisite for long-term development of the sector. He also appealed that new technologies and techniques are mandatory for achieving 'zero defect' in quality and 'zero effect' on environment so that India can emerge as a major hub in this sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11058.20, down by 47.15 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 11043.15 and 11129.65. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 1.80%, HCL Tech. up by 1.76%, Britannia Industries up by 1.33%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.12% and Eicher Motors up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 5.89%, Vedanta down by 3.19%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.95%, Tata Steel down by 2.51% and JSW Steel down by 2.25% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 47.06 points or 0.45% to 10,434.29, Nikkei 225 surged 23.34 points or 0.11% to 20,479.42, KOSPI rose 16.49 points or 0.86% to 1,941.09 and Jakarta Composite soared 4.30 points or 0.07% to 6,282.47.

On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 2.57 points or 0.08% to 3,064.95, Shanghai Composite declined 7.08 points or 0.24% to 2,895.11 and Hang Seng decreased 24.57 points or 0.1% to 25,639.50.