Indian equities remain in red terrain

Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in red territory in afternoon deals, as investors remained on sidelines ahead of the April-June quarter (Q1FY20) GDP numbers to be released later in the day. Domestic sentiment remained down-beat with a private report stating that India's economy likely expanded at its weakest pace in more than five years in April-June, as consumer demand and private investment weakened at a time global trade frictions have dampened business sentiment. However, losses remain capped as some optimism remained among the traders with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, executing confidence that India will become a five trillion dollar economy in the next five years, and also said that good governance and zero corruption are needed for sustainable economic development in the country. On the sectoral front, stocks related to textiles sector remained in focus with the government developing 40 new Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) codes for technical textiles sector, which will be finalised soon.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as the United States and China showed a willingness to resolve their trade dispute by returning to the negotiating table, though lingering recession fears tempered some of the enthusiasm. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36909.28, down by 159.65 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 36829.81 and 37318.99. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.09%, while Small cap index was up by 0.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.69%, Healthcare up by 0.51%, FMCG up by 0.33%, Realty up by 0.16% and Consumer Durables up by 0.10%, while PSU down by 2.17%, Power down by 1.89%, Energy down by 1.71%, Utilities down by 1.61% and Capital Goods down by 1.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 1.99%, Tata Steel up by 1.40%, Sun Pharma up by 0.94%, HDFC Bank up by 0.64% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.58%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.86%, Power Grid down by 2.98%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.46%, Axis Bank down by 2.42% and Larsen & Toubro down by 2.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Research in its Agriculture Report 2019 has stated that farm profit from field crop is likely to increase 10-12 percent during kharif season 2019 due to expected higher prices and despite lower output. It also said that after three years of healthy growth, kharif output this time could fall 3-5% on the back of lower sowing acreage and yields being impacted by uneven distribution of rains.

The report pointed out that floods in Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and weak rains in West Bengal and the Marathwada region of Maharashtra are expected to affect productivity. Additionally, it said high-intensity rainfall in August is likely to increase pest attacks on maize and paddy further impacting productivity.

According to the report, lower kharif output is expected to push up mandi prices, and boost profitability of most crops, providing respite to farmers. It also said that some crops such as sugarcane would be an exception, with profit hit by lower acreage and productivity.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10913.35, down by 34.95 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 10874.80 and 11024.85. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.81%, Vedanta up by 2.14%, Tata Steel up by 1.62%, Wipro up by 1.59% and Zee Entertainment up by 1.44%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.21%, Coal India down by 2.94%, Power Grid down by 2.81%, SBI down by 2.39% and Axis Bank down by 2.29% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 gained 243.44 points or 1.19% to 20,704.37, Straits Times rose 9.49 points or 0.31% to 3,091.32, Taiwan Weighted increased by 155.62 points or 1.49% to 10,618.05, KOSPI advanced 34.38 points or 1.78% to 1,967.79 and Jakarta Composite soared 25.54 points or 0.41% to 6,314.66.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite fell 6.49 points or 0.22% to 2,884.43 and Hang Seng was down by 53.56 points or 0.21% to 25,649.94.