Local equity benchmarks erased all the losses to turn positive in late afternoon deals, both Sensex and Nifty were trading above 35,500 and 10,500 marks, respectively. Buying in frontline stocks such as Asian Paints, ITC and Reliance Industries were aiding sentiment, while selling in Indusind Bank, Power Grid and ICICI Bank kept the gains in check. Broader indices were trading mixed. Sentiments turned positive with a private report stating that unemployment rate in the country dropped sharply to pre-lockdown level at 8.5% in the third week of June, after reaching a peak to 27.1% in the first week of May due to the lockdown. However, upside remain capped with ratings agency S&P Global Ratings’ statement that the companies in India face further potential rating downside if the recovery in corporate earnings is prolonged beyond 18 months. Meanwhile, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has called e-commerce majors, including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Paytm, for a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ‘displaying origin of the product’ on these platforms, as anti-China sentiment picks up in the country.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, on dogged optimism over outlook for a re-opening of the global economy albeit peaking coronavirus cases are been watched anxiously. Back on street, the market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2683 stocks traded, 1463 stocks advanced, while 1083 stocks declined on the BSE, while 137 stocks remain unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35572.20, up by 141.77 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 35337.74 and 35706.55. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.73%, while Small cap index was down by 0.05%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Discretionary up by 1.14%, Auto up by 1.09%, Energy up by 1.07%, FMCG up by 0.85% and Industrials was up by 0.84%, while Telecom down by 1.03%, Healthcare down by 0.98%, Bankex down by 0.70%, Power down by 0.70% and Utilities was down by 0.52% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 5.60%, ITC up by 3.44%, Reliance Industries up by 1.62%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.56% and Nestle was up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.82%, Power Grid down by 2.64%, ICICI Bank down by 1.81%, HCL Tech down by 1.75% and Sun Pharma was down by 1.71% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, amid the current anti-Chinese sentiment triggered by the Sino-India border tension and talks of an import substitution policy, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy V Subramanian has said that shutting the doors to other countries will not help India. His comments came after the nationwide clamour for a boycott of Chinese goods is getting louder, following the fierce clash between the troops of India and China in eastern Ladakh that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.
Subramanian has stated that the country had followed the import substitution model till 1991, and that approach has been discredited since. He also said India has to compete with other countries and insulating itself from others will not help. He clarified ‘I will not say that trade should continue with countries which are creating problems at the border.’
CEA further said it is still not certain when demand in the economy will pick up. He added that the prevailing uncertainty is purely due to health reasons and it will go probably when the vaccine is available to fight COVID19.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10509.25, up by 38.25 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 10440.15 and 10553.15. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 5.89%, Tata Motors up by 5.41%, Hero MotoCorp up by 4.51%, ITC up by 3.34% and Eicher Motors was up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.56%, Indusind Bank down by 2.46%, Cipla down by 2.05%, ICICI Bank down by 1.86% and Sun Pharma was down by 1.71% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite gained 7.13 points or 0.24% to 2,977.75, KOSPI rose 30.27 points or 1.42% to 2,161.51, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 48.31 points or 0.42% to 11,660.67 and Jakarta Composite was up by 94.29 points or 1.93% to 4,973.42.
On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 39.31 points or 0.16% to 24,868.03, Nikkei 225 slipped 14.73 points or 0.07% to 22,534.32 and Straits Times was down by 3.51 points or 0.13% to 2,631.41.
