Benchmarks add gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets added gains on the street in late afternoon session due to increased buying by funds. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are also trading in green. Traders were seen piling up positions in Auto, Energy and Bankex sectors while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Capital Goods and FMCG sector stocks. Sentiment on the street improved, as Finance Ministry said banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,55,995 crore under the Rs 3-trillion Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector reeling under the slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Traders paid no heed towards  rating agency ICRA’s report that the economy is expected to contract by 25 per cent each in the first quarter of FY'21 both in terms of GDP ( gross domestic product) as well GVA (gross value added).

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following talks between the United States and China on the status of a deal meant to work as truce in their trade war. European markets were trading mostly in green as hopes of additional stimulus for Germany and France outweighed worries about rising cases of COVID-19 across the continent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38953.15, up by 109.27 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 38765.09 and 38984.21. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.80%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.65%, Energy up by 1.61%, Bankex up by 0.90%, Realty up by 0.84% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.78%, while Telecom down by 1.90%, Capital Goods down by 0.30%, FMCG down by 0.20%, Basic Materials down by 0.18% and Healthcare was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.20%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.32%, Axis Bank up by 2.19%, Reliance Industries up by 2.04% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.61%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.89%, Asian Paints down by 1.59%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.27% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, raising concerns over economic recovery, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report has said that the contraction in economic activity is likely to continue in the second quarter of the current fiscal as upticks witnessed in May and June appears to have lost strength following re-imposition of lockdowns to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

RBI expressed need for 'deep-seats and wide-ranging' reforms to regain losses and return to the path of sustainable economic growth. It further said that an assessment of aggregate demand during the year so far suggests that the shock to consumption is severe, and it will take quite some time to mend and regain the pre-COVID-19 momentum.

Meanwhile, the National Statistical Office is scheduled to release its estimates of GDP for the first quarter of this fiscal on August 31. RBI did not give out economic growth projections in the annual report as is usual.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11509.70, up by 37.45 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 11461.85 and 11523.95. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 7.28%, Hero MotoCorp up by 5.61%, Zee Entertainment up by 5.53%, Indusind Bank up by 4.18% and Adani Ports up by 3.19%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.68%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.85%, Britannia down by 1.59%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.53% and Asian Paints down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 75.04 points or 0.59% to 12,833.29, Hang Seng increased 5.57 points or 0.02% to 25,491.79, KOSPI rose 2.59 points or 0.11% to 2,369.32 and Jakarta Composite was up by 1.44 points or 0.03% to 5,340.33. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 5.91 points or 0.03% to 23,290.86, Straits Times trembled 17.66 points or 0.69% to 2,541.37 and Shanghai Composite was down by 43.84 points or 1.3% to 3,329.74.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 16.10 points or 0.32% to 5,024.37, Germany’s DAX increased 70.67 points or 0.54% to 13,132.29. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 1.90 points or 0.03% to 6,035.11.