Indian equities fail to protect gains

After trading firmly, key barometer gauges entered into negative territory in late afternoon session. Telecom, Bankex and Energy counters were on the priority list of the seller. The markets got hit as India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) surged 0.16% in the month of August, 2020 (over August, 2019) as compared to 1.17% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Adding some worries on the street, as Moody’s Investors Service in its latest report has projected that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate to contract 11.5% for the financial year 2020-21 (FY21), from (-) 4% estimated earlier. Besides, India’s economic growth fell 23.9% during the first quarter of 2020-21, primarily because of a lockdown imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green amid renewed optimism surrounding coronavirus vaccines after drug maker AstraZeneca said that the late-stage clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine has resumed in the UK. The trial was suspended last week over safety concerns. European markets were trading higher, buoyed by the resumption of coronavirus vaccine trials.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38740.85, down by 113.70 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 38698.56 and 39230.16. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.62%, while Small cap index was up by 3.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.89%, IT up by 3.79%, Consumer Durables up by 3.40%, TECK up by 2.90%, Industrials up by 1.98%, while Telecom down by 1.19%, Bankex down by 1.11%, Energy down by 0.92%, FMCG down by 0.53% and Metal was down by 0.36% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech up by 8.92%, Infosys up by 3.22%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.13%, TCS up by 2.72% and Titan Company up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.27%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.21%, SBI down by 1.87%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.65% and ICICI Bank down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) surged 0.16% in the month of August, 2020 (over August, 2019) as compared to 1.17% during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, increased by (1.81%) to 146.3 (provisional) in August, 2020 from 143.7 (provisional) for the month of July, 2020. Prices of Minerals, Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas, Non-food Articles and Food Articles increased as compared to July, 2020.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by (0.77%) to 91.4 (provisional) in August, 2020 from 90.7 (provisional) for the month of July, 2020. Prices of Mineral Oils increased as compared to July, 2020, while prices of coal and electricity remain unchanged.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by (0.59%) to 119.3 (provisional) in August, 2020 from 118.6 (provisional) for the month of July, 2020. Meanwhile, for the month of June 2020, the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 119.3 and WPI based rate of inflation stood at -1.81%.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11442.85, down by 21.60 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 11421.85 and 11568.90. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech up by 9.19%, Infosys up by 3.40%, Wipro up by 3.38%, Tata Motors up by 3.19% and Tech Mahindra up by 3.10%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.39%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.21%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.16%, SBI down by 1.73% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 152.81 points or 0.65% to 23,559.30, Jakarta Composite soared 145.12 points or 2.89% to 5,161.83, Hang Seng increased 136.97 points or 0.56% to 24,640.28, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 111.87 points or 0.88% to 12,787.82, KOSPI rose 31.22 points or 1.3% to 2,427.91 and Shanghai Composite gained 18.46 points or 0.57% to 3,278.81. On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 5.07 points or 0.2% to 2,485.02.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 10.87 points or 0.18% to 6,042.96, France’s CAC increased 24.58 points or 0.49% to 5,058.72 and Germany’s DAX increased 38.67 points or 0.29% to 13,241.51.