Equity markets trade marginally in green

Indian equity markets were trading marginally in green territory in late afternoon session. Markets maintained gains as Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the fresh stimulus package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to boost domestic demand will give a much-needed push to economic activity. Sector wise, Telecom stocks remained focus with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) latest telecom subscription data report. Reliance Jio added 3.55 million subscribers in July 2020, while Vodafone Idea lost 3.7 million users. Bharti Airtel added 3.26 million wireless subscribers during the month. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as investors remained hopeful that the United States would soon pass a coronavirus relief package. European markets were trading lower after the pause of a key coronavirus trial as traders waited for earnings from some of the world’s leading banks.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40601.65, up by 7.85 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 40461.97 and 40786.82. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.15%, while Small cap index was down by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.35%, TECK up by 0.97%, Energy up by 0.94%, Power up by 0.82% and Basic Materials was up by 0.73%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.09%, Bankex down by 0.67%, Capital Goods down by 0.52%, PSU down by 0.51% and Healthcare was down by 0.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech up by 4.27%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.22%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.22%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.84% and Infosys up by 1.70%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.29%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.16%, Titan Company down by 2.07%, Sun Pharma down by 1.71% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to work on reforms around labour norms to benefit both employees and employers, industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has set up a labour, human resource and training committee under Wistron India's Managing Director.

As per ICEA, this committee has been formed to evaluate the employment environment and understand the need for the electronics and mobile handset and component industry. The committee has wide representation from industry and trade and also subject matter experts.

Further, ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said that to make India 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) it is imperative to upskill the population for diverse job roles in the budding electronics and mobile handset ecosystem. This committee will bring reforms and have seminars or webinars to educate both the employees as well as the employers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11940.60, up by 9.65 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 11888.90 and 11988.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech up by 4.46%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.61%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.15%, Infosys up by 1.78% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.70%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.25%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.16%, Titan Company down by 2.01%, Sun Pharma down by 1.69% and Adani Ports down by 1.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 43.09 points or 0.18% to 23,601.78, Jakarta Composite soared 39.47 points or 0.77% to 5,132.57, Straits Times advanced 10.48 points or 0.41% to 2,562.90 and Shanghai Composite was down by1.28 points or 0.04% to 3,359.75. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 0.58 points or 0.02% to 2,403.15 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 8.78 points or 0.07% to 12,947.13.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 14.79 points or 0.25% to 5,986.59, France’s CAC decreased 16.78 points or 0.34% to 4,962.51 and Germany’s DAX was down by 34.35 points or 0.26% to 13,104.06.