Indian bourses extends losses in late afternoon

Indian bourses extended their losses in late afternoon session, on the back of sustained selling activities by market-participants amid weak global cues. Both Sensex and Nifty were trading below their crucial 40,000 and 11,750 marks, respectively.  Sentiments remained down-beat after UNCTAD said that Global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows fell 49% in the first half of 2020 compared to 2019 due to the economic fallout from COVID-19. Traders took note of report that government may extend the MSME loan scheme, ECLGS (Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme), beyond October to achieve Rs 3 lakh crore of guaranteed loans to businesses. Traders overlooked Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar's statement that India’s economic growth would be in positive territory in the second half of this fiscal, and will do even better than a large part of the world in 2021-22.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as concerns grow among investors over a new surge of coronavirus cases across Europe and the United States. European markets were trading lower following a report France was mulling a month-long national lockdown to combat a surge in coronavirus infections.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39907.34, down by 614.76 points or 1.52% after trading in a range of 39774.60 and 40664.35. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.81%, while Small cap index was down by 0.75%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.82%, Power up by 0.13% and Capital Goods was up by 0.10%, while Bankex down by 2.50%, Metal down by 2.02%, Realty down by 1.87%, IT down by 1.35% and PSU was down by 1.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 4.42%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.34% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.23%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.43%, HDFC down by 3.15%, ICICI Bank down by 3.00%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.96% and HCL Tech down by 2.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, lauding Indian Startups for demonstrating high energy & enthusiasm to give many timely & cost-effective solutions, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Futuristic vision combined with decisiveness has provided India with a solid Startup ecosystem.

Goyal further said that Startups have demonstrated their ability to convert this severe adversity into a great potential of the future. He also said that Young firms in India have reacted fast & very flexibly to COVID pandemic by sharing best practices & knowledge, engaging corporates & investors, Monetising & mobilising capital, Setting up incubators, and Providing exposure & scale.

He said that through these, innovative ideas of startups will get larger engagement. Besides, Goyal said that India recognised some very interesting Startups in the first-ever national Startup award programme.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11721.55, down by 167.85 points or 1.41% after trading in a range of 11684.85 and 11929.40. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.19%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.89%, UPL up by 1.58%, Eicher Motors up by 0.60% and Wipro up by 0.34%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.61%, HDFC down by 3.41%, ICICI Bank down by 3.11%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.97% and HCL Tech. down by 2.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red, Taiwan Weighted dropped 81.26 points or 0.63% to 12,793.75, Hang Seng decreased 78.39 points or 0.32% to 24,708.80, Nikkei 225 slipped 67.29 points or 0.29% to 23,418.51 and Straits Times was down 22.85 points or 0.91% to 2,490.02. On the flip side, KOSPI rose 14.42 points or 0.62% to 2,345.26 and Shanghai Composite was up by 14.92 points or 0.46% to 3,269.24.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 109.31 points or 1.91% to 5,619.68, France’s CAC decreased 134.74 points or 2.85% to 4,595.92 and Germany’s DAX was up by 356.82 points or 2.96% to 11,706.75.