Benchmarks trade near day's low

The Indian equity benchmarks extended their losses to trade near day's low in late afternoon session. Sentiment on the street weakened with S&P Global Ratings’ statement that non-performing loans in the Indian banking sector is likely to witness an uptick and may shoot up to 11 per cent of gross loans in the next 12-18 months. Traders remain concerned even after Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the results of the second quarter of major companies show that profitability of most of them has gone up, indicating that the Indian industry has utilized the Covid period to do the belt-tightening, improve the product-mix, and focus on quality and productivity. Sector wise, aviation industry remained in focus with ICRA’s report that the Maharashtra government’s decision to make coronavirus negative report mandatory for those entering the state from four certain states is expected to impact the domestic travel demand further.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red despite progress in development of coronavirus vaccines. European markets were trading higher, as growing political certainty in the U.S. and positive coronavirus vaccine news boosts global sentiment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 43951.93, down by 571.09 points or 1.28% after trading in a range of 43924.11 and 44825.37. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.37%, while Small cap index was down by 1.10%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.62% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.20%, while Telecom down by 2.33%, Realty down by 1.96%, Bankex down by 1.72%, TECK down by 1.61% and Healthcare was down by 1.58% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 5.33%, Power Grid up by 0.44%, SBI up by 0.43% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.39%, Axis Bank down by 2.55%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.40%, Asian Paints down by 2.38% and HDFC Bank down by 2.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, calling upon the Indian industry to focus on improving Quality and Productivity, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that quality and productivity can help in converting the crisis into an opportunity.

Interacting with the Office bearers of various industry associations, the minister called upon them to designate a few days next month, to do brainstorming on these aspects so that the Country starts getting recognition as high quality, efficient manufacturer, trader and service-provider. The Minister also said that this could be done sectoraly or regionally, so that there is knowledge sharing among the stakeholders, and these two aspects are focussed.

Besides, Goyal said that the results of the second quarter of major companies show that profitability of most of them has gone up, indicating that the Indian industry has utilized the Covid period to do the belt-tightening, improve the product-mix, and focus on quality and productivity.

Further, Commerce & Industry Minister said that the Indian  industry has shown resilience and confidence during the difficult times, which has helped the country fight the pandemic. He said that the economy is showing strong signals of comeback, and even in the international arena, India’s reputation has gone by several notches and it is being seen as a trusted partner. He expressed confidence that India will make up the for the time, and emerge stronger and victorious.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12875.85, down by 179.30 points or 1.37% after trading in a range of 12873.70 and 13145.85. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 5.39%, GAIL India up by 1.74%, SBI Life up by 1.29%, Coal India up by 1.18% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.63%, Eicher Motors down by 3.28%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.04%, Axis Bank down by 2.58% and Asian Paints down by 2.52% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red, Taiwan Weighted dropped 68.30 points or 0.49% to 13,738.83, Shanghai Composite declined 40.49 points or 1.19% to 3,362.33, Straits Times trembled 24.43 points or 0.84% to 2,867.20, Jakarta Composite lost 21.78 points or 0.38% to 5,679.25 and KOSPI was up by 16.22 points or 0.62% to 2,601.54. On the flip side, Hang Seng increased 81.55 points or 0.31% to 26,669.75 and Nikkei 225 was up by 131.27 points or 0.5% to 26,296.86.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 34.82 points or 0.54% to 6,466.99, France’s CAC increased 30.06 points or 0.54% to 5,588.48 and Germany’s DAX was up by 40.74 points or 0.31% to 13,333.18.