Lackluster trade continues on Dalal Street

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade in afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty trading below at 53,000 and 15,850 levels, respectively. Traders were concerned as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded Indian equities to the tune of over Rs 5,689 crore in July so far as they continued to adopt a cautious stance in view of various domestic and global factors. During July 1-23, FPIs took out Rs 5,689.23 crore from equities, as per depositories data. However, downfall remain capped as Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed confidence that India will continue to attract high foreign direct investment (FDIs) in the current financial year. Meanwhile, the provisional commerce ministry data showed that the country's exports grew 45.13 per cent to $22.48 billion during July 1-21 on account of healthy growth in sectors such as gems and jewellery, petroleum and engineering. Imports also rose 64.82 per cent to $31.77 billion in the said period, leaving a trade deficit of $9.29 billion.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as concerns over tightening regulations upended Chinese equities and strong U.S. corporate earnings sucked funds out of emerging markets into Wall Street. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, ICICI Bank surged on reporting 52% rise in Q1 consolidated net profit while Reliance Industries tumbles on reporting 7% fall in Q1 consolidated net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52947.86, down by 27.94 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 52783.63 and 53103.42. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.69%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.02%, Healthcare up by 0.86%, Basic Materials up by 0.76%, IT up by 0.46% and TECK was up by 0.44%, while Energy down by 0.71%, Oil & Gas down by 0.51%, Auto down by 0.43%, Power down by 0.40% and PSU was down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.99%, Titan Co up by 1.73%, Infosys up by 1.26%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.20% and Sun Pharma Inds. up by 1.07%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.35%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.14%, Reliance Industries down by 0.86%, HDFC Bank down by 0.70% and HDFC down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market rose to Rs 92,261 crore till the end of June, making it the highest level in 37 months.  This marks the third consecutive monthly rise in the investment through the route.

According to SEBI data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt, and hybrid securities -- rose to Rs 92,261 crore in June-end from Rs 89,743 crore in May-end. Before that, the investment level was at Rs 88,447 crore at April-end and Rs 89,100 crore at March-end. Of the total Rs 92,261 crore invested through the route till June, Rs 83,792 crore was invested in equities, Rs 8,069 crore in debt, and Rs 392 crore in hybrid securities.

Before that, the investment level was at Rs 88,447 crore at April-end and Rs 89,100 crore at March-end. Of the total Rs 92,261 crore invested through the route till June, Rs 83,792 crore was invested in equities, Rs 8,069 crore in debt, and Rs 392 crore in hybrid securities. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15844.85, down by 11.20 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 15797.00 and 15893.35. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.96%, Britannia Industries up by 1.56%, Titan Company up by 1.56%, Divi's Lab up by 1.45% and Hindalco was up by 1.12%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.82%, SBI down by 1.27%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.26%, Tata Motors down by 1.22% and Wipro was down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in mostly in red, Shanghai Composite declined 92.36 points or 2.6% to 3,458.04, Hang Seng decreased 957.52 points or 3.5% to 26,364.46, Straits Times trembled 20.28 points or 0.64% to 3,136.77, KOSPI fell 29.47 points or 0.91% to 3,224.95 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 169.36 points or 0.96% to 17,403.56.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 3.44 points or 0.06% to 6,105.13 and Nikkei 225 was up by 285.29 points or 1.04% to 27,833.29.