Benchmarks once again enter into green territory

The Indian equity benchmarks once again entered into green territory and traded marginally higher in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in IT, Teck and Healthcare sectors while selling was witnessed in Metal, Telecom and PSU sectors’ stocks. Some comfort came after Retailers Association of India (RAI) said Retail sales across the country continued to recover in July, reaching 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of July 2019, and businesses are pinning hopes on the festive seasons for a further boost. The rate of recovery was 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in June 2021. Sector wise, pharmaceutical sector remained in focus, as Care Ratings in its latest report has said that India's pharmaceutical sector is looking at an opportunity to the tune of $10 to 11 billion in the form of COVID-19 vaccine supply, in both domestic and export markets in the next three years.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower amid concern about turmoil in Afghanistan and unease about China’s economic outlook after weak July activity. European markets were trading lower as a spike in COVID-19 cases in Asia and elsewhere raised fears of a slowdown in global economic growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55,631.27, up by 48.69 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 55386.49 and 55688.50. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.37%, TECK up by 1.95%, Healthcare up by 1.15%, FMCG up by 0.67% and Power was up by 0.24%, while Metal down by 2.10%, Telecom down by 1.27%, PSU down by 1.25%, Realty down by 1.15% and Basic Materials was down by 1.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 3.84%, Infosys up by 2.47%, TCS up by 2.11%, HCL Tech up by 1.99% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.09%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.07%, NTPC down by 1.56%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.46% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has said that Indian startup ecosystem has the potential & promise to make India the Innovation & Invention hub of the world.

Besides, Goyal asked DPIIT to now act as a ‘Facilitator’ with Open doors, Open Arms & Open Mind. He said that Government is committed to cut red tape, improve Ease of Doing Business  provide financial assistance through Startup seed  fund, supporting incubators, enhancing skills and this holistic approach has intended to resolve the issues relating to capital mobilization, support innovation with tinkering labs, & meet the capacity &  capability requirements of startups.

He further said “today, our vision expands beyond the traditional models of growth, our aim is to create a New India i.e. an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Startups are the key to building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat with Courage, Collaboration & Commitment and to achieve such an ambitious target we need a participative approach from all stakeholders.” He also said that industry must help create Startup Superstars by identifying innovators & investing in talent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16,574.20, up by 11.15 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 16495.40 and 16591.40. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 3.93%, Tata Consumer up by 3.22%, Wipro up by 3.16%, Infosys up by 2.46% and TCS up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.50%, Coal India down by 2.39%, Indusind Bank down by 2.16%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.07% and ONGC down by 1.99% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Hang Seng decreased 435.59 points or 1.66% to 25,745.87, Taiwan Weighted dropped 197.41 points or 1.17% to 16,661.36, Nikkei 225 slipped 98.72 points or 0.36% to 27,424.47, Shanghai Composite declined 70.36 points or 2% to 3,446.98, Straits Times trembled 30.13 points or 0.96% to 3,115.39 and KOSPI was down by 28.20 points or 0.89% to 3,143.09.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 7.40 points or 0.1% to 7,146.58, France’s CAC decreased 35.85 points or 0.52% to 6,802.92 and Germany’s DAX was down by 64.49 points or 0.4% to 15,861.24.