Sensex, Nifty cut some gains in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green terrain but cut some of their gains in late morning session. Gains got trimmed, after traders' association CAIT said that the change of regime in Afghanistan and the uncertainty over future will hit the bilateral trade between the country and India. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also cautioned domestic exporters and sought the Centre's intervention in preventing losses to the business community. But, indices remained higher, as Regulator Sebi has amended regulations for alternative investment funds and market infrastructure institutions, including stock exchanges, to facilitate the ease of doing business and simplify compliance requirements.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 441 billion yen in July, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 202.3 billion yen following the upwardly revised 384 billion yen surplus in June (originally 383.2 billion yen). Exports were up 37.0 percent on year to 7.356 trillion yen - shy of expectations for an increase of 39 percent and down from 48.6 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55937.25, up by 144.98 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 55933.57 and 56118.57. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.84%, Utilities up by 0.72%, FMCG up by 0.50%, Oil & Gas up by 0.39% and Telecom up by 0.36%, while Metal down by 0.74%, Realty down by 0.21%, Consumer Durables down by 0.19%, Bankex down by 0.09% and Basic Materials down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.81%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.75%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.46%, Power Grid up by 1.09% and HDFC Bank up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.89%, ICICI Bank down by 0.71%, Titan Co down by 0.59%, HDFC down by 0.47% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the National Automobile Scrappage Policy will accelerate economic growth and boost employment generation in the country. Gadkari further said the launch of the vehicles scrappage policy is a win-win situation for both the Centre and states, as they will be earning up to Rs 40,000 crore in goods and services tax (GST). He said ‘The launch of the National Automobile Scrappage Policy by the prime minister was a 'historic decision'... It will accelerate economic growth and boost employment generation in the country’. He also pointed out that the automobile sector provides direct and indirect employment to 75 lakh persons. He said that in the near future, electric vehicles will be cheaper than petrol and diesel ones. He noted ‘I am going to launch electric tractors next month’.

The minister said the policy outlines key steps for facilitating setting up of necessary support infrastructure in the form of automated testing stations (ATS) and registered vehicle scrapping facilities (RVSF). The minister said that ATS will be set up minimise manual testing of vehicles as per the road map. He said ‘In the first phase, 75 stations will be set up; and later, it will be scaled to 450-500 stations’. Currently, 26 ATS are sanctioned; out of which, seven are already functioning. Gadkari said RVSFs will ensure that vehicles are scrapped in an environment-friendly and safe manner, and added that in 50-70 RVSFs are needed across the country in the next 4-5 years. He said ‘All RVSF applications will be processed through a central single window clearance portal. State/ UT governments will have to clear the proposal within 60 days else proposal will be deemed approved’.

Under the National Automobile Scrappage policy, people who give their old vehicle for turning it into scrap will be given a certificate by the government. People having this certificate will not be charged any registration fee on the purchase of a new vehicle. Such vehicle owners will also be entitled for some rebate on road tax. According to data from the road transport and highways ministry, one crore unfit vehicles can be recycled immediately in the country. Under the policy, mandatory fitness testing for heavy commercial vehicles will come into force from April 1, 2023, and the same will be in place in a phased manner for other categories from June 1, 2024. Announced in the Union Budget 2021-22, the policy provides for fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles, while commercial vehicles would require it after the completion of 15 years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16656.50, up by 41.90 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 16648.70 and 16701.85. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.90%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.79%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.56%, Eicher Motors up by 2.32% and Divi's Lab up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.88%, Tata Motors down by 0.74%, ICICI Bank down by 0.65% and Titan Co down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 200.30 points or 0.73% to 27,624.77, Hang Seng increased 192.95 points or 0.75% to 25,938.82, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 100.98 points or 0.61% to 16,762.34, Jakarta Composite soared 34.48 points or 0.57% to 6,122.39, KOSPI rose 29.51 points or 0.94% to 3,172.60, Straits Times advanced 27.19 points or 0.87% to 3,145.70 and Shanghai Composite gained 19.35 points or 0.56% to 3,466.33.