Benchmarks maintain gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued to show a positive trend in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Energy, Oil & Gas and Consumer Durables sectors while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Bankex and FMCG sectors' stocks. Traders remained optimistic, as Merchandise exports surged 45% in August from a year before and over 27% from the pre-pandemic level (same month in FY20), buoyed by an economic resurgence in advanced markets and elevated global commodity prices. Imports, too, jumped over 51% from a year earlier and 18% from the pre-Covid level, signalling a broader trade recovery. Goods exports have now crossed the pre-Covid level for six months in a row. Sector wise, Real Estate sector remained in focus, as rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that housing sales in volume terms more than doubled to 68.5 million sq ft year-on-year during April-June of this fiscal (Q1FY22) across eight major cities on lower base effect.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors awaited the release of U.S. jobs data for clues about the Fed's timelines for asset tapering and interest rate hikes. European markets were trading mostly in green as investors await the release of key U.S. employment data, which could influence future Federal Reserve monetary policy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57950.11, up by 97.57 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 57764.07 and 58140.33. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.56%, Oil & Gas up by 1.41%, Consumer Durables up by 0.88%, Metal up by 0.82% and PSU was up by 0.80%, while Telecom down by 0.71%, Bankex down by 0.48%, FMCG down by 0.29%, Healthcare down by 0.16% and Power was down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 3.13%, Titan Company up by 1.93%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.10%, Tata Steel up by 0.90% and Infosys up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.69%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.46%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.16%, HDFC down by 1.09% and Indusind Bank down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s service sector growth resumed in the month of August as the pandemic continued to recede and vaccine access improved. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index stood at 56.7 in August from 45.4 in July. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services – stood at 55.4 in August, from 49.2 in July.

Companies indicated that the reopening of several establishments and increased consumer footfall boosted sales, which in turn supported the first expansion in output in four months and a rebound in business confidence. The data showed that firms had ample capacity to deal with rising new orders, however, which was a factor that prevented job creation.

On the price front, service providers indicated that higher fuel, retail and transport prices pushed up their expenses in August. Overall input costs increased at the strongest rate in four months and one that outpaced its long-run average. Charges levied by services companies likewise increased in August. That said, the rate of inflation softened to the weakest since March and was only marginal.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17270.00, up by 35.85 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 17212.20 and 17321.35. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 3.16%, ONGC up by 2.78%, Eicher Motors up by 2.59%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.55% and Coal India up by 2.40%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.55%, Cipla down by 1.76%, Axis Bank down by 1.53%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.38% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 584.60 points or 2.05% to 29,128.11, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 197.16 points or 1.14% to 17,516.92, Jakarta Composite soared 48.69 points or 0.8% to 6,126.92 and KOSPI was up by 25.21 points or 0.79% to 3,201.06. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 6.55 points or 0.21% to 3,082.29, Shanghai Composite declined 15.31 points or 0.43% to 3,581.73 and Hang Seng was down by 188.44 points or 0.72% to 25,901.99.

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.67 points or 0.16% to 7,175.57 and Germany’s DAX was up by 14.43 points or 0.09% to 15,855.02. On the flip side, France’s CAC was down by 19.01 points or 0.28% to 6,744.07.