Equity markets continue to show sluggish trend

Indian equity markets continued to show a sluggish trend in late afternoon session. Energy, TECK and Auto counters were on the priority list of the sellers. Sentiments remained down-beat after in April 2021, rating agency -- Fitch affirmed India's sovereign rating at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook. Fitch Ratings Senior Director, Head of Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings, Stephen Schwartz said the negative outlook in India's ratings is on account of rise in debt-to-GDP ratio and uncertainty about the trajectories. The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 72 per cent in 2019 and the agency expects it to rise above 90 per cent of GDP over the next five years. On the sectoral front, fintech sector remained in focus, as Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said government's various initiatives have led to fast growth in the fintech sector, which is likely to triple to Rs 6,20,700 crore in value terms by 2025.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as a tepid lead from Wall Street and worries about the impact of the Delta coronavirus variant on the global recovery tempered investor appetite, though hopes for more stimulus helped Tokyo extend its recent rally. European markets were trading lower, a day ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that will see policymakers debate a cut in its stimulus.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58138.59, down by 140.89 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 57924.48 and 58372.94. There were 10 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.41%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.85%, Bankex up by 0.67%, Utilities up by 0.60%, Consumer Durables up by 0.46% and PSU was up by 0.27%, while Energy down by 0.64%, TECK down by 0.58%, Auto down by 0.58%, IT down by 0.57% and Metal was down by 0.40% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.96%, Axis Bank up by 0.81%, Sun Pharma up by 0.69%, SBI up by 0.52% and HCL Tech up by 0.47%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.42%, NTPC down by 1.81%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.40%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.20% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is set up to drive infra investments and will facilitate and drive speedy sanctions through a user friendly online portal. He urged the states to take advantage of the fund so that the benefits can percolate to the small and marginal farmers who lack warehousing and cold storage facilities at the farm gate.

While talking about digital agriculture mission, the Minister said “farmers’ database is our wealth and will usher in focused programme delivery, reducing seepages, better policy formulation and smart farming in the country.” Database with 5.5 crore farmers is ready and work is progressing for verifying others with land records.

Besides, Tomar said that the Union Cabinet recently approved National Edible Oil Mission (NMEO-OP) for palm oil with focus on the North-East regions and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Through this, the production of edible oils will be accelerated in the country thereby reducing the import of edible oils. He also said that this mission will immensely benefit the palm oil farmers, increase capital investment, generate employment, reduce dependence on imports and increase the income of farmers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17315.55, down by 46.55 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 17254.20 and 17383.40. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.14%, Grasim Industries up by 1.77%, UPL up by 1.53%, BPCL up by 1.30% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.41%, Divi's Lab down by 2.32%, Wipro down by 1.79%, NTPC down by 1.77% and SBI Life down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Taiwan Weighted dropped 158.38 points or 0.91% to 17,270.49, Jakarta Composite lost 86.38 points or 1.41% to 6,026.02, Straits Times trembled 40.86 points or 1.31% to 3,067.67, Hang Seng decreased 32.70 points or 0.12% to 26,320.93, KOSPI fell 24.43 points or 0.77% to 3,162.99 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.40 points or 0.04% to 3,675.19. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 265.07 points or 0.89% to 30,181.21.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 82.71 points or 1.16% to 7,066.66, France’s CAC decreased 92.97 points or 1.38% to 6,633.10 and Germany’s DAX was down by 233.12 points or 1.47% to 15,609.97.