Markets manage to trade in green in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon session. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were trading in green. Traders found support after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has confirmed that India and the UK are moving towards an early harvest trade agreement, with a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) the next step. The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) said the talks between the two ministers focussed on the ‘scope and ambition’ for a UK-India free trade agreement (FTA), following the close of the UK’s formal consultation process ahead of the negotiations on August 31. Besides, Retail inflation eased to a four-month low of 5.30% in August, having remained within the central bank’s target band (2-6%) for a second straight month, as food inflation moderated further and base effect remained conducive.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors waited for an update on U.S. inflation that has been stronger than expected. European markets were trading mostly in red with investors showing caution ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation figures later in the session and amid worries over future growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58,221.92, up by 44.16 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 58237.76 and 58482.62. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.49%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.30%, Consumer discretionary up by 1.25%, TECK up by 1.04%, Auto up by 1.03% and Telecom was up by 0.81%, while Metal down by 0.28% and FMCG was down by 0.13% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.27%, HCL Tech up by 2.29%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.09%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.28% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.02%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.84%, HDFC down by 0.82%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.77% and Tata Steel down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) surged to 11.39% in the month of August as against 11.16% in July. The annual rate of inflation is 11.39% (Provisional) for the month of August 2021 as compared to 0.41% in August 2020.

The high rate of inflation in August 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of non-food articles, mineral oils; crude petroleum & natural gas; manufactured products like basic metals; food products; textiles; chemicals and chemical products etc as compared the corresponding month of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, increased by (1.56%) to 155.8 (provisional) in August 2021 from 153.4 (provisional) for the month of July 2021. Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by (1.49%) to 116.0 (provisional) in August 2021 from 114.3 (provisional) for the month of July 2021.

Besides, Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by (0.76%) to 133.0 (provisional) in August 2021 from 132.0 (provisional) for the month of July 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17,371.95, up by 16.65 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 17371.30 and 17438.55. There were 31 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.18%, HCL Tech up by 2.32%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.14%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.00% and Indian Oil up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.18%, BPCL down by 1.03%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.99%, HDFC down by 0.94% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 222.73 points or 0.73% to 30,670.10, Jakarta Composite soared 40.94 points or 0.67% to 6,129.10, KOSPI rose 20.97 points or 0.67% to 3,148.83 and Straits Times advanced 6.07 points or 0.2% to 3,080.38. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted dropped 11.41 points or 0.07% to 17,434.90, Shanghai Composite declined 52.77 points or 1.42% to 3,662.60 and Hang Seng was down by 311.58 points or 1.21% to 25,502.23.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 14.83 points or 0.21% to 7,053.60 and France’s CAC was down by 38.01 points or 0.57% to 6,638.92. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was up by 18.30 points or 0.12% to 15,719.72.