Bourses trim some losses in late afternoon session

Local equity markets trimmed some of their losses but continued to trade below neutral lines in late afternoon session. Buying in Utilities and Power stocks mainly helped markets to cut some losses. Sentiments got some support as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that country’s exports are likely to register a ‘reasonable level’ of growth in the current financial year despite the global uncertainties on the trade front. However, cautiousness remained in the markets as participants were keenly watching out for the June retail inflation data. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red and European markets were trading lower as an energy crisis loomed over the euro zone economy and a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in China added to worries about a global economic slowdown.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54,175.00, down by 220.23 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 53955.68 and 54236.49. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.15%, while Small cap index was down by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.04%, Power up by 1.93%, Telecom up by 1.75%, Realty up by 0.41% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.15%, while IT down by 0.83%, Auto down by 0.80%, FMCG down by 0.78%, TECK down by 0.76%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.29%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.33%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.64%, SBI up by 0.44% and Reliance Industries up by 0.40%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.80%, Nestle down by 1.60%, Power Grid down by 1.38%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.16% and Titan Company down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid increasing interest of the global trading community in the domestic currency, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to put in place an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports / imports in Indian rupees.

RBI further noted that before putting in place this mechanism, banks will require prior approval from the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI said for settlement of trade transactions, the concerned banks will require Special Rupee Vostro Accounts of correspondent bank/s of the partner trading country.

Meanwhile, exporters, undertaking overseas shipments of goods and services through this mechanism, will be paid the export proceeds in Indian rupees from the balances in the designated Special Vostro account. This mechanism may enable Indian exporters to receive advance payment against exports from overseas importers in rupees.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16,140.40, down by 75.60 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 16070.10 and 16158.75. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 1.86%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.98%, Adani Ports up by 0.98%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.67% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.66%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.23%, Eicher Motors down by 1.99%, Infosys down by 1.91%, Britannia down by 1.73% and Tata Consumer down by 1.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 475.64 points or 1.77% to 26,336.66, Taiwan Weighted dropped 389.91 points or 2.72% to 13,950.62, Hang Seng decreased 279.46 points or 1.32% to 20,844.74, Shanghai Composite declined 32.11 points or 0.97% to 3,281.47, KOSPI fell 22.51 points or 0.96% to 2,317.76 and Jakarta Composite was down by 3.86 points or 0.06% to 6,718.29. On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 8.27 points or 0.26% to 3,139.53.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 15.40 points or 0.21% to 7,181.19, France’s CAC decreased 14.52 points or 0.24% to 5,981.78 and Germany’s DAX was down by 59.49 points or 0.46% to 12,772.95.