Sensex, Nifty trade near neutral lines

Indian equity benchmarks were trading near their neutral lines in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty in red terrain with marginal losses, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets. Traders were cautious, amid reports that Indian traders and shopkeepers will hold a nationwide protest next week against a hike in taxes on a range of products and services, including food grains and household items, that went into effect on Monday. The street overlooked reports that concrete steps taken by the government and RBI helped banks recover bad loans worth over Rs 8.6 lakh crore in the last eight financial years.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after the value of non-oil domestic exports in Singapore climbed a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent on month in June. The Statistics Singapore said that exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.3 percent following the downwardly revised 2.8 percent gain in May (originally 3.2 percent).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54518.37, down by 2.78 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 54232.82 and 54697.63. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.14%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.58%, PSU up by 0.30%, Bankex up by 0.30%, Consumer Durables up by 0.29% and Metal up by 0.28%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.51%, FMCG down by 0.42%, IT down by 0.37%, TECK down by 0.30% and Utilities down by 0.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.43%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.41%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.21%, Tata Steel up by 1.03% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.84%, HCL Tech. down by 1.23%, Infosys down by 1.03%, Asian Paints down by 0.69% and ITC down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said that retail businesses across India witnessed 13 per cent sales growth in June 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic levels of the same month in 2019. It said although sales last month were higher than the pre-pandemic levels, the second half of June was not very encouraging, and the impact of inflation on consumer spending is still a worry, which may affect the upcoming festive sales.

As per RAI's latest business survey, retail businesses in the eastern region posted the highest growth last month, with a rise of 17 per cent over June 2019, followed by the north at 16 per cent, west at 11 per cent and south at 9 per cent. While June 2022 has witnessed growth as compared to the same period before the pandemic, the rate of growth has definitely slowed down. Many retailers have indicated that the second half of June was not very encouraging as there weren't too many celebratory occasions, such as weddings, to drive sales.

RAI further said the headwinds of inflation on consumer spending are still a worry and may impact the upcoming festive fervour. In terms of categories, it said sports goods grew 29 per cent last month against June 2019, followed by jewellery at 27 per cent, consumer durables and electronics, and quick service restaurants at 16 per cent each. Apparel and clothing and footwear categories saw growth of 14 per cent each last month over June 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16267.45, down by 11.05 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 16187.05 and 16328.65. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 1.81%, Axis Bank up by 1.60%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.37%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.30% and Tata Steel up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.02%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.70%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.36%, HCL Tech. down by 1.33% and Infosys down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 240.54 points or 1.15% to 20,605.64, Taiwan Weighted dropped 44.40 points or 0.3% to 14,675.24, KOSPI fell 10.32 points or 0.43% to 2,364.93, Shanghai Composite declined 9.58 points or 0.29% to 3,268.52 and Straits Times trembled 0.62 points or 0.02% to 3,121.14. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 49.81 points or 0.75% to 6,709.06 and Nikkei 225 surged 168.49 points or 0.63% to 26,956.96.