Markets remain subdued in noon trade

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade in red terrain in noon deals as investors booked profits from recent rally in last five day. Besides, broader indices were also trading in red, dragging their larger peers lower during the trade. Traders largely remain worried with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan which may fuel the US-China tension in coming time. Traders were also worried as India's merchandise exports dipped marginally by 0.76 per cent to $35.24 billion in July 2022, though the trade deficit tripled to $31.02 billion during the month. The country's merchandise exports stood at $35.51 billion in July 2021. Additional pressure came as India's services sector lost momentum in July as demand was curtailed by competitive pressures, elevated inflation and unfavourable weather. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from 59.2 in June to 55.5 in July, pointing to the slowest rate of growth in four months. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher with focus on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57873.16, down by 263.20 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 57788.78 and 58307.33. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 1.31%, while Small cap index was down by 0.79%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.74% and TECK was up by 0.55%, while Telecom down by 1.94%, Auto down by 1.70%, Capital Goods down by 1.63%, Industrials down by 1.39% and Oil & Gas was down by 1.36% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.10%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.00%, Infosys up by 0.70%, HCL Tech up by 0.58% and Wipro was up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.11%, Sun Pharma down by 1.82%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.58% and Bajaj Finance was down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid concerns over the decline in the value of the rupee against the US dollar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asserted that there is no collapse of the unit and it is actually finding its natural course. She said the RBI is continuously monitoring the local currency and intervening only if there is volatility. She also said the RBI interventions are not so much to fix the value of the Indian Rupee because it is free to find its own course.

The minister further said interventions that are happening from the RBI side are more for containing volatility that is happening between the Indian rupee and the US dollar and so on. She said even the interventions being made by RBI are not so much to determine the value - increase or decrease, of the Indian rupee. It is not for that. It is more to avoid volatility and allow it to find its course. India, like many other countries, is not pitching its currency at a level extraneously. She said ‘so the ways and which we want to strengthen... the RBI and the Ministry are fairly engaged in it.’

On suggestions that non-resident Indians should be allowed to make remittances in foreign currency, she said it is not an assurance that the Ministry of Finance will give but she can only pass on the suggestion to the RBI. She said the rupee has seen more fluctuations against the US dollar but its performance is better than its peers. She also said ‘we have withstood the impact of the US Fed's decisions much better than any other peer currencies.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17239.40, down by 106.05 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 17225.85 and 17385.00. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 1.87%, TCS up by 0.93%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.78%, Infosys up by 0.63% and HCL Tech was up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.77%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.68%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.21%, Sun Pharma down by 1.93% and UPL was down by 1.78% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Shanghai Composite gained 1.58 points or 0.05% to 3,187.85, Straits Times advanced 16.12 points or 0.5% to 3,255.27, Nikkei 225 surged 147.17 points or 0.53% to 27,741.90, Jakarta Composite soared 22.37 points or 0.32% to 7,010.53, KOSPI rose 21.83 points or 0.89% to 2,461.45, Hang Seng increased 113.49 points or 0.58% to 19,802.70 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 29.79 points or 0.2% to 14,777.02.