Bourses erase all losses in late afternoon session

Local equity benchmarks erased all their losses and traded with positive bias in late afternoon session. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were trading above half a percent each. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Titan Company were the prime gainers among heavy-weights, pushing the Sensex higher. Traders ignored report that crude oil production during July 2022 was 2453.19 TMT, which is 5.57% lower than target for the month and 3.76% lower than the production of July 2021. Cumulative crude oil production during April-July, 2022 was 9912.42 TMT, which is 2.17% lower than target for the period and 0.50% lower than production during corresponding period of last year respectively. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors waited for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on inflation and the rate outlook at the upcoming annual Jackson Hole economic symposium. European markets were trading mostly in green as investors await Eurozone and British manufacturing surveys later in the day for clues to future economic trends.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59023.03, up by 249.16 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 58172.48 and 59068.25. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.77%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.76%, Auto up by 1.45%, Consumer Durables up by 1.36%, Telecom up by 1.24% and PSU was up by 1.22%, while, IT down by 1.52%, TECK down by 1.16%, Power down by 0.64% and Utilities was down by 0.50% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.42%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.69%, Titan Company up by 2.49%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.79% and Tata Steel up by 1.71%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.77%, Infosys down by 1.65%, HCL Tech down by 1.50%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.06% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, S&P Global Ratings in its latest report has predicted that companies and banks in India are likely to feel the bite of rising rates and inflation, but rated firms are better cushioned to withstand the pressure.

According to the report, further hike in interest rates is on the cards as the inflation remains above the RBI's upper tolerance limit of 6 percent despite a 140 basis points increase in the policy rate in the current fiscal year. The rating agency also expects India's continued strong economic growth to positively affect companies' revenues.

S&P Global Ratings further underlined impacts of inflation, noting that inflation is eroding the purchasing power of the poor because energy and food account for a chunk of their consumption basket. Despite this, there are factors supporting growth.

As per the agency, a normal monsoon will prop up agriculture production and help control food inflation. The rebound in contact-based services will also boost growth, especially as COVID-19 vaccination penetration improves and people learn to live with the virus.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17573.35, up by 82.65 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 17345.20 and 17588.55. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.42%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.70%, Titan Company up by 2.55%, Eicher Motors up by 2.29% and Hindalco up by 2.19%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.82%, Infosys down by 1.69%, HCL Tech down by 1.48%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.09% and Divi's Lab down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 341.75 points or 1.19% to 28,452.75, Hang Seng decreased 153.73 points or 0.78% to 19,503.25, Taiwan Weighted dropped 149.25 points or 0.98% to 15,095.89, KOSPI fell 27.16 points or 1.1% to 2,435.34, Straits Times trembled 14.84 points or 0.45% to 3,247.73 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.57 points or 0.05% to 3,276.22. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 55.28 points or 0.78% to 7,163.26.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 13.02 points or 0.2% to 6,391.76 and Germany’s DAX was up by 37.36 points or 0.28% to 13,267.93. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 28.42 points or 0.38% to 7,505.37.