Sensex, Nifty trade near neutral lines

Indian equity benchmarks were trading near their neutral lines in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading marginally higher, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets. Traders were getting support, as Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) aims to reduce inflation to its medium-term target of 4 per cent in the next two years and its rate actions will be data-dependent. Besides, to set up a future-ready administration geared towards the target of $2 trillion exports by 2030, the Department of Commerce has decided to set up a dedicated trade promotion body to drive overall promotion strategy, export targets, and execution as part of a restructuring exercise.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Indonesia's central bank unexpectedly raised its policy rate at its August meeting to curtail soaring inflation and strengthen the rupiah exchange rate. The Board of Governors decided to raise the seven-day reverse repo rate by 25 bps to 3.75 percent. This was the first rate hike since 2018. The previous change in the BI rate was a quarter-point reduction in February 2020.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59089.02, up by 57.72 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 58760.09 and 59170.87. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.41%, while Small cap index was up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.06%, Power up by 0.73%, Utilities up by 0.68%, Telecom up by 0.59% and Industrials up by 0.49%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.39%, TECK down by 0.17%, IT down by 0.08% and Auto down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.81%, Indusind Bank up by 2.01%, Power Grid up by 1.01%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.61% and ICICI Bank up by 0.47%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 0.78%, TCS down by 0.63%, Nestle down by 0.50%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.49% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market declined to Rs 75,725 crore at the end of July, the lowest level in nearly two years, mainly in the wake of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed. This also marks the third consecutive monthly decline in investment numbers.

According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt, and hybrid securities -- stood at Rs 75,725 crore at July-end compared to 20-month low of Rs 80,092 crore at June-end.  This was the lowest level since October 2020, when investment through the route was at Rs 78,686 crore. Of the total Rs 75,725 crore invested through the route till July 2022, Rs 66,050 crore was invested in equities, Rs 9,592 crore in debt, and Rs 82 crore in hybrid securities. In comparison, Rs 70,644 crore was invested in equities and Rs 9,355 crore in debt during June this year.

Participatory notes (P-notes) are issued by registered Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be a part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly.They, however, need to go through a due diligence process.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17596.10, up by 18.60 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 17499.25 and 17623.65. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.43%, ONGC up by 2.13%, Apollo Hospital Ent. up by 2.12%, Indusind Bank up by 1.99% and Coal India up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 1.96%, Titan Co down by 0.81%, BPCL down by 0.79%, TCS down by 0.67% and Nestle down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 221.17 points or 1.13% to 19,282.08, Nikkei 225 slipped 139.28 points or 0.49% to 28,313.47, Shanghai Composite declined 45.11 points or 1.38% to 3,231.11 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 26.70 points or 0.18% to 15,069.19 and Straits Times trembled 1.45 points or 0.04% to 3,244.76. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 2.55 points or 0.04% to 7,165.82 and KOSPI rose 14.61 points or 0.60% to 2,449.95.