Bourses add more losses in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks added more losses in late afternoon session amid weakening trend in global equities. IT, Energy and Oil & Gas stocks witnessed dull performance. Market participants failed to take any support after India collected Rs 1.44 lakh crore in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in August, registering an increase of 28 percent from the mop-up a year back. Among individual stocks, Ashok Leyland remained in focused, as the company has announced bagging orders from major fleets for 1,400 school buses in the UAE, the company's largest ever supply of school buses in this country. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as data showed the region's factory hubs saw further easing in demand in August. European markets were trading lower starting the new month on a negative note as investors fretted about the combination of tightening monetary policy and slowing global growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58691.06, down by 846.01 points or 1.42% after trading in a range of 58522.57 and 59309.79. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.10%, while Small cap index was up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.39%, Realty up by 0.67%, Industrials up by 0.47%, Capital Goods up by 0.20% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.12%, while IT down by 1.94%, Energy down by 1.93%, Oil & Gas down by 1.77%, TECK down by 1.68% and Metal was down by 1.64% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.02%, Asian Paints up by 1.69%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.30%, Titan Company up by 0.57% and SBI up by 0.25%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.88%, Reliance Industries down by 2.73%, TCS down by 2.50%, Infosys down by 2.26% and Hindustan Unilever down by 2.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturing activity growth eased in the month of August, but it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction, as a sustained improvement in demand conditions boosted new order intakes at Indian manufacturers during August, which in turn pushed output growth to a nine-month high. According to the report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 56.2 in August from 56.4 in July.

The report further noted that production volumes were also supported by a pick-up in exports and upbeat projections for the year-ahead outlook. Firms were at their most optimistic for six years. Besides, international markets gave impetus to total sales, as seen by a marked and quicker increase in new export orders halfway through the second fiscal quarter.

On the inflation front, although manufacturers continued to signal higher prices for a wide range of materials in August, the overall rate of cost inflation softened to a one-year low as commodity prices (particularly aluminium and steel) moderated. There was a moderate upturn in factory gate charges in August as monitored companies lifted their fees in line with the passing on of higher freight, labour and material costs to clients.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17518.50, down by 240.80 points or 1.36% after trading in a range of 17468.45 and 17695.60. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer up by 2.39%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.99%, Asian Paints up by 1.72%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.22% and Eicher Motors up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.87%, ONGC down by 2.89%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.89%, Reliance Industries down by 2.70% and TCS down by 2.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 430.06 points or 1.53% to 27,661.47, Hang Seng decreased 357.08 points or 1.79% to 19,597.31, Taiwan Weighted dropped 293.58 points or 1.94% to 14,801.86, KOSPI fell 56.44 points or 2.28% to 2,415.61, Jakarta Composite lost 25.49 points or 0.36% to 7,153.10 and Shanghai Composite was down by 17.16 points or 0.54% to 3,184.98. On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 4.62 points or 0.14% to 3,226.29.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 108.97 points or 1.5% to 7,175.18, France’s CAC decreased 96.35 points or 1.57% to 6,028.75 and Germany’s DAX was down by 195.52 points or 1.52% to 12,639.44.