Key gauges trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased most of their initial losses and were trading flat in morning deals tracking a sea of red in Asian bourses following a deep sell-off in Wall Street stocks.  Traders remained cautious as chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said Indian economy will grow at over 7 per cent, down from above 8 per cent of growth rate projected in January. He, however, said that the economic momentum and the animal spirits are unmistakable. Some concern also came as retail inflation for farm and rural workers increased to 6.94 per cent and 7.26 per cent, respectively, in August mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. In July, retail inflation for farm and rural workers stood at 6.60 per cent and 6.82 per cent respectively. However, traders took some support with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the government is working to extend incentives under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to more sectors.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as investors await the Fed's interest-rate decision and Chair Jerome Powell's press conference later in the day for directional cues. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, although some see an outside chance for a 100-basis point rate hike. Back home, stocks related to tourism sector remained in watch as the Centre said the country's tourism sector will strive to recover to the pre-pandemic level by mid-2024 and contribute $250 billion to the country's GDP by 2030. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59753.71, up by 33.97 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 59491.81 and 59799.04. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.32%, Consumer Durables up by 0.63%, Auto up by 0.30%, Telecom up by 0.20% and Realty up by 0.14%, while Utilities down by 0.68%, Power down by 0.59%, TECK down by 0.36%, IT down by 0.35% and PSU down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.29%, Nestle up by 1.24%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.80%, Reliance Industries up by 0.77% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.50%, NTPC down by 0.81%, Infosys down by 0.77%, Wipro down by 0.72% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said the government is working to extend incentives under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to more sectors. The government has announced PLI schemes for 14 sectors, including white goods, textiles and auto components.  He mentioned ‘We came up with PLI for 14 sectors apart from semiconductor... We are willing to go the extra mile in other  sectors. We are working on a few PLI schemes already.’

The objective of the PLI scheme is to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive, create global champions in manufacturing, boost exports and create jobs. He stated there are demands for extending the PLI scheme for sectors like toys, certain electronic components, furniture and bicycles.

Besides, to promote manufacturing, he asked the industry to focus on standards, technology-led manufacturing, skill development, and sustainable development goals. On free trade agreements, he urged the industry to engage with the world and take advantage of these trade pacts as protectionism cannot continue.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17,799.80, down by 16.45 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 17,738.65 and 17,838.70. There were 20 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia Industries up by 2.50%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.21%, Apollo Hospitals up by 1.59%, Nestle up by 1.24% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.34%, Adani Ports and SEZ down by 2.09%, Indusind Bank down by 1.86%, ONGC down by 1.46% and Grasim Industries down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 306.33 points or 1.63% to 18,475.09, Jakarta Composite lost 42.46 points or 0.59% to 7,154.49, Nikkei 225 slipped 339.92 points or 1.23% to 27,348.50, Taiwan Weighted dropped 132.21 points or 0.91% to 14,417.09, KOSPI fell 22.78 points or 0.96% to 2,345.07 and Shanghai Composite declined 18.24 points or 0.58% to 3,104.17.

On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 0.16 points to 3,267.10.