Bourses continue dull trade in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices traded near neutral lines with negative bias in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Energy, banking and PSU sector while selling was witnessed in Realty, Healthcare and Consumer Durables sector stocks. Investors are eyeing the US Midterm elections and the US inflation data that is due tomorrow, which will chart further actions by the Fed. Traders took note of report that Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that India needs a liberal economic policy with the intention to provide its benefits to poor people of the country. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors awaited the results of the U.S. midterm elections for more cues on the world’s largest economy, while Chinese stocks slumped further on more weak economic data. European markets were trading lower as COVID-19 cases in China continued to surge despite harsh lockdowns and mass testing.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61146.04, down by 39.11 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 61043.88 and 61447.23. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.24%, while Small cap index was down by 0.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 0.49%, Bankex up by 0.43%, PSU up by 0.24%, Telecom up by 0.16% and FMCG was up by 0.10%, while Realty down by 0.94%, Healthcare down by 0.92%, Consumer Durables down by 0.82%, Capital Goods down by 0.76% and Auto was down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.82%, Indusind Bank up by 1.02%, HCL Tech up by 0.74%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.72% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 3.49%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.02%, NTPC down by 1.45%, Sun Pharma down by 1.44% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in its latest quarterly survey said that the growth momentum which has been witnessed by India's manufacturing sector for the past few months is likely to stay for the next six to nine months.

According to the survey, the existing average capacity utilisation in manufacturing is over 70 per cent, which reflects a sustained economic activity in the sector. The future investment outlook also slightly improved as compared to previous quarter as close to 40 per cent respondents reported plans for capacity additions in the next six months by over 15 per cent on an average. However, global economic uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and increasing cases of various mutations of COVID virus worldwide have accentuated the volatilities impacting major economies.

The survey report further noted that high raw material prices, increased cost of finance, cumbersome regulations and clearances, shortage of working capital, high logistics cost due to rising fuel prices and blocked shipping lanes, low domestic and global demand, excess capacities due to high volume of cheap imports into India, unstable market, and other supply chain disruptions are some major constraints affecting expansion plans of the respondents.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18195.05, down by 7.75 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 18166.10 and 18296.40. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports up by 4.72%, Coal India up by 2.95%, ITC up by 1.80%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.24% and UPL up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.35%, Divi's Lab down by 3.61%, Power Grid down by 3.51%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.02% and Sun Pharma down by 1.59% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 291.05 points or 2.18% to 13,638.81, KOSPI rose 25.37 points or 1.06% to 2,424.41, Straits Times advanced 21.38 points or 0.68% to 3,167.21 and Jakarta Composite was up by 19.95 points or 0.28% to 7,070.08. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 16.32 points or 0.53% to 3,048.17, Nikkei 225 slipped 155.68 points or 0.56% to 27,716.43 and Hang Seng was down by 198.79 points or 1.2% to 16,358.52.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 26.15 points or 0.36% to 7,279.99, France’s CAC decreased 7.44 points or 0.12% to 6,434.06 and Germany’s DAX was down by 52.61 points or 0.38% to 13,636.14.