Markets remain lower in late afternoon session

Ahead of monthly F&O expiry, the Indian benchmarks continued to trade under pressures in late afternoon session. Sentiments remained down beat as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest monthly bulletin has said that gross foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to India, for the first time in a decade, declined on an annual basis in 2022-23 to $71 billion mainly due to a slowdown in the global economy. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as the impasse in negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and warnings of a possible U.S. credit rating downgrade spooked investors. European markets were trading lower as higher wind and solar volumes added to supply, demand fell ahead of the weekend and warmer weather was forecast.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61646.30, down by 127.48 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 61484.66 and 61827.51. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.45%, Realty up by 1.06%, Capital Goods up by 0.46%, Industrials up by 0.41% and FMCG was up by 0.36%, while Energy down by 0.52%, Oil & Gas down by 0.49%, Metal down by 0.37%, Bankex down by 0.18% and PSU was down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.32%, ITC up by 1.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.52%, Asian Paints up by 0.49% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.65%, Wipro down by 1.30%, HDFC down by 1.11%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.01% and Indusind Bank down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, pertaining to issues related to the promotion of exports, the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi has said that the commerce ministry is trying to address these issues through ecommerce medium. He also said that while the $ 2 trillion export target by 2030 is ambitious as it entails an annual growth of 14.5 per cent (CAGR), it is not impossible. He said ‘we are in touch of the Department of Revenue, RBI, Icegate, and the Department of Post on the issues which entails remission of duties and incentives, ensuring postal bills flows into Icegate, building a regulatory system which addresses return back, etc.

The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), government, industry and academic deep dive to explore ways to reach $2 trillion in exports. Research reveals a positive correlation between higher exports and higher per capita income. He added that for achieving the $2 trillion target, India is focusing on both demand and supply side aspects with respective policies.

Mohit Singla, Chairman, Trade Promotion Council of India, has said that India Business and Trade Conclave in the years to come will be at the forefront to discuss all aspects of India's foreign trade. He said the conclave will also emphasise on how the industry will benefit from the initiatives taken by the government, focussing on emerging areas of growth and potential. TPCI is an apex trade and investment promotion organization.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18255.15, down by 30.25 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 18202.40 and 18303.80. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.31%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.27%, ITC up by 1.55%, Divi's Lab up by 1.45% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.60%, Wipro down by 1.51%, HDFC down by 1.19%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.10% and Hindalco down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng declined 369.01 points or 1.97% to 18,746.92, Jakarta Composite plunged 25.92 points or 0.39% to 6,719.88, KOSPI dropped 12.76 points or 0.5% to 2,554.69, Straits Times fell 5.24 points or 0.16% to 3,208.97 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.49 points or 0.11% to 3,201.26. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 118.45 points or 0.38% to 30,801.13 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 132.68 points or 0.81% to 16,292.00.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 27.1 points or 0.36% to 7,600.00, France’s CAC fell 19.6 points or 0.27% to 7,233.86 and Germany’s DAX was down by 68.21 points or 0.43% to 15,773.92.