Bourses continue to trade lower in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks continued to trade lower in late afternoon session on profit booking. Traders were cautious after private report stated that India's currency in circulation dropped for a second consecutive week after the central bank withdrew the country's highest value currency note in May, advising people to deposit those with various banks and hoping to help lender deposits in the process. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its second bi-monthly policy for FY24, has decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.50 per cent for second time in a row. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amidst anxiety surrounding hawkish monetary policy and hopes of a stimulus in China. Concerns about rising interest rates and slowing economic growth dominated market sentiment. Inflation reading from China due later in the day is expected to show a minor uptick in inflation. European markets were trading mostly in green as rate-sensitive technology shares slipped on expectations of further interest rate hikes by major central banks, although gains in banks helped limit losses.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63017.02, down by 125.94 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 62988.61 and 63321.40. There were 8 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remain unchanged. 

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index decline 0.62%, while Small cap index was down by 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.13%, Power up by 1.10%, Metal up by 0.50%, Capital Goods up by 0.43% and PSU was up by 0.35%, while Realty down by 1.14%, Telecom down by 0.77%, IT down by 0.76%, TECK down by 0.75% and Healthcare was down by 0.73% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.68%, Power Grid up by 1.78%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.98%, HDFC Bank up by 0.57% and SBI up by 0.55%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.29%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.19%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.03%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.55% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the importance of Steel sector in ensuring the growth and development of the country, Union Minister of Steel & Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has said that India currently ranks as the World's 2nd Largest Producer of Crude Steel, surpassing Japan in 2018, mentioning the remarkable growth recorded by India’s steel industry.

Union Minister further highlighted achievements of the government in the last 9 years, mentioning that India stands as a net exporter of steel witnessing an export of 6.72 MT of finished steel against the import of 6.02 MT in 2022-23. The country was a net importer of steel in 2014-15 with 9.32 MT imports Vis-a-vis the export of 5.59 MT. 

The Minister also highlighted the impact of Policy for providing preference to Domestically Manufactured Iron and Steel Products (DMI & SP Policy) in government procurement which has so far resulted in import substitution of Rs 34,800 crore approximately. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18691.90, down by 34.50 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 18675.40 and 18777.90. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 2.88%, NTPC up by 2.76%, Power Grid up by 1.99%, ONGC up by 1.56% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 2.61%, Sun Pharma down by 2.25%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.24%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.05% and Apollo Hospital down by 2.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Hang Seng advanced 47.18 points or 0.24% to 19,299.18, Jakarta Composite gained 24.89 points or 0.37% to 6,644.65, Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.83 points or 0.49% to 3,213.59 and Straits Times was up by 3.35 points or 0.11% to 3,182.93. On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 4.75 points or 0.18% to 2,610.85, Taiwan Weighted lost 188.79 points or 1.13% to 16,733.69 and Nikkei 225 was down by 272.47 points or 0.86% to 31,641.27.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC rose 20.81 points or 0.29% to 7,223.60 and Germany’s DAX was up by 34.2 points or 0.21% to 15,994.76. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 11.74 points or 0.15% to 7,612.60.