Sensex, Nifty turn negative in early afternoon deals

A heavy selling pressure pulled Indian equity indices down in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty are trading lower by 120.38 and 31.60 points, respectively, on the back of mixed cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments were downbeat, amid a private report stating that deal making by India Inc has suffered severely due to economic challenges in the first half of this year. There were only 676 deals with an underlying value of USD 23 billion in the January-June 2023 period, 78 per cent down in value terms and a fall of 42 per cent in terms of volume. Meanwhile, highlighting the good performance of the Indian banking system despite various adverse global developments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has stressed that it is in times like these, banks need to be extra careful and vigilant. He also emphasized the need for MD & CEOs to pay special attention to strengthening the governance in the banks and focus on the tripod of banking stability consisting of compliance, risk management and audit functions. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly declined in May signaling a notable fall in capital spending on machinery and equipments. The data from the Cabinet Office revealed that machinery orders, excluding volatile ones for ships and those from electric power companies, plunged 7.6 percent on a monthly basis in May, in contrast to the 5.5 percent increase in April. Back home, auto stocks were in watch as industry body SIAM said that domestic passenger vehicle wholesales witnessed a 2 per cent year-on-year rise in June to 3,27,497 units. Passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers in June 2022 stood at 3,20,985 units.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65497.46, down by 120.38 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 65481.88 and 65811.64. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 0.44%, Energy up by 0.42%, Oil & Gas up by 0.34%, PSU up by 0.31% and Power up by 0.25%, while TECK down by 0.95%, IT down by 0.94%, Telecom down by 0.61%, FMCG down by 0.29% and Realty down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 0.79%, SBI up by 0.58%, NTPC up by 0.39%, Titan Company up by 0.38% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.29%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.63%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.47%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.42%, HCL Technologies down by 0.96% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency Crisil in its latest report has said that revenue of the Indian print media sector will grow between 13-15 per cent in FY24 on the back of  higher spending on advertisement (ad spend) by corporates in key sectors and an uptick in government ad spend in view of the upcoming state and general elections. The revenue of print media is expected to touch Rs 30,000 crore in FY24. 

According to the report, print media revenues had plummeted by 40 per cent in FY21 because of the pandemic, but bounced back later, growing at 25 per cent (FY22) and 15 per cent (FY23). It noted that a growing topline, along with a decline in newsprint prices, will lead to profitability of the sector, surging 10 percentage points to 14.5 per cent this fiscal. Amid concerns over reader preferences shifting to digital platforms, it said the sustained recovery indicates ‘enduring popularity of print media in India’ and pointed to advantages it possesses like low cover prices, convenience of home delivery, ability to provide original and credible content and sticky reading habits. 

The report further said subscription revenues are expected to grow by up to 7 per cent in FY24 on an increase in cover prices, on top of the 8-10 per cent growth in FY22 and FY23, and this points to a significant share of readers continuing to prefer physical newspapers. It added that subscription growth has a bearing on the profitability of print media companies because of increased requirement of newsprint, the key raw material for production of newspapers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19407.80, down by 31.60 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 19401.20 and 19507.70. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 1.82%, Eicher Motors up by 1.29%, Reliance Industries up by 0.82%, SBI up by 0.53% and Coal India up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.56%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.45%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.43%, BPCL down by 1.06% and Adani Enterprises down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 164.71 points or 0.87% to 18,824.54, Taiwan Weighted added 63.12 points or 0.37% to 16,962.03, Straits Times rose 12.79 points or 0.4% to 3,176.63 and KOSPI increased 12.23 points or 0.48% to 2,574.72, while Jakarta Composite plunged 0.51 points or 0.01% to 6,796.41, Shanghai Composite weakened 21.23 points or 0.66% to 3,200.14 and Nikkei 225 slipped 259.64 points or 0.81% to 31,943.93.