Bourses off from day’s highs in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices have come off from day’s highs in late afternoon session but continued to trade in green. However, the broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index fell sharply. Traders continued to take support with India’s industrial production numbers. Traders took note of report that Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said there is work ongoing with a number of economies, including the UK, on the issue of intellectual property (IP) rights and modernisation in an effort to improve Indian protocols. On the global front, all Asian markets are trading higher after weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data bolstered hopes of the Federal Reserve nearing the end of its tightening campaign. European markets were trading higher after data showed France's consumer price inflation eased to the lowest level in more than a year amid a fall in energy costs as initially estimated. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65734.86, up by 340.96 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 65605.88 and 66064.21. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.68%, while Small cap index was down by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.67%, TECK up by 1.46%, Realty up by 1.18%, Bankex up by 0.55% and Metal was up by 0.41%, while Power down by 2.12%, Utilities down by 2.06%, PSU down by 1.35%, Oil & Gas down by 0.85% and Energy was down by 0.79% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.41%, Infosys up by 2.30%, ICICI Bank up by 1.46%, Axis Bank up by 1.11% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 4.02%, NTPC down by 1.60%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.55%, Nestle down by 1.04% and Tata Motors down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in the wake of heavy rains across the country, the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has released an amount of Rs 7,532 crore to 22 State Governments for the respective State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF). The amount has been released as per the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs.  

An amount of Rs 493.60 crore was released to Andhra Pradesh, while Rs 110.40 crore for Arunachal Pradesh, Rs 340.40 crore for Assam, Rs 624.40 crore for Bihar, Rs 181.60 crore for Chhattishgarh, Rs 584.00 crore for Gujarat, Rs 216.80 crore for Haryana, Rs 180.40 crore for Himachal Pradesh among others.

Meanwhile, the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has been constituted in each State under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The fund is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters. The Central Government contributes 75% to the SDRF in general States and 90% in North-East and Himalayan States.    

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19443.35, up by 59.05 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 19433.05 and 19567.00. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 2.49%, Hindalco up by 2.37%, Infosys up by 2.28%, LTIMindtree up by 1.30% and ICICI Bank up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 3.99%, Coal India down by 2.09%, UPL down by 1.85%, NTPC down by 1.81% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.66% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher, Hang Seng advanced 489.67 points or 2.53% to 19,350.62, Nikkei 225 surged 475.4 points or 1.47% to 32,419.33, Taiwan Weighted added 99.37 points or 0.58% to 17,061.40, Straits Times rose 64.77 points or 2.04% to 3,240.13, Shanghai Composite strengthened 40.35 points or 1.25% to 3,236.48, KOSPI increased 16.51 points or 0.64% to 2,591.23 and Jakarta Composite was up by 12.89 points or 0.19% to 6,821.10.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.97 points or 0.19% to 7,430.08, France’s CAC rose 33.73 points or 0.46% to 7,366.74 and Germany’s DAX was up by 57.18 points or 0.36% to 16,080.18.