Benchmarks trade lower in early noon deals

In a volatile session, Indian equity benchmarks were trading lower in early noon deals, amid mixed cues from other Asian markets and selling at Metal and Banking counters. Selling pressure in Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel stocks also hit domestic sentiments. Traders remained cautious, amid a private report stating that India's economy will grow at a solid pace for the rest of this fiscal year and next but well below its potential rate, and the employment situation will improve only slightly. However, the broader indices were managing to trade in green. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in July, and at a faster pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.4. That's down from 49.8 in June, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Both output and new orders were scaled back further in the latest survey period, with the rate of reduction in incoming business accelerating to the strongest seen for four months.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66559.40, down by 124.86 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 66413.67 and 66808.56. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.48%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.79%, Industrials up by 0.76%, Capital Goods up by 0.70%, Realty up by 0.62% and Auto up by 0.41%, while Metal down by 0.62%, Bankex down by 0.57%, Energy down by 0.35%, Oil & Gas down by 0.34% and Consumer Durables down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.37%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.30%, Indusind Bank up by 1.08%, TCS up by 0.93% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.74%, Tata Steel down by 1.76%, Reliance Industries down by 1.59%, JSW Steel down by 1.27% and Nestle down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, World Economic Forum (WEF) in its latest report has said that the agriculture sector in India can be transformed by promoting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. WEF said its AI for Agriculture Innovation (AI4AI) initiative has helped more than 7,000 chilli farmers get access to agritech services in the first phase.

WEF stated that these agritech services include AI-based advisories, soil testing, produce quality testing and e-commerce---all in the project’s pilot phase. The state government plans to scale existing and additional agritech services in phase II (from 2023 onwards) to 20,000 chilli and ground nut farmers in three districts. The digital public infrastructure will also be introduced in phase II, while in phase III (by 2025), the target is to reach 1,00,000 farmers in the state. The project was initiated in 2022 and is being implemented by Digital Green (in consortium with three agritech startups) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The WEF said the project report can serve as a playbook for governments to enable their local agritech ecosystem and uplift smallholder farmers.

The Forum said as the urgency of the climate crisis becomes more evident and conflicts and natural calamities continue to devastate communities, threatening global food security, the industry is under mounting pressure to embrace sustainable practices and revamp its portfolios. Consequently, agriculture has evolved into a dynamic arena with investment opportunities and innovative solutions, making it an attractive domain for tech-savvy and entrepreneurial minds. It said the AI4AI initiative aims to transform the agriculture sector in India by promoting the use of AI and other emerging technologies. While these technologies have the potential to significantly contribute to improving productivity and sustainability, they are often marked by fragmented technological infrastructure, high costs of operations, lack of access to data and limited technical expertise, while hampering the scale of their impact.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19715.25, down by 29.75 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 19670.50 and 19782.75. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 1.41%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.25%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.17%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.13% and Coal India up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.72%, Tata Steel down by 1.76%, Reliance Industries down by 1.74%, Britannia Industries down by 1.37% and JSW Steel down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 396.69 points or 1.21% to 32,700.94, Jakarta Composite gained 27.62 points or 0.4% to 6,908.42, KOSPI increased 18.77 points or 0.71% to 2,628.53 and Taiwan Weighted added 2.91 points or 0.02% to 17,033.61, while Shanghai Composite weakened 7.39 points or 0.23% to 3,160.36, Straits Times fell 21.87 points or 0.67% to 3,256.43 and Hang Seng declined 503.01 points or 2.71% to 18,572.25.