Weakness continues over Dalal Street

Weakness continued over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red, on the back of mixed cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments also got hit, as a labour ministry has said that retail inflation for industrial workers inched up to 5.57 per cent in June 2023 as compared to 4.42 per cent in May this year, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. Similarly, food inflation stood at 6 per cent against 3.24 per cent in the previous month and 6.73 per cent during the corresponding month a year ago. Besides, India's manufacturing sector activity slowed down in the month of July but remained above the neutral level of 50.0, amid ongoing buoyant demand and muted cost inflationary pressures. According to the report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 57.7 in July from 57.8 in June.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as the manufacturing sector in China fell into contraction territory in July, with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.2. That's down from 50.5 in June and it moves beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66464.73, down by 62.94 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 66413.03 and 66658.12. There were 11 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining, while one stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.81%, TECK up by 0.54%, Metal up by 0.53%, Auto up by 0.28% and Telecom up by 0.13%, while Realty down by 1.51%, Capital Goods down by 0.31%, Bankex down by 0.24%, Power down by 0.23% and Oil & Gas down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.46%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.05%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.01%, TCS up by 0.75% and HDFC Bank up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 5.02%, Indusind Bank down by 1.46%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.45%, SBI down by 1.17% and Reliance Industries down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a labour ministry has said that retail inflation for industrial workers inched up to 5.57 per cent in June 2023 as compared to 4.42 per cent in May this year, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. Similarly, food inflation stood at 6 per cent against 3.24 per cent in the previous month and 6.73 per cent during the corresponding month a year ago.

The All-India CPI-IW (consumer price index for industrial workers) for June 2023 increased by 1.7 points and stood at 136.4 points. It was 134.7 points in May 2023. On one-month percentage change, it increased by 1.26 per cent with respect to the previous month against an increase of 0.16 per cent recorded in corresponding month a year ago. The maximum upward pressure in the current index came from Food & Beverages group, contributing 1.62 percentage points to the total change.

At item level, Rice, Wheat, Wheat Atta, Arhar Dal, Moong Dal, Fish Fresh, Poultry Chicken, Egg-Hen, Apple, Banana, Brinjal, Carrot, Ginger, Cauliflower, Chili Green, Potato, Onion, Tomato, Cumin seed/Jira, Supari, Casual Wear, Canvas Shoes, Utensil, Medicine ayurvedic, etc. are responsible for the rise in index. However, this increase was largely checked by Mustard Oil, Palm Oil, Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Lemon, Mango, Kerosene Oil, etc., putting downward pressure on the index.

At the centre level, Angul-Talchar recorded a maximum increase of 8.5 points, followed by Raipur and Labac-Silchar with 6.8 and 6.3 points, respectively. Among others, 3 centres recorded an increase between 5 to 5.9 points, 2 centres between 4 to 4.9 points, 10 centres between 3 to 3.9 points, 11 centres between 2 to 2.9 points, 28 centres between 1 to 1.9 points and 26 centres between 0.1 to 0.9 points. On the contrary, Mungel-Jamalpur recorded a maximum decrease of 1.1 points. Among others, 4 centres recorded a decrease between 0.1 to 0.9 points.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19731.45, down by 22.35 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 19714.45 and 19795.60. There were 21 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining, while one stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 4.36%, NTPC up by 3.50%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.08%, Eicher Motors up by 1.84% and LTIMindtree up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 5.00%, Apollo Hospital down by 2.49%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 1.65%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.58% and Indusind Bank down by 1.51% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 129.82 points or 0.65% to 19,949.12, Jakarta Composite plunged 28.6 points or 0.41% to 6,902.76, Shanghai Composite weakened 6.12 points or 0.19% to 3,284.92 and Straits Times fell 0.6 points or 0.02% to 3,373.38, while KOSPI increased 34.49 points or 1.29% to 2,667.07, Taiwan Weighted added 67.44 points or 0.39% to 17,212.87 and Nikkei 225 surged 304.36 points or 0.91% to 33,476.58.