Bourses trade deep in red in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks traded deep in red in late afternoon session, hovering near the lowest points of the day on account of selling in frontline counters. There were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index also traded with huge losses. Sentiments remain dampened as Fitch Ratings has downgraded the United States' long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’, citing 'expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years,' along with an erosion of governance and a growing general debt burden. Traders overlooked report that India and the UK are close to concluding negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), chief negotiators of both countries will hold the 12th round of talks from August 7. Both sides are looking at concluding the talks before the end of the year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower after various surveys showed factory activity around the world took a further turn for the worse in July. Investors also fretted over the state of U.S. finances and its debt burden. European markets were trading lower with the lack of details on China's stimulus measures and the U.S. credit rating downgrade by Fitch Ratings denting sentiment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65497.09, down by 962.22 points or 1.45% after trading in a range of 65476.99 and 66261.97. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 2.07%, while Small cap index down by 1.75%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 2.96%, PSU down by 2.78%, Utilities down by 2.78%, Power down by 2.71% and Telecom was down by 2.28%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 0.85%, Asian Paints up by 0.27% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.05%, Tata Steel down by 3.94%, NTPC down by 3.24%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.70% and SBI down by 2.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad has said that the growth of deposits and advances of public sector banks (PSBs) has improved from 8.2% and 9.8% in FY2021-22 to 9.3% and 15.8% in FY2022-23, respectively. He stated that the PSBs take all commercial and business-related decisions as per their board approved policies. 

The Minister also said that as per the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and 1980, and the State Bank of India Act, 1955, the general superintendence, direction and management of the affairs and business of the PSBs vests in its Board.

Minister also underlined that as per inputs received from PSBs, several steps have been taken by them to address the rising competition in the deposits segment, enhance their ability to generate high-yield advances and strengthen their CASA acquisition, increase coverage of early warning signals and identify high-risk borrowers, and improve operational efficiency and customer experience.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19428.80, down by 304.75 points or 1.54% after trading in a range of 19423.55 and 19678.25. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index.

The only gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 0.82%, Divi's Lab up by 0.67%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.25% and Asian Paints up by 0.17%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.20%, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.13%, Tata Steel down by 3.90%, Eicher Motors down by 3.38% and NTPC down by 3.31% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Nikkei 225 slipped 768.89 points or 2.35% to 32,707.69, Hang Seng declined 493.74 points or 2.53% to 19,517.38, Taiwan Weighted lost 319.14 points or 1.89% to 16,893.73, Straits Times fell 55.86 points or 1.68% to 3,317.93, KOSPI dropped 50.6 points or 1.93% to 2,616.47, Shanghai Composite weakened 29.26 points or 0.9% to 3,261.69 and Jakarta Composite was down by 26.69 points or 0.39% to 6,859.81.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 139.76 points or 1.86% to 7,526.51, France’s CAC fell 114.01 points or 1.56% to 7,292.07 and Germany’s DAX was down by 273.71 points or 1.71% to 15,966.69.