Domestic indices trade lower in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made negative start on Thursday tracking weakness in global markets. Domestic indices are trading lower in early deals on account of continued selling pressure. Investors are eyeing Services PMI data to be out later in the day for more cues. Traders overlooked report that as keeping in view India's vision of becoming Atmanirbhar, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 key sectors have been announced with an outlay of Rs 1.97 trillion to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and exports. Meanwhile, 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. 

Asian markets extend their previous session’s losses  and are trading mostly lower as the dollar surged and Treasury yields spiked following a U.S. credit rating downgrade from Fitch and better-than-expected ADP employment data. Back home, online gaming and casino stocks are buzzing after the GST Council decided to go ahead with the levy of 28 percent GST on the face value of chips bought at casinos and the bet amount for online games. In stock specific development, Titan Company declined after reporting a 4 percent fall in Q1 profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65682.94, down by 99.84 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 65482.79 and 65820.82. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.20%, Capital Goods up by 0.31%, Industrials up by 0.19%, Power up by 0.17% and Utilities up by 0.02%, while Metal down by 1.64%, Realty down by 1.22%, Consumer Durables down by 1.02%, Oil & Gas down by 0.59% and Energy down by 0.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.57%, NTPC up by 1.83%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.63%, ITC up by 0.62% and HDFC Bank up by 0.27%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.24%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.01%, JSW Steel down by 0.91%, TCS down by 0.88% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, touching its highest level in five-and-half years, investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) rose to Rs 1.13 lakh crore in June-end, driven by stable macroeconomic fundamentals, investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes rose to Rs 1.13 lakh crore in June-end. This includes the value of P-note investments in Indian equity, debt, and hybrid securities. Also, this marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase in the investment level through this route.

P-notes are issued by registered Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process. The data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) showed that the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt, and hybrid securities -- stood at Rs 1,13,291 crore at the end of June as compared to Rs 1,04,585 crore in May-end. In comparison, the investment through the route was Rs 95,911 crore in April-end, Rs 88,600 crore in March-end, Rs 88,398 crore in February-end and Rs 91,469 crore in January-end.

The flow in the month of June was the highest level since January 2018, when investment through the route stood at Rs 1.19 lakh crore. The growth in P-notes generally aligns with the trend in FPI flows, when there is a global risk to the environment, investment through this route increases and vice-versa. Of the total Rs 1.13 lakh crore invested through this route till June this year, Rs 1,00,701 crore was invested in equities, Rs 12,382 crore in debt and Rs 203 crore in hybrid securities. In addition, assets under custody of the FPIs grew to Rs 55.63 lakh crore in June, from Rs 52.95 lakh crore in the preceding month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19500.30, down by 26.25 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 19439.05 and 19537.65. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 2.93%, NTPC up by 1.76%, Divi's Lab up by 1.39%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.36% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.97%. On the flip side, UPL down by 3.29%, Titan Co down by 2.11%, Hindalco down by 1.57%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.31% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 380.13 points or 1.18% to 32,327.56, Hang Seng declined 25.63 points or 0.13% to 19,491.75, KOSPI dropped 12.32 points or 0.47% to 2,604.15, Shanghai Composite weakened 5.81 points or 0.18% to 3,255.88 and Straits Times fell 0.42 points or 0.01% to 3,324.60, while Jakarta Composite was up by 49.14 points or 0.71% to 6,903.65.