Bourses trade near day’s lowest points in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices traded near day’s lowest points in late afternoon session dragged by Banking, Metal, oil & gas and IT stocks. The overall market breadth was negative as 1900 shares were declining and 1600 were advancing, while 170 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Traders overlooked the private report that upgraded India's status to 'overweight' as it believes that the country’s reform and macro-stability agenda supports a strong capex and profit outlook. A overweight rating means that it expects India's economy to perform better in the future. The upgrade in the backdrop of US losing AAA status and economic slowdown in China. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors fretted about mounting debt in the U.S. and awaited cues from Friday's U.S. jobs report, which will provide further information on the monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve. European markets were trading lower amid growth worries after a survey showed British services growth cooled to a six-month low in July. Investors also awaited the Bank of England's rate decision later in the day after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank lifted benchmark rates last week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65057.96, down by 724.82 points or 1.10% after trading in a range of 64963.08 and 65820.82. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.26%, while Small cap index was down by 0.19%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Healthcare up by 0.71%, while Realty down by 2.21%, Metal down by 1.51%, Bankex down by 1.39%, Oil & Gas down by 1.22% and Energy was down by 1.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The only gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.00% and NTPC up by 0.11%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.82%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.70%, ICICI Bank down by 2.50%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.17% and Axis Bank down by 1.85% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in over 13 years in the month of July, aided by substantial improvement in international demand. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index jumped at 62.3 in July from 58.5 in June. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- surged to 61.9 in July as against 59.4 in June.

The survey report noted that the upturn in total new orders was boosted by a pick-up in international sales. There was second-fastest increase in new export orders since the series started in September 2014. Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the UAE were key sources of growth. Companies continued to add to their workforces by hiring a combination of part-time, full-time, permanent and temporary staff. Service sector employment expanded at a slight pace that was broadly similar to those seen in the prior two months.

On the inflation front, Indian service providers faced a further increase in input costs. Moreover, the rate of inflation quickened to a 13-month high, on the back of greater food, labour and transportation costs. Services firms sought to protect margins from cost rises by lifting selling charges in July. Output prices increased at the slowest rate in three months. The latest results showed mild pressure on the capacity of service providers, as outstanding business volumes rose only marginally. The pace of accumulation softened since June.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19322.10, down by 204.45 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 19296.45 and 19537.65. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 1.73%, Eicher Motors up by 0.70%, Adani Enterprises up by 0.67%, Divi's Lab up by 0.66% and NTPC up by 0.16%. On the flip side, UPL down by 3.09%, Titan Company down by 2.82%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.76%, ONGC down by 2.50% and ICICI Bank down by 2.45% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 548.41 points or 1.71% to 32,159.28, Hang Seng declined 96.51 points or 0.5% to 19,420.87, Straits Times fell 19.96 points or 0.6% to 3,305.06 and KOSPI was down by 11.08 points or 0.43% to 2,605.39. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 18.77 points or 0.57% to 3,280.46 and Jakarta Composite was down by 58.24 points or 0.84% to 6,912.75.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 111.63 points or 1.5% to 7,450.00, France’s CAC fell 73.22 points or 1.01% to 7,239.62 and Germany’s DAX was down by 162.2 points or 1.02% to 15,857.82.