Bourses come off from day’s highs in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks have come off from day’s highs but continued to trade in green in late afternoon session. Investors took some support after private report said that Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth 466.18 billion rupees ($5.63 billion) on a net basis in July, data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL). This is the highest monthly FPI inflows since August 2022. Meanwhile, the finance ministry in its report has said that India's improved monsoon performance, continued expansion in manufacturing, and vigorous capital expenditure (capex) spending by the public and private sectors augur well for macroeconomic stability and growth during FY24. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed at the end of a volatile week, with a fresh spike in US Treasury yields weighing on Wall Street and traders still concerned about the Federal Reserve's interest rate plans. European markets were trading higher after a three-day selloff as a strong forecast from retail giant Amazon and a host of other companies outweighed recent jitters around slowing global economic growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65532.91, up by 292.23 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 65387.18 and 65787.86. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.63%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.49%, TECK up by 1.39%, Telecom up by 1.35%, Metal up by 0.67% and Capital Goods was up by 0.66%, while Auto down by 0.49%, PSU down by 0.34%, Power down by 0.25%, Utilities down by 0.17% and Realty was down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.09%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.74%, Wipro up by 2.18%, HCL Tech up by 1.87% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.82%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.26%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.29%, Sun Pharma down by 0.86%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.82% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underlining India’s focus on creating opportunities for the poor by empowering communities for equitable growth, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the reforms brought in India since 2014 have enabled decentralisation of planning in India, which enabled States to set ambitious development targets and perform to their potential.

Finance Minister addressed 11 Executive Directors (EDs) of the World Bank Group, which representing 95 countries. EDs, who are on a visit to India, called on the finance minister. They appreciated the fast-paced development across all sectors enabled by transformational reforms and private sector participation in India's ambition of becoming a developed country by 2047.

They also appreciated the success achieved by India, especially in digital technology and startups, with a focus on the delivery of public goods, including water, electricity, road infrastructure etc. The EDs also appreciated the clarity of the vision of the political leadership of India. They were especially appreciative of efforts like GST, NariShakti and FASTag that are in line with the vision of fast-paced development.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19482.45, up by 100.80 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 19436.45 and 19538.85. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 3.62%, Indusind Bank up by 3.29%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.73%, Wipro up by 2.19% and HCL Tech up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 2.29%, SBI down by 2.29%, BPCL down by 1.66%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.28% and Sun Pharma down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 50.05 points or 0.3% to 16,843.68, Jakarta Composite plunged 42.25 points or 0.61% to 6,855.83, Straits Times fell 11.72 points or 0.35% to 3,292.34 and KOSPI was down by 2.59 points or 0.1% to 2,602.80. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.62 points or 0.23% to 3,288.08, Nikkei 225 surged 33.47 points or 0.1% to 32,192.75 and Hang Seng was up by 118.59 points or 0.61% to 19,539.46.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 1.88 points or 0.02% to 7,531.04, France’s CAC rose 28.98 points or 0.4% to 7,289.51 and Germany’s DAX was up by 21.7 points or 0.14% to 15,915.08.