Benchmarks continue to trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade flat in morning deals, as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines ahead of the key events -- RBI's monetary policy and the US inflation data -- due later this week. Continuous foreign fund outflows played spoilsport for the domestic markets. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,892.77 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Traders also remained cautious as private report forecasted a steeply higher retail inflation print for July, pegging it at 6.7 per cent, up 190 basis points from the previous month, citing the sharp rise in food prices. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has laid out its reform agenda for the ongoing financial year, proposing measures around digital assurance of financial statements, making e-voting more accessible, limiting risks in derivatives, a new pricing discovery mechanism for delisting, and greater disclosures for unlisted companies under a conglomerate. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as investors awaited key inflation readings from the U.S. and China for clues on the outlook for global growth and interest rates. Growth worries resurfaced after data showed China's exports fell for a third straight month in July amid a slump in global demand.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65952.60, down by 0.88 points after trading in a range of 65855.00 and 66057.53. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.92%, PSU up by 0.53%, Realty up by 0.52%, Industrials up by 0.51% and Capital Goods up by 0.39%, while Utilities down by 0.21%, Metal down by 0.18%, Power down by 0.14%, FMCG down by 0.13% and TECK down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.38%, Wipro up by 0.99%, SBI up by 0.79%, Titan Company up by 0.69% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.16%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 1.16%, Nestle down by 0.66% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) has said that it expects to log in double-digit sales growth in the current fiscal (FY24) after having reported its highest-ever turnover in 2022-23, as demand is expected to remain robust.

It stated the sector reported a turnover of Rs 5.6 lakh crore last fiscal (FY23), registering a growth of 33 per cent over Rs 4.2 lakh crore in FY22. Moreover, it said in FY23, exports grew by 5 per cent to Rs 1.61 lakh crore while imports grew by 11 per cent to Rs 1.63 lakh crore. Further it said, the aftermarket, estimated at Rs 85,333 crore also witnessed a steady growth of 15 per cent while component sales to OEMs in the domestic market grew by 39.5 per cent to Rs 4.76 lakh crore.

Besides, ACMA President Sunjay Kapur noted ‘With significant mitigation in the supply-side issues of availability of semiconductors, input raw-material costs and logistics, the vehicle industry is expected to continue to perform well in FY24, which augurs well for the auto components sector.’ he added whilst the automotive value chain faced significant disruptions in the wake of the pandemic, vehicle sales, especially in the PV, CV and tractor segments have now reached pre-pandemic levels. Even the two-wheeler industry has recovered well.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19602.45, up by 5.15 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 19576.25 and 19634.40. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.03%, Cipla up by 2.59%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.41%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.17% and Wipro up by 0.91%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 2.18%, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.12%, Sun Pharma down by 1.33%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.13% and Divi's Lab down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 100.1 points or 0.59% to 16,895.90, Hang Seng declined 267.58 points or 1.39% to 19,270.34, KOSPI dropped 1.78 points or 0.07% to 2,578.93 and Straits Times fell 0.49 points or 0.01% to 3,309.38. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 95.99 points or 0.3% to 32,350.55, Jakarta Composite gained 5.21 points or 0.08% to 6,891.58 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 0.46 points or 0.01% to 3,269.29.