Bourses continue to trade under selling pressure in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks continued to trade under selling pressure in late afternoon session, after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-led monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting. The RBI has projected July-September quarter retail inflation at 6.2 per cent. This has been driven by a spike in prices of certain vegetables; tomato prices skyrocketed to Rs 200 a kilo. Prices of pulses have also increased. Besides, net Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell to $5.5 billion during April-May compared to $10.6 billion in corresponding period last year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as China deflation worries persisted and caution crept in ahead of U.S. consumer price inflation data due later in the day that might offer clues to the Federal Reserve's policy path. European markets were trading higher with the latest batch of corporate earnings and upcoming U.S. inflation data in focus. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65716.09, down by 279.72 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 65509.14 and 65956.25. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.30%, while Small cap index was down by 0.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.36%, Metal up by 0.24%, Energy up by 0.22%, Power up by 0.17% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.08%, while Telecom down by 1.28%, FMCG down by 0.87%, Bankex down by 0.69%, Healthcare down by 0.62%, and Realty was down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.29%, JSW Steel up by 0.99%, Reliance Industries up by 0.97%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.61% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.72%, ITC down by 1.52%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.50%, Nestle down by 1.22% and Axis Bank down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in its latest report has showed that domestic passenger vehicles wholesales registered a 2.94 per cent year-on-year growth at 3,02,521 units in the month of July 2023, as against 2,93,865 units in July 2022.

According to the report, two-wheeler domestic wholesales declined 7.18 per cent at 12,82,054 units in July 2023 as against 13,81,303 units in July 2022 while three-wheeler wholesales zoomed 78.88 per cent at 56,034 units during July 2023 as compared to 31,324 units in the year-ago month.

The report further noted that total vehicle dispatches across categories were at 16,40,727 units in July 2023 as compared to 17,06,545 units in July 2022. Besides, SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said ‘Overall, we expect that the positive economic environment, good monsoons, and upcoming festive season will support continued growth in the auto industry.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19542.15, down by 90.40 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 19495.40 and 19623.60. There were 18 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stocks remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 1.71%, Adani Ports up by 1.70%, Indusind Bank up by 1.22%, ONGC up by 0.99% and Reliance Industries up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.82%, ITC down by 1.50%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.48%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.39% and Britannia down by 1.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 269.32 points or 0.83% to 32,473.65, Jakarta Composite gained 20.51 points or 0.3% to 6,895.62, Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.07 points or 0.31% to 3,254.56, Straits Times rose 7.94 points or 0.24% to 3,321.73 and Hang Seng was up by 2.23 points or 0.01% to 19,248.26. On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 3.56 points or 0.14% to 2,601.56 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 236.24 points or 1.42% to 16,634.70.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.95 points or 0.16% to 7,599.25, France’s CAC rose 87.62 points or 1.2% to 7,409.66 and Germany’s DAX was up by 108.21 points or 0.68% to 15,960.79.