Sensex, Nifty trim some gains in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains in early afternoon session, impacted by negative cues from the global markets ahead to monetary policy decisions of major central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and the European Central Bank. Adding some worries among traders, India’s services sector growth eased in the month of August, but remained among the best in 13 years, with a series-record increase in new export business inducing another sharp expansion in total sales.  As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell at 60.1 in August from 62.3 in July. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- eased to 60.9 in August as against 61.9 in July.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as China's service sector grew at the slowest pace in eight months in August largely due to weaker new business, signaling a slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter. The Caixin services Purchasing Managers' Index slipped more-than-expected to 51.8 in August from 54.1 in July. The expected score was 53.6.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65725.20, up by 97.06 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 65619.34 and 65809.51. 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 by 0.90%, while Small cap index was up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.43%, Oil & Gas up by 1.05%, IT up by 0.99%, Energy up by 0.92% and Consumer Durables up by 0.83%, while Metal down by 0.32%, Utilities down by 0.22% and Bankex down by 0.18% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 1.17%, Nestle up by 1.16%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.85%, Infosys up by 0.83% and Tata Motors up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.21%, NTPC down by 1.21%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.99%, HDFC Bank down by 0.49% and ICICI Bank down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government data has showed that the India’s power consumption grew by over 16 per cent to 151.66 billion units (BU) in August 2023 as compared to the same month last year mainly due to increase usage of cooling appliances during sultry weather. In the year-ago period, power consumption stood at 130.39 BU, higher than 127.88 BU in August 2021. 

The peak power demand met, which is the highest supply in a day, rose to 236.59 GW in August 2023. The peak power supply stood at 195.22 GW in August 2022 and 196.27 GW in August 2021. The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during the summer season. The demand did not reach the projected level in April-July this year due to unseasonal rains. The peak supply, however, touched a new high of 223.29 GW in June and remained at 208.95 GW in July.

Power consumption was affected in March, April, May and June this year due to widespread rains in the country. The peak power supply touched a new high of 236.59 GW in August and reached the record level of 239.97 GW on September 1, 2023.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19563.50, up by 34.70 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 19528.80 and 19587.05. There were 31 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 2.85%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.83%, LTIMindtree up by 1.59%, BPCL up by 1.41% and Jio Financial Services up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.25%, Dr Reddy's Laboratories down by 1.24%, NTPC down by 1.17%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.08% and Hindalco down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 375.94 points or 1.99% to 18,468.22, Shanghai Composite weakened 23.92 points or 0.75% to 3,153.14, Straits Times fell 7.68 points or 0.24% to 3,231.29, Jakarta Composite plunged 7.11 points or 0.1% to 6,989.64 and KOSPI dropped 2.37 points or 0.09% to 2,582.18, while Nikkei 225 surged 97.58 points or 0.3% to 33,036.76 and Taiwan Weighted added 1.92 points or 0.01% to 16,791.61.