Bourses continue lackluster trade in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their lackluster trade in late afternoon session tracing weak European markets cues. Metal, IT and banking counters were on the priority list of the sellers. Sentiments remained down beat with rising crude oil prices. Traders overlooked private report that Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank is firmly focused on bringing down inflation to 4 per cent, adding that monetary policy must be forward-looking. The RBI remains prepared to undertake policy responses to deal with supply shocks which have become more frequent with profound implications. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as Chinese benchmarks were lifted by hopes for fresh support for the country’s faltering property market. European markets were trading lower as worries about slowing global growth and higher crude prices spurring inflationary pressures dented sentiment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65,619.53, down by 160.73 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 65488.03 and 65870.70. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.05%, while Small cap index was down by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.50%, Healthcare up by 0.43%, Oil & Gas up by 0.40%, FMCG up by 0.37%, Energy up by 0.27%, while Metal down by 1.67%, Realty down by 0.93%, PSU down by 0.88%, IT down by 0.71% and Bankex was down by 0.61% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 0.94%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.83%, Titan Company up by 0.55%, Sun Pharma up by 0.47% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.29%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.58%, NTPC down by 1.79%, Indusind Bank down by 1.72%, Axis Bank down by 1.52% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, raising concerns over the street, credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings’ Economist (Asia Pacific) Vishrut Rana has stated that Inflation in India is likely to remain elevated in the near terms but government policies will prevent it from rising further.

Rana noted in India the monsoon has been very patchy and overall rain was about 11 per cent below normal and this is a significant concern as it can affect grain prices in India over next few months. He further said that supplies remain very strong and the government is likely to step in to prevent significant increase in commodity, wheat and rice prices. It will help to keep food price inflation little bit low.

As per Rana, overall the inflation environment for India will depend on energy prices. Food prices will remain elevated but is unlikely to go up because of public policies. He expects overall inflation to remain elevated but not rising further for India over the next few months.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19,543.80, down by 31.10 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 19491.50 and 19604.85. There were 14 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 1.24%, HDFC Bank up by 0.94%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.84%, Cipla up by 0.73% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.51%, Hindalco down by 2.39%, Grasim Industries down by 1.84%, JIO Financial down by 1.78% and NTPC down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 204.26 points or 0.61% to 33,241.02, Jakarta Composite gained 15.12 points or 0.22% to 7,006.83 and Shanghai Composite was up by 3.71 points or 0.12% to 3,158.08. On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 6.93 points or 0.04% to 18,449.98, Straits Times fell 8.16 points or 0.25% to 3,218.67, KOSPI dropped 18.84 points or 0.73% to 2,563.34 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 53.45 points or 0.32% to 16,738.16.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 64.3 points or 0.87% to 7,373.63, France’s CAC fell 63.83 points or 0.89% to 7,190.89 and Germany’s DAX was down by 65.91 points or 0.42% to 15,705.80.