Benchmarks slid into negative territory in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased opening gains and slid into the negative territory in morning deals, as traders remained on sidelined ahead of the India’s August consumer inflation and July Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, which will be released after market hours. Traders overlooked Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the country and Saudi Arabia can look at doubling bilateral trade to $100 billion in the coming years from about $52 billion at present. He said the two countries can also look at a more balanced trade. Meanwhile, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh has said that the government is looking at further easing foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the space sector to attract overseas players. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green while comments from central banks in China and Japan interrupted the dollar's ascent, giving traders a breather ahead of U.S. inflation data that could influence when or if the Federal Reserve raises rates further.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 67036.26, down by 90.82 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 66948.18 and 67539.10. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 2.18%, while Small cap index was down by 2.63%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.55%, Telecom down by 2.46%, Power down by 2.36%, PSU down by 2.27% and Utilities down by 2.26%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.79%, TCS up by 0.74%, Sun Pharma up by 0.71%, ICICI Bank up by 0.52% and Infosys up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.84%, Tata Motors down by 1.53%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.25%, NTPC down by 1.17% and Indusind Bank down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil in its latest report has said the Indian pharmaceuticals industry is expected to log in a revenue growth of 8-10 per cent in current fiscal (FY24) aided by a steady domestic growth and increased exports to regulated markets, even as semi-regulated markets face headwinds. It stated a study of 186 drug makers, which accounted for about half of the Rs 3.7 lakh crore annual revenue of the sector last fiscal, indicates as much.

Further, he said operating profitability is also seen improving 50-100 basis points (bps) to 21 per cent this fiscal, supported by moderation in input and logistics costs, and abating pricing pressure in the US generics market. It stated credit profiles will remain stable owing to low-leverage balance sheets and moderate capex plans.  

Crisil Research Director Aniket Dani said ‘Similar to last fiscal, domestic growth in fiscal 2024, will be led by 5-6 per cent increase in realisations, supported partly by high price hikes allowed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for drugs under price regulation.’ He added sale of existing drugs and new launches will drive 3-4 per cent volume growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19950.85, down by 45.50 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 19914.65 and 20110.35. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.91%, Divi's Lab up by 1.49%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.99%, Sun Pharma up by 0.83% and TCS up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.30%, BPCL down by 2.25%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.97%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.74% and Coal India down by 1.72% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 2.06 points or 0.01% to 18,098.51, Taiwan Weighted added 115.06 points or 0.7% to 16,548.01, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.25 points or 0.04% to 3,144.03 and Nikkei 225 surged 240.99 points or 0.74% to 32,708.75.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 6.98 points or 0.22% to 3,211.30, Jakarta Composite plunged 21.07 points or 0.3% to 6,942.32 and KOSPI dropped 15.35 points or 0.6% to 2,541.53.