Bourses continue gaining momentum in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their gaining momentum and currently traded at day’s high levels in late afternoon session. Nifty scaled new record high. Ease in retail inflation and a rise in industrial output improved invertors’ sentiments. Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 6.83 per cent in August 2023 mainly due to softening prices of vegetables. CPI was at 7 per cent in August 2022. But, still the inflation remains above the comfort level of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has the mandate to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors braced for key U.S. inflation data due later in the day that could influence rate hike expectations. The CPI reading is expected to show that inflation accelerated in August from the prior month on the back of higher fuel prices and strong consumer spending. European markets were trading lower after data showed Eurozone industrial production fell more than expected in July. Industrial output fell 1.1 percent month-on-month, the Eurostat said in its latest release, versus -0.7 percent expected and a 0.4 percent increase reported in June.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 67501.83, up by 280.70 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 67053.36 and 67544.45. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.93%, PSU up by 1.49%, Energy up by 1.36%, Oil & Gas up by 1.26% and Metal was up by 1.20%, while Capital Goods down by 0.95%, Industrials down by 0.64%, Auto down by 0.26%, IT down by 0.19% and Power was down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 2.53%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.24%, SBI up by 1.38%, Axis Bank up by 1.29% and Indusind Bank up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.73%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.73%, JSW Steel down by 0.51%, TCS down by 0.46% and Nestle down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest census on foreign liabilities and assets of Indian direct investment entities for 2022-23 has showed that the United States (US) was the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, followed by Mauritius, the United Kingdom and Singapore. In case of overseas direct investment (ODI) also, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom were among the major destinations.

The report further noted that the manufacturing sector continued to attract the largest share of FDI equity, both at market value as well as at face value. Among services, ‘information & communication’ and ‘financial & insurance activities’ were the major FDI recipient sectors. It also stated that the total sales and purchase of foreign subsidiary entities in India grew by 22.7 per cent and 24.5 per cent respectively, in the rupee terms during 2022-23.

As per the data report, foreign subsidiaries in India continued to maintain strong external trade linkages as the exports and imports accounted for more than one-third of their sales and purchases, respectively. It added that activities of overseas subsidiaries of Indian companies accelerated during 2022-23 with 50 per cent increase in sales and 61.5 per cent increase in purchase in the rupee terms.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20076.80, up by 83.60 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 19944.10 and 20093.30. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.60%, Grasim Industries up by 3.16%, Titan Company up by 2.49%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.17% and Tata Consumer up by 1.97%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.89%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.69%, Divi's Lab down by 0.91%, Adani Ports down by 0.91% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 69.85 points or 0.21% to 32,706.52, Hang Seng declined 16.67 points or 0.09% to 18,009.22, Shanghai Composite weakened 13.99 points or 0.45% to 3,123.07, Jakarta Composite plunged 12.53 points or 0.18% to 6,921.44 and KOSPI was down by 1.88 points or 0.07% to 2,534.70. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 7.28 points or 0.23% to 3,221.74 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 8.8 points or 0.05% to 16,581.51.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 16.41 points or 0.22% to 7,511.12, France’s CAC fell 47.48 points or 0.65% to 7,205.40 and Germany’s DAX was down by 91.11 points or 0.58% to 15,624.42.