Markets trim opening losses in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made gap-down opening on Monday after touching all-time high in the previous session, as traders went for profit booking following successive sessions of gains. But, markets trimmed some of their opening losses and are trading tad lower in early deals. Initially, traders were concerned as India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a 10-month high of $24.16 billion in August. India’s exports declined by 6.86 per cent to $34.48 billion in August this year as against $37.02 billion in the same month last year. Imports too declined by 5.23 per cent to $58.64 billion as against $61.88 billion recorded in August 2022. However, foreign fund inflows aided domestic sentiments. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 164.42 crore on September 15. 

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading lower, following the negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, after some upbeat US economic data reignited concerns about the possibility of future interest rate hikes. Traders also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the US Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday. The Japanese stock market is closed on account of Respect for The Aged Day holiday.

Back home, there is some buzz in pharma stocks amid ratings agency ICRA’s report that India’s pharmaceutical industry is expected to have a revenue growth of 8-10 percent in Financial Year 2024 (FY24). Growth is likely to be driven by price increases, new products, and health care services expanding in semi-urban and rural areas. In stock specific development, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) traded higher as its Rs 10,000-crore share buyback opens today and will close on September 25. It wil be repurchasing up to 3.12 crore shares at a revised price of Rs 3,200 apiece.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 67715.35, down by 123.28 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 67552.03 and 67720.63. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.80%, Auto up by 0.56%, Utilities up by 0.50%, Power up by 0.40% and Capital Goods up by 0.39%, while IT down by 0.58%, TECK down by 0.53%, Metal down by 0.32%, Bankex down by 0.22% and Realty down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.07%, Titan Company up by 0.92%, Asian Paints up by 0.79%, SBI up by 0.77% and NTPC up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.10%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.95%, HDFC Bank down by 0.90%, HCL Technologies down by 0.72% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over the country’s progress, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India's leadership is committed to integrating the nation into the global economy, and renewable energy plays a central role in this endeavour. He said by forging an ‘unprecedented and historic’ consensus on the first day of the G20 leaders summit, India sent a strong message to the world that it has arrived. The G20 adopted the New Delhi Leaders Summit Declaration on September 9, which is seen as a major breakthrough amid conflicting world views on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

He said ‘Every global leader from both sides of the divide in a very broken world wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the G20 Presidency of India to succeed, and we were able to forge an unprecedented and historic consensus on the first day itself of the G20 leaders summit, sending a strong message to the world that India has arrived’. He said the world also has seen India's capacity and capability, whether it was during the Covid pandemic or tackling the challenges that have emerged from the conflict in Ukraine. He said ‘...the world has seen India's leadership led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has seen the capability of 140 crore Indians to be able to provide the world with a better deal’.

The minister further said the larger companies in the renewable energy space should be looking at integrating with global companies by engaging in collaborations and partnerships. On agricultural exports, he said agri-related exports crossed over $50 billion last year and are expected to grow significantly in the years to come. The minister stressed implementing outcomes emphasising clean, sustainable, just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition outlined in the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration while addressing a CII Conference on Clean Energy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20173.75, down by 18.60 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 20121.65 and 20176.15. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.04%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.70%, Cipla up by 1.57%, Titan Company up by 1.15% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.81%, Infosys down by 1.00%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.88%, LTIMindtree down by 0.86% and HDFC Bank down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 193.85 points or 1.16% to 16,727.07, Hang Seng declined 188.39 points or 1.05% to 17,994.50, Jakarta Composite plunged 29.91 points or 0.43% to 6,952.88, KOSPI dropped 22.44 points or 0.87% to 2,578.84 and Straits Times fell 11.05 points or 0.34% to 3,269.64, while Shanghai Composite was up by 0.83 points or 0.03% to 3,118.57.