Benchmarks continue to trade marginally in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade marginally in red in morning deals, due to losses in IT, TECK and Metal stocks amid weak cues from their global counterparts. Traders remained cautious as the commerce ministry in its latest data stating that India’s merchandise exports declined 6.86 per cent to $34.48 billion, the seventh month in a row, in August 2023 as compared to $37.02 billion in August 2022, due to a fall in shipments from key sectors like petroleum and gems and jewellery on subdued global demand. However, losses remain capped as exchange data showing that foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Friday as they bought equities worth Rs 164.42 crore. Traders also took a note of Union Minister Piyush Goyal expressing optimism over the country’s progress and stating that India's leadership is committed to integrating the nation into the global economy, and renewable energy plays a central role in this endeavour. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as investors exercised caution ahead of a significant US Federal Reserve policy meeting scheduled later in the week. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 67766.15, down by 72.48 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 67552.03 and 67773.97. There were 18 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.30%, PSU up by 1.01%, Utilities up by 0.63%, Consumer Durables up by 0.58% and Capital Goods up by 0.54%, while IT down by 0.60%, TECK down by 0.54%, Metal down by 0.37%, Realty down by 0.31% and Telecom down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.99%, Titan Co up by 1.58%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.29%, Tata Motors up by 1.13% and SBI up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.26%, HDFC Bank down by 1.19%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.92%, Wipro down by 0.88% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Icra has said leading domestic pharmaceutical companies are expected to report a revenue growth of 8-10 per cent in the current fiscal (FY24). It expects growth of its sample set of 25 companies, which account for 60 per cent of the overall Indian pharmaceutical industry, to sustain at 8-10 per cent in FY24. This is likely to be supported by continued price increases, new product launches and rising penetration of healthcare services in semi-urban and rural areas.

It further stated despite several disruptive events over the last few years, the domestic drug market witnessed a healthy CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 9.7 per cent between FY14 and FY23.  Growth in recent years has largely been supported by price increases and new product introductions even as volume growth has been negative or 2-3 per cent at best.

Besides, it said that acute therapies, accounting for 62-65 per cent of the pharma industry, have continued to outpace growth in chronic therapies since FY22. However, the trend is expected to reverse going forward. Moreover, it said  ‘With increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases and given the long duration of medicine courses for chronic diseases, the growth of chronic therapies in the IPM (Indian Pharmaceutical Market) is expected to be higher than that of acute therapies.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20185.65, down by 6.70 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 20121.65 and 20188.20. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.93%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.44%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.64%, Titan Company up by 1.59% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.24%, Infosys down by 1.20%, HDFC Bank down by 1.19%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.02% and Wipro down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 199.63 points or 1.18% to 16,721.29, KOSPI dropped 23.84 points or 0.92% to 2,577.44, Jakarta Composite plunged 24.86 points or 0.36% to 6,957.93, Straits Times fell 11.33 points or 0.35% to 3,269.36 and Hang Seng declined 181.37 points or 1.01% to 18,001.52.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 0.83 points or 0.03% to 3,118.57.