Bourses add losses in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks magnified their losses in late afternoon session, as traders were nervous ahead of the US Fed meet outcome later tonight. Banking stocks witnessed notable losses. Investors overlooked RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Member Ashima Goyal’s statement that the Indian economy has started doing well even in an unsupportive global environment, as the Modi-led government implemented various reforms in the last nine years, resulting in improvements in key macroeconomic indicators. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders awaited the US central bank’s latest policy decision. European markets were trading higher as the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave its policy rate unchanged and deliver its latest set of short-term interest rate projections. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66829.10, down by 767.74 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 66728.14 and 67294.16. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.62%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.37% and Power was up by 0.24%, while Metal down by 1.20%, Telecom down by 1.18%, Realty down by 1.12%, Bankex down by 1.07% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.79% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.30%, ITC up by 0.46%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.41%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.21% and Tata Motors up by 0.20%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.62%, JSW Steel down by 2.69%, Reliance Industries down by 2.18%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.78% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest monthly bulletin has stated that amidst weakening global prospects, the Indian economy is gaining strength led by domestic drivers - private consumption and fixed investment with strong public sector capex. It further stated that supply responses are improving and headline inflation has softened in August from the previous month’s peak. According to the monthly bulletin, India’s G20 Presidency and its outcomes with the ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as the vision of global progress assume significance in an environment where global economic activity is experiencing a loss of momentum with a dichotomy in macroeconomic conditions across regions.

The Bulletin includes six speeches, five articles and current statistics. In article ‘An Analysis of the Recent Performance of NBFC Sector’, it was noted that the consolidated balance sheet of the NBFC sector exhibited double digit year-on-year growth as at December 2022. Besides, NBFCs’ reliance on banks increased, particularly for NBFCs in the upper layer (NBFCs-UL), whose direct bank borrowings have grown steadily, accounting for nearly half of their total borrowings as at the end of December 2022.

Further, the sectoral credit distribution reveals that government-owned NBFCs in the middle layer (NBFCs-ML) lend primarily to infrastructure. All NBFCs-UL, which are privately-owned, lend overwhelmingly to the retail segment. With economic recovery underway, non-performing assets (NPAs) of the sector as per cent of total advances declined on account of lower accretion of fresh NPAs and better recoveries. NBFCs continue to maintain strong capital position and adequate buffers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19901.35, down by 231.95 points or 1.15% after trading in a range of 19878.85 and 20050.65. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.35%, Coal India up by 1.46%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.49%, ITC up by 0.44% and ONGC up by 0.35%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.63%, JSW Steel down by 2.79%, BPCL down by 2.26%, Reliance Industries down by 2.20% and SBI Life down by 2.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite gained 50.48 points or 0.72% to 7,030.80, Straits Times rose 0.65 points or 0.02% to 3,241.40 and KOSPI was up by 0.53 points or 0.02% to 2,559.74. On the flip sides, Shanghai Composite weakened 16.39 points or 0.53% to 3,108.57, Taiwan Weighted lost 101.57 points or 0.61% to 16,534.75, Hang Seng declined 111.57 points or 0.62% to 17,885.60 and Nikkei 225 was down by 218.81 points or 0.66% to 33,023.78.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 44.88 points or 0.59% to 7,705.08, France’s CAC rose 26.02 points or 0.36% to 7,308.14 and Germany’s DAX was up by 103.03 points or 0.66% to 15,767.51.