Bourses trade deep in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded deep in red in late afternoon session ahead of monthly F&O series expiry. Besides, investors were cautious ahead of India's fiscal deficit data, which scheduled to be released on September 29. The overall market breadth was negative as 2032 shares were declining and 1587 were advancing, while 142 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Sentiments were downbeat after India's external debt rose marginally to $629.1 billion at June-end 2023, although the debt-GDP ratio declined. The debt rose by about $4.7 billion from $624.3 billion at March-end. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as traders reacted to the US dollar's continued strength against major Asian currencies and the jump in crude oil prices to one year highs. European markets were trading lower for a sixth straight day on Thursday in choppy trading, with gains in energy stocks limiting losses, while investors awaited inflation data from Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65617.24, down by 501.45 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 65554.03 and 66406.01. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.78%, while Small cap index was down by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.82%, Industrials up by 0.45% and Telecom was up by 0.09%, while IT down by 1.63%, FMCG down by 1.39%, TECK down by 1.24%, Auto down by 1.15% and Consumer Durables was down by 1.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.26%, Axis Bank up by 0.27%, SBI up by 0.21%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.20% and Power Grid up by 0.10%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 4.02%, Asian Paints down by 3.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.59%, Titan Company down by 1.67% and ITC down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the World Intellectual Property Organization in its latest report has showed that India retains 40th rank out of 132 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023 rankings. India has been on a rising trajectory, over the past several years in the Global Innovation Index, from a rank of 81 in 2015 to 40 in 2023. The GII is a reliable tool for governments across the world to assess the innovation-led social and economic changes in their respective countries. Over the years, the GII has established itself as a policy tool for various governments and helped them to reflect upon the existing status quo.

The consistent improvement in the GII ranking is owing to the immense knowledge capital, the vibrant start-up ecosystem, and the amazing work done by the public and private research organizations. All Departments of the Government, including Scientific Departments such as the Department of Science and Technology; the Department of Biotechnology; the Department of Space; and the Department of Atomic Energy and also departments such as Ministry of Electronics and IT, Department of Telecommunications, Department of Agricultural Research & Education and the Department of Health Research have played a pivotal role in enriching the National Innovation Ecosystem. Most importantly, the Atal Innovation Mission has played a major role in expanding the Innovation ecosystem.

NITI Aayog has been working tirelessly to ensure the optimization of the national efforts for bringing policy-led innovation in different areas such as electric vehicles, biotechnology, nanotechnology, space, alternative energy sources, etc. It has also played a role in expanding the innovation eco-system in states and districts. A constant thrust in monitoring and evaluating India’s position in the global rankings has been provided by the NITI Aayog, including in the GII.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19549.50, down by 166.95 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 19540.00 and 19766.65. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.00%, ONGC up by 0.32%, Axis Bank up by 0.28%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.10% and SBI up by 0.09%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 4.68%, Asian Paints down by 4.19%, LTIMindtree down by 3.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.59% and Britannia down by 2.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.16 points or 0.1% to 3,110.48, Straits Times rose 1.59 points or 0.05% to 3,201.62 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 43.38 points or 0.27% to 16,353.74. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 499.38 points or 1.57% to 31,872.52 and Hang Seng was down by 238.84 points or 1.37% to 17,373.03.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 54.71 points or 0.72% to 7,538.51, France’s CAC fell 12.07 points or 0.17% to 7,059.72 and Germany’s DAX was down by 36.11 points or 0.24% to 15,181.34.