Bourses continue to trade flat in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks wavered between gains and losses in late afternoon session with investors taking their position around neutral lines. Traders were worried with escalating violence in the Middle East. Meanwhile, traders took note of report that India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) remained in the deflationary zone for the sixth straight month at (-) 0.26% for the month of September 2023 as against (-) 0.52% recorded in August 2023. Deflation in the reported month is primarily due to fall in prices of coal, minerals, textiles, basic metals and food products as compared to the corresponding month of previous year. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower amid fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spark a wider conflict in the oil-rich region. European markets were trading mostly in red with escalating Israel-Gaza tensions and reports suggesting that the U.S. is considering tightening curbs to restrict China's access to advanced semiconductors and chipmaking gear.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66243.58, down by 39.16 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 66039.38 and 66342.75. There were 11 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.51%, Consumer Durables up by 0.72%, Basic Materials up by 0.65%, Energy up by 0.58% and PSU was up by 0.58%, while Telecom down by 0.48%, Healthcare down by 0.36%, TECK down by 0.11%, FMCG down by 0.08% and Bankex was down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were JSW Steel up by 1.83%, Tata Steel up by 1.60%, HCL Tech up by 1.27%, Axis Bank up by 1.22% and Power Grid up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.97%, Indusind Bank down by 1.18%, Asian Paints down by 1.12%, TCS down by 1.03% and Sun Pharma down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) remained in the deflationary zone for the sixth straight month at (-) 0.26% for the month of September 2023 as against (-) 0.52% recorded in August 2023. Deflation in the reported month is primarily due to fall in prices of coal, minerals, textiles, basic metals and food products as compared to the corresponding month of previous year.

The Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, declined 3.80% to 182.4 (provisional) in September 2023 from 189.6 (provisional) in August 2023. Prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas and Non-food Articles increased in September 2023 as compared to August, 2023. Prices of Minerals and Food Articles declined in September 2023 as compared to August 2023.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased 2.34% to 153.1 (provisional) in September 2023 from 149.6 (provisional) in August 2023. Prices of Mineral Oils and Electricity increased in September 2023 as compared to August 2023, while prices of Coal declined in September 2023 as compared to August 2023.

Besides, Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by 0.36% to 140.3 (provisional) in September 2023 from 139.8 (provisional) in August 2023. Meanwhile, for the month of July, 2023, the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 152.1 and (-) 1.23% respectively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19762.35, up by 11.30 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 19691.85 and 19781.30. There were 27 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.99%, JSW Steel up by 1.93%, Tata Steel up by 1.64%, LTIMindtree up by 1.55% and Coal India up by 1.46%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.93%, Divi's Lab down by 1.75%, Indusind Bank down by 1.11%, Asian Paints down by 1.09% and TCS down by 1.05% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 656.96 points or 2.08% to 31,659.03, Hang Seng declined 173.09 points or 0.98% to 17,640.36, Taiwan Weighted lost 130.33 points or 0.78% to 16,652.24, Jakarta Composite plunged 34.66 points or 0.5% to 6,892.12, Straits Times fell 26.37 points or 0.83% to 3,159.42, KOSPI dropped 19.91 points or 0.82% to 2,436.24 and Shanghai Composite was down by 14.29 points or 0.46% to 3,073.81.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 13.38 points or 0.19% to 6,990.15 and Germany’s DAX was down by 29.66 points or 0.2% to 15,157.00. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 6.58 points or 0.09% to 7,606.18.