Markets continue to trade lower in late afternoon session

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71126.97, down by 468.52 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 70922.57 and 71756.58. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.79%, while Small cap index was down by 2.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.53%, Healthcare up by 0.47%, TECK up by 0.41% and Auto was up by 0.09%, while PSU down by 3.28%, Telecom down by 2.40%, Realty down by 2.27%, Industrials down by 2.24% and Utilities was down by 2.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 2.93%, HCL Tech up by 2.48%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.23%, Infosys up by 0.84% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.57%, SBI down by 2.49%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.25%, Tata Steel down by 2.23% and ICICI Bank down by 1.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure adequate growth in the nation’s power capacity in line with the rapidly growing electricity demand, the Ministry of Power has directed all states and union territories for adherence to ‘Resource Adequacy Guidelines’. 

As per the notification released by the Ministry of Power, the Indian economy is expected to keep growing at a high rate and become the third-largest economy of the world by the year 2030. As a result, power consumption has also surged, with the peak power demand rising by more than 79%, from 136 GW in 2014 to 243 GW presently. Correspondingly, generation capacity has also expanded, rising from 248.5 GW in March 2014 to 428.3 GW in December 2023, a 72.4% increase. Additionally, the nation has installed adequate inter-regional transmission infrastructure to move 117 GW of power across the nation.

Ministry of Power further noted that to cater to the rapidly growing demand, it is imperative that the country's generation capacity also develops at an accelerated rate. The Rule10 of the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 states that distribution licensees must provide power to all customers round-the-clock, with the exception of a few consumer categories for which the State Electricity Regulatory Commission has set lower supply hours. As a result, it is required that all distribution licensees tie up enough capacity for a round-the-clock power supply. In this regard, on June 28, 2023, the Indian government issued ‘Resource Adequacy Guidelines’ in accordance with Rule-16 of the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2022.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21641.30, down by 141.20 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 21574.75 and 21831.70. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 3.38%, Wipro up by 2.81%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.68%, Divi's Lab up by 2.52% and HCL Tech up by 2.51%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.15%, Coal India down by 3.54%, BPCL down by 3.17%, ONGC down by 2.73% and Indusind Bank down by 2.65% were the top losers.

In Asian markets, Jakarta Composite gained 54.3 points or 0.74% to 7,289.45.  

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 1.4 points or 0.02% to 7,573.98, France’s CAC rose 32.16 points or 0.42% to 7,679.68 and Germany’s DAX was up by 48.53 points or 0.29% to 16,975.03.