Indian bourses settle lower on Friday

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower in the highly volatile session on Friday as investors partially booked profit owing to bearish trend in global markets. Markets started on a positive note amid foreign fund inflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers for the fourth straight day on Thursday. FIIs net bought stocks worth Rs 415.30 crore on June 20. Traders also took some support with RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the Indian financial system is in a much stronger position, characterised by robust capital adequacy, low levels of non-performing assets, and healthy profitability of banks and non-banking lenders. However, markets soon wiped-out initial gains and slipped into red as traders turned cautious with a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stating that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to India plummeted by 43 per cent in 2023 to $28 billion amid a global decline of 2 per cent.

Sentiments remained lackluster in second half of trading session, amid weakness in Oil & Gas, FMCG and Energy shares. Traders paid no heed towards report stated that the headline HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index - a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors - increased from 60.5 in May to 60.9 in June. Though, the fall was more severe in the mid-session, markets pared some losses towards the end as some optimism remained among traders with the latest monthly payroll data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) showing that the number of fresh formal jobs generated in a month increased to a seven-month high in April, signalling a recovery in the formal labour market in the country.  

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as investors reacted to weak business activity data from the region. Eurozone business recovery slowed sharply in June as the manufacturing sector downturn gathered momentum and activity in the services sector deteriorated. The HCOB's preliminary composite Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 50.8 from May's 52.2. Asian markets settled mostly down on Friday as new data showed weakness in the U.S. economy and Treasury yields ticked higher on hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. Regional losses remained capped amid optimism that a slowing U.S. economy would help keep inflationary pressures in check and convince the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate later this year. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 269.03 points or 0.35% to 77,209.90, and the CNX Nifty was down by 65.90 points or 0.28% points to 23,501.10.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 77,808.45 and 76,802.00 respectively. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.26%, while Small cap index was up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.44%, TECK up by 1.01%, IT up by 0.74%, Consumer Durables up by 0.22%, Power up by 0.10%. while Oil & Gas down by 1.28%, FMCG down by 1.08%, Energy down by 1.02%, Capital Goods down by 0.96%, Basic Materials down by 0.92% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.32%, Infosys up by 1.08%, TCS up by 0.59%, JSW Steel up by 0.54% and NTPC up by 0.50%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.22%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.78%, Tata Motors down by 1.74%, Nestle down by 1.71% Hindustan Unilever down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with business activity increasing at quicker rates among manufacturing firms and their services counterparts, The HSBC Flash India PMI data compiled by S&P Global showed that India's private sector regained some of the momentum lost in May in the month of June. It also showed a substantial upturn in aggregate employment amid robust expansions in total new orders intakes and international sales. Meanwhile, price pressures receded. The headline HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors – increased from 60.5 in May to 60.9 in June, highlighting a quicker rate of expansion that was substantial by historical standards and broadly aligned with the average over the past 12 months.

Manufacturers saw a quicker improvement in the overall health of the sector at the end of the first fiscal quarter, with the HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI - a single figure snapshot of factory business conditions calculated from measures of new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times and stocks of purchases - rising from 57.5 in May to 58.5 in June. There were stronger contributions from all of its five sub-components. Total new orders rose sharply and to a greater extent than in May. Growth quickened at goods producers and service providers, with the faster upturn among the former. New export orders increased for the twenty-second successive month in June. Despite slowing since May, the rate of expansion was sharp and the second-fastest since the series became available in September 2014. 

The pace of job creation was marked and the fastest in over 18 years. Growth strengthened at both manufacturers and service providers, with the quicker upturn among the former. Input prices at the composite level continued to increase in June, with panellists citing higher labour and material (food, steel, electronics) costs. Although solid, the rate of inflation softened from May and was below its long-run average. Business confidence remained positive in June as private sector firms in India expect marketing efforts to bear fruit and positive demand momentum to be sustained.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,667.10 and 23,398.20. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 1.64%, LTIMindtree up by 1.38%, Hindalco up by 1.11%, Shriram Finance up by 0.80% and Tata Steel up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.42%, Adani Enterprises down by 2.04%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.96%, Nestle down by 1.90% and Tata Motors down by 1.87% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 71.2 points or 0.86% to 8,201.26, France’s CAC fell 54.66 points or 0.71% to 7,616.68 and Germany’s DAX lost 123.63 points or 0.68% to 18,130.55.