Benchmarks continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, due to losses in Banking, Realty and Consumer Durables stocks. Traders took note of former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian’s statement that the Centre has sacrificed a large portion of revenue from Goods and Services Tax (GST), up to 1 per cent of GDP, every year since the rollout of the new indirect tax regime to fund a 14 per cent compensation guarantee provided to states. Subramanian, who was actively involved in the implementation of the GST regime, also said that it would not be advisable at this point in time to bring petrol and alcohol under the GST. Sectorally, port sector stocks remained in watch with report that cargo traffic across 12 major Indian ports rose 6.8 per cent to 69.08 million tonnes (MT) in June from 64.69 MT in the year-ago month, with 10 ports showing positive growth while the remaining two witnessed a decline. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as traders awaited the release of crucial US monthly jobs report later in the day for cues on the outlook for interest rates.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79708.02, down by 341.65 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 79478.96 and 79876.25. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.37%, Industrials up by 1.32%, PSU up by 1.22%, Oil & Gas up by 1.05% and Energy up by 0.94%, while Bankex down by 0.95%, Realty down by 0.41%, Consumer Durables down by 0.28%, Auto down by 0.24% and Consumer Discretionary down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.38%, Reliance Industries up by 1.20%, JSW Steel up by 0.90%, NTPC up by 0.72% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.66%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 4.33%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.73%, Titan Company down by 1.70%, Tata Steel down by 0.68% and Indusind Bank down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, CRISIL Ratings in its latest report has said that the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is expected to see a revenue growth of 7 to 9 per cent this fiscal, helped by higher sales volume and a revival of rural markets. It said volume growth from urban consumers will also remain steady at 7 to 8 per cent supported by rising disposable incomes and continued focus on premium offerings by the industry players, especially in the personal care and home care segments.

Moreover, it stated the premiumisation trend and growth in volume will expand the operating margin of FMCG companies by 50-75 basis points to 20-21 per cent. It also the margin expansion would have been higher but for rising selling and marketing expenses amid heightened competition among organised and unorganised players alike. 
It added the product realisations in FY25 are expected to grow in low single digits with a marginal rise in prices of key raw materials for the food and beverages (F&B) segment, however, key raw material prices for personal care (PC) and home care (HC) segments are seen to be stable. The F&B segment accounts for nearly half of the sector's revenue while PC and HC segments form a quarter each.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24242.55, down by 59.60 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 24168.85 and 24260.95. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 2.32%, Cipla up by 2.07%, ONGC up by 1.97%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.59% and Reliance Industries up by 1.25%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 4.34%, Titan Company down by 1.73%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.68%, Tata Steel down by 0.70% and Indusind Bank down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 195.64 points or 1.1% to 17,832.64, Shanghai Composite weakened 27.59 points or 0.93% to 2,929.98, Straits Times fell 24.22 points or 0.7% to 3,415.66, Nikkei 225 slipped 56.47 points or 0.14% to 40,857.18 and Taiwan Weighted lost 14.24 points or 0.06% to 23,508.29.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 30.23 points or 0.42% to 7,251.12 and KOSPI increased 36.06 points or 1.28% to 2,861.00.