Domestic indices remain in red in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained in red and were trading with cut of over quarter a percent in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Selling in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Nestle and Sun Pharma companies’ stocks dragged the markets lower. Traders took note of report that Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has called on India to prioritise the enhancement of its services sector over the expansion of manufacturing to achieve sustainable economic growth and create jobs. Rajan argued that manufacturing is not the holy grail for India’s economic success. There was some buzz in IT industry related stocks ahead of the IT major -- TCS’ April-June quarter earnings. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Oil & Gas, Energy, PSU, Metal and Consumer Durables, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Healthcare, Bankex, Power and TECK. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following positive cues from the US markets overnight amid optimism over Federal Reserve rate cuts. Back home, in the stock specific development, YES Bank rallied after global rating agency Moody's revised its outlook on YES Bank from stable to positive on expectations of a gradual improvement in its depositor base and lending franchise. This will help improve its core profitability over the next 12-18 months. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79666.53, down by 258.24 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 79579.11 and 80170.09. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.15%, while Small cap index up by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.04%, Energy up by 0.93%, PSU up by 0.86%, Metal up by 0.50% and Consumer Durables up by 0.46%, while Realty down by 1.08%, Healthcare down by 0.60%, Bankex down by 0.56%, Power down by 0.24%, TECK down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.58%, Tata Steel up by 1.04%, ITC up by 0.96%, Titan up by 0.79% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.46%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.30%, Sun Pharma down by 1.29%, ICICI Bank down by 1.22% and HDFC Bank down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, CareEdge Ratings in its latest report has said that commercial vehicle sales volume is expected to decline 3-6 per cent in the current fiscal (FY25) due to a slump in demand. It noted that the drop in sales volume is due to a slowdown in demand in both the medium and heavy commercial and light commercial vehicle segments, as well as on account of high inventory levels with dealers. 

According to the report, the muted growth in FY24 was mainly due to the high base of FY23, the transition to BS VI leading to higher vehicle costs and a slowdown in infrastructure projects amidst elections during the latter part of the year leading to higher inventory with dealers.

However, the report said there is hope for improvement in the latter half of FY25 as infrastructure projects pick up pace post-monsoon and anticipated interest rate cuts provide some relief. It added that replacement demand and mandatory scrapping of older government vehicles are also expected to support volumes in FY25. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24259.10, down by 65.35 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 24234.50 and 24402.65. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.81%, ONGC up by 2.26%, Tata Motors up by 1.60%, BPCL up by 1.35% and Tata Steel up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.41%, Nestle down by 1.37%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.34%, ICICI Bank down by 1.21% and HDFC Bank down by 1.18% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 285.44 points or 1.63% to 17,757.11, Jakarta Composite gained 28.98 points or 0.4% to 7,316.02, Shanghai Composite strengthened 21.56 points or 0.73% to 2,960.92, Straits Times rose 13.3 points or 0.38% to 3,473.23, KOSPI increased 15.66 points or 0.55% to 2,883.65, Nikkei 225 surged 489.13 points or 1.17% to 42,321.12 and Taiwan Weighted added 370.59 points or 1.54% to 24,377.67.