Markets trade in green in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded in green in late afternoon session despite weak Wholesale Price Index (WPI) numbers. Investors overlooked report that the annual rate of inflation based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index number edged up to 3.36 per cent in June this year compared to the same month of the previous year. The month-over-month change in WPI for June stood at 0.39 per cent as compared to May. The increase is primarily due to the prices of food articles going up by as much as 10.87 per cent during the month. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as China's GDP data disappointed and the dollar firmed up on bets that Donald Trump will win the upcoming presidential election after an assassination attempt on his life Saturday. European markets were trading lower after a raft of dour updates from companies made investors, already jittery from the assassination attempt on U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, more cautious. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80717.40, up by 198.06 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 80556.97 and 80862.54. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.83%, while Small cap index was up by 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.04%, Realty up by 1.48%, Energy up by 1.40%, PSU up by 1.39% and Utilities was up by 1.13%, while IT down by 0.09%, Capital Goods down by 0.08%, Consumer Durables down by 0.02% and Industrials was down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.72%, NTPC up by 2.54%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.72%, ITC up by 1.24% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.45%, Tata Steel down by 1.19%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.60%, JSW Steel down by 0.58% and Titan Company down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to foster innovation and sustainability in India's agricultural sector, the Government is poised to launch the 'Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises' (AgriSURE) to support start-ups and agripreneurs through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic, and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), as well as direct equity support to start-ups working in Agriculture and allied sectors. A Rs 750 crore Category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) will be set up which will offer both equity and debt support, specifically targeting high-risk, high- impact activities in the agriculture value chain.

The fund will be set up with an initial corpus of Rs 750 crore with Rs 250 crore each from NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture, and Rs 250 crore from other institutions. The fund will focus on innovation in agriculture, enhancing the farm produce value chain, creating rural infrastructure, generating employment, and supporting Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs). 

The fund will also encourage IT-based solutions and machinery rental services for farmers. NABVENTURES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, will be the Fund manager of AgriSURE. The fund is designed to operate for 10 years, extendable by two or more years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24602.70, up by 100.55 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 24522.75 and 24635.05. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.49%, Shriram Finance up by 3.12%, SBI Life up by 3.10%, SBI up by 2.72% and NTPC up by 2.51%. On the flip side, LTIMindtree down by 1.87%, Grasim Industries down by 1.50%, Asian Paints down by 1.50%, Tata Steel down by 1.20% and Tata Consumer down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Straits Times rose 4.82 points or 0.14% to 3,502.60, KOSPI increased 3.92 points or 0.14% to 2,860.92 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.71 points or 0.09% to 2,974.01. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted lost 37.57 points or 0.16% to 23,879.36, Jakarta Composite plunged 61.34 points or 0.84% to 7,266.24 and Hang Seng was down by 277.44 points or 1.54% to 18,015.94.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 11.67 points or 0.14% to 8,241.24, France’s CAC fell 31.6 points or 0.41% to 7,692.72 and Germany’s DAX was down by 38.03 points or 0.2% to 18,710.15.