Benchmarks trade flat with negative bias

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were trading flat with negative bias in late morning deals, due to losses in Auto, Banking and Realty stocks. Traders turned cautious as data released by the Reserve Bank of India showed that India’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by $4.8 billion, reaching $670.12 billion for the week ending August 9, falling from the previous all-time high. Forex reserves, as of August 2, had touched an all time high of $675 billion, reflecting a robust external sector performance. Traders took a note of Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal’s statement that unilateral environmental measures such as the European Union's (EU) carbon tax do not reflect the principles of equity and hamper equitable world trade. He said that the Global South countries are facing challenges both in terms of developing climate and sustainable development strategies and responding to unilateral measures such as CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism). On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green amid easing fears of a US recession and hopes of the Federal Reserve achieving a soft landing. Market participants are also looking ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday, anticipating to get some cues on the probability of a rate cut in the US central bank's upcoming September meeting.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80376.54, down by 60.30 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 80332.65 and 80724.40. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 1.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.51%, Energy up by 1.25%, Utilities up by 1.18%, PSU up by 1.13% and Power up by 0.84%, while Auto down by 0.69%, Bankex down by 0.18% and Realty down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.16%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.94%, Reliance Industries up by 0.87%, Tata Steel up by 0.70% and TCS up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.86%, Tata Motors down by 1.06%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.94%, Axis Bank down by 0.79% and Nestle down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that the unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in urban areas remained unchanged at 6.6 per cent in the April-June quarter (Q1FY25). The unemployment rate in the June quarter of FY24 (Q1FY24) was also 6.6 per cent. Joblessness, or unemployment rate, is defined as the percentage of unemployed people in the labour force.

According to survey, the unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in the previous January-March quarter of FY24 (Q4FY24) was 6.7 per cent in urban areas. It also showed that the unemployment rate among females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas declined to 9 per cent in April-June 2024 from 9.1 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The rate was 8.5 per cent in January-March, 2024. Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas declined to 5.8 per cent in April-June from 5.9 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The rate was 6.1 per cent in January-March 202.

It also stated that labour force participation rate in Current Weekly Status (CWS) in urban areas for people aged 15 years and above increased to 50.1 per cent in April-June from 48.8 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The rate was 50.2 per cent in the January-March 2024. At the all-India level, in the urban areas, a total number of 5,735 FSUs (urban sampling unit curved out from Urban Frame Survey) have been surveyed during April-June 2024.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24538.30, down by 2.85 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 24522.95 and 24638.80. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.48%, LTIMindtree up by 2.07%, BPCL up by 1.91%, Shriram Finance up by 1.79% and ONGC up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.89%, Grasim Industries down by 1.53%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.30%, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.24% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.15% were the top losers. 

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 154.62 points or 0.89% to 17,584.78, Jakarta Composite gained 4.03 points or 0.05% to 7,436.12, Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.23 points or 0.42% to 2,891.66 and Taiwan Weighted added 18.92 points or 0.08% to 22,368.25.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 3.26 points or 0.1% to 3,349.63, KOSPI dropped 26.77 points or 0.99% to 2,670.46 and Nikkei 225 slipped 659.85 points or 1.73% to 37,402.82.