Benchmarks trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat in morning deals amid continuous foreign fund outflows, weak trends from Asian markets and selling in Realty and Banking stocks. According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) again turned sellers on Tuesday as they offloaded equities worth Rs 1,457.96 crore. Traders took a note of Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement India’s inflation must show signs of settling around the central bank’s target of 4 percent on a sustainable basis before a rate cut can be considered. The inflation rate in July eased below the RBI’s target for the first time since 2019, but the central bank expects it to climb back again from September. Sector-wise, telecom sector stocks remained in watch as revealed in the latest annual report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) showed that the Indian telecom sector has achieved growth during the financial year 2023-2024. It reveals that India’s overall teledensity rose from 84.51 per cent at the end of March 2023 to 85.69 per cent at the end of March 2024, marking an annual growth rate of 1.39 per cent. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as investors await the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for clues on the U.S. interest-rate cuts this year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80791.49, down by 11.37 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 80627.03 and 80814.75. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.28%, while Small cap index up by 0.61%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.74%, FMCG up by 0.69%, Energy up by 0.51%, Telecom up by 0.50%, Utilities up by 0.46% while, Realty down by 1.13%, Bankex down by 0.40%, IT down by 0.14%, TECK down by 0.10% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.53%, Nestle up by 1.07%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.98%, Asian Paints up by 0.87% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.60%, ICICI Bank down by 0.67%, Tata Steel down by 0.65%, Indusind Bank down by 0.56% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Moody's Ratings in its latest report on corporates in India and Indonesia has said that rated Indian companies will spend $45-50 billion annually over the next 1-2 years towards capex as companies boost capacity, with the country's most valued firm Reliance Industries alone accounting for 30 per cent of the spendings. 

It said investments to increase vertical integration and achieve net zero targets will also keep spending high. The oil and gas sector and Reliance Industries will collectively account for over 60 per cent of the rated Indian portfolio's spending over the next couple of years. It stated the seven rated oil and gas companies in India will also account for around 30 per cent of rated Indian companies' capex. These companies will spend around $15 billion annually to expand existing capacity and make green energy investments to reduce carbon transition risk.

It added for instance, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (Baa3 stable) and Indian Oil will spend $6 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in each of the next two years on reserves addition, downstream integration and energy transition.  Moreover, it said strong earnings will continue to keep the leverage of Indian corporates low, even as companies push ahead with capital spending plans in response to consumption growth and as offshore borrowing rates remain high.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24743.90, up by 45.05 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 24654.50 and 24746.55. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 3.55%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.30%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.60%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.57% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.03%, LTIMindtree down by 0.71%, Indusind Bank down by 0.63%, ICICI Bank down by 0.61% and SBI down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 165.55 points or 0.95% to 17,345.53, Shanghai Composite weakened 11.31 points or 0.4% to 2,855.35, Straits Times fell 10.83 points or 0.32% to 3,359.48, Nikkei 225 slipped 61.84 points or 0.16% to 38,001.08 and Taiwan Weighted lost 196.73 points or 0.88% to 22,232.37.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 21.16 points or 0.28% to 7,555.15 and KOSPI increased 0.57 points or 0.02% to 2,697.20.