Sensex, Nifty trade flat with negative bias in early deals

Indian markets started the Tuesday’s session flat with positive bias but soon slipped below neutral lines amid weakness in Asian counterparts as traders largely stayed sidelines and reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of any new catalyst after a holiday on Wall Street. Data showing continued contraction in Eurozone manufacturing activity weighed on sentiment. Also, wins for the populist parties in German state elections added a fresh layer of political uncertainty in European markets. This followed an official survey that showed China's factory activity hit a six-month low in August. Traders now await more U.S. economic data this week for additional clues on the US Fed's interest rate path.

Closer home, Sensex and Nifty are trading flat with negative bias in early deals ahead of weekly expiry of the Nifty Financial Services index. Some cautiousness came as Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran stated that India is well-positioned for strong global economic growth, but the country must be cautious of financialization as it progresses towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. Nageswaran highlighted the risks of an oversized financial market influencing public policy and economic outcomes, a trend that he believes India should avoid.

On the sectoral front, auto stocks are in focus as rating agency ICRA said the commercial vehicles (CV) wholesale volume may witness year-on-year growth of up to 3 per cent in current fiscal year. ICRA had earlier estimated 4-7 per cent decline in CV volume for FY25. In stock specific developments, Kaynes Technologies zoomed after govt approves its semiconductor facility proposal. Hindustan Aeronautics traded higher after the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the purchase of 240 aero-engines for Su-30 MKI aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82487.73, down by 72.11 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 82462.96 and 82675.06. There were 12 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.44%, while Small cap index was up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.69%, Telecom up by 0.67%, Capital Goods up by 0.65%, Industrials up by 0.59% and FMCG up by 0.57%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.24%, Utilities down by 0.22%, Bankex down by 0.20%, TECK down by 0.12%, Energy down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 0.86%, Sun Pharma up by 0.63%, Nestle up by 0.51%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.47% and Asian Paints up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.19%, Infosys down by 0.55%, ICICI Bank down by 0.51%, Titan Company down by 0.44% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s growth momentum, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) -- V Anantha Nageswaran has said that policy autonomy and managing global capital outflows effectively will safeguard India’s growth momentum.

He said ‘With a modest current account deficit, India relies on global capital flows, but India has one of the brightest global economic growth prospects. It is up to us to sustain this momentum and use it to our advantage in carving out policy space for ourselves’.

He noted that the phenomenon of financialization, characterized by a high level of market capitalization relative to GDP, leads to a disproportionate focus on market expectations and trends which can distort macroeconomic outcomes and policy discourse.

He emphasized ‘As India looks ahead to 2047 with optimism and hope, this is what we must avoid because the consequences of such financialization are evident in many advanced economies, including unprecedented levels of public and private debt, economic growth increasingly dependent on continued asset price inflation, and a massive surge in inequality’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25261.00, down by 17.70 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 25255.10 and 25321.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 0.83%, ITC up by 0.79%, Wipro up by 0.76%, Sun Pharma up by 0.73% and SBI Life Insurance up by 0.72%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.30%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.59%, BPCL down by 0.56%, Titan Company down by 0.55% and Infosys down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 87.47 points or 0.39% to 22,147.63, Nikkei 225 slipped 64.76 points or 0.17% to 38,636.11, Hang Seng declined 64.45 points or 0.36% to 17,627.52, Jakarta Composite plunged 43.12 points or 0.56% to 7,651.41, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.56 points or 0.52% to 2,796.48 and KOSPI dropped 5.19 points or 0.19% to 2,675.81, while Straits Times rose 12.6 points or 0.36% to 3,475.68.