Bourses reel under pressure in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to reel under pressure in late afternoon session tracing negative cues from European markets. Globally traders were cautious after weak manufacturing data in the US brought back fears of a recession in the US economy. Domestic investors overlooked report that India’s services sector activity expanded in the month of August to the greatest extent since March as growth of incoming new business ticked higher. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index jumped to 60.9 in August from 60.3 in July, aided by productivity gains and positive demand trends. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- remained steady at 60.7 in August as against same figure of 60.7 in July.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after weak U.S. manufacturing data triggered heavy selling in chip-related stocks overnight. European markets were trading lower as investors fret about the U.S. economic outlook and await more economic readings this week for clues on the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82227.47, down by 327.97 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 81833.69 and 82330.84. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.61%, FMCG up by 0.38%, Realty up by 0.19% and Basic Materials was up by 0.09%, while Metal down by 1.31%, IT down by 1.16%, TECK down by 1.00%, PSU down by 0.99% and Telecom was down by 0.95% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.45%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.57%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.78%, Sun Pharma up by 0.73% and Nestle up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.66%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.42%, Infosys down by 1.25%, Axis Bank down by 1.12% and TCS down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector activity expanded in the month of August to the greatest extent since March as growth of incoming new business ticked higher. Moreover, payroll numbers rose solidly as companies remained upbeat regarding the economic outlook. Another positive development included a slowdown in output charge inflation, which was helped by cost pressures retreating to their lowest in four years.

According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index jumped to 60.9 in August from 60.3 in July, aided by productivity gains and positive demand trends. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- remained steady at 60.7 in August as against same figure of 60.7 in July.

The report further noted that the pick-up in total sales growth was centred on the domestic market, as new export business increased at a slower pace in August. The rise was still marked, despite easing to a six-month low. Beside, service providers signaled a further increase in their operating expenses, amid greater food, labour and transportation costs. The overall rate of inflation was, however, modest and the weakest since August 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25157.00, down by 122.85 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 25083.80 and 25192.45. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.43%, Grasim Industries up by 1.78%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.52%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.05% and Sun Pharma up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 3.37%, Coal India down by 3.12%, ONGC down by 2.96%, Hindalco down by 2.25% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1638.7 points or 4.42% to 37,047.61, Taiwan Weighted lost 999.46 points or 4.74% to 21,092.75, Hang Seng declined 194.15 points or 1.11% to 17,457.34, KOSPI dropped 83.83 points or 3.25% to 2,580.80, Straits Times fell 40.78 points or 1.19% to 3,439.56 and Shanghai Composite was down by 18.7 points or 0.67% to 2,784.28. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 35.37 points or 0.46% to 7,651.89.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 73.29 points or 0.88% to 8,225.17, France’s CAC fell 68.76 points or 0.91% to 7,506.34 and Germany’s DAX was down by 154.12 points or 0.82% to 18,592.99.