Sensex, Nifty trade in red in early deals; Asian Paints leads losers

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Friday following a slightly higher than expected inflation print, coupled with higher Index of Industrial Production reading. India’s inflation rose slightly to 3.65% in August compared with 3.6% in the previous month, as a favourable base from last year helped contain consumer inflation despite an uptick in food categories. India’s industrial output rose to 4.8% in July, compared with a 4.7% growth in the previous month, as manufacturing activity picked up post elections with investments gaining traction again. Domestic indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- are trading in red in early deals as investors opted to book some profit after previous session’s sharp gains. Surge in crude oil prices overnight also dampened sentiments in the markets. Oil prices rose as investors wondered how much US output would be hindered by Hurricane Francine's impact on the Gulf of Mexico. Downside remained capped after G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant stated that India will be driving 20 per cent of the world's economic growth in the next decade as it continues its march to become the third largest economy globally. He noted that India continues to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world and is the fifth-largest economy. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as traders are upbeat about the rising prospects of an interest rate cut by the US Fed next week, and probability of a series of interest rate cuts before the end of the year, in the wake of recent data on US inflation. Back home, steel stocks are in focus as rating agency ICRA said domestic steel consumption is likely to witness 9-10 per cent growth this financial year. The demand for steel was robust in the first quarter of the ongoing financial year with consumption growing at a rate of 15 per cent on a year-on-year basis amidst competitively priced imports. Besides, Adani Group stocks are in limelight after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged, citing newly released Swiss criminal court records that the Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across six Swiss bank accounts linked to the Group as part of an investigation into allegations of money laundering.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82784.80, down by 177.91 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 82653.22 and 83092.93. 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 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.64%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.57%, Realty up by 1.38%, Basic Materials up by 0.79%, PSU up by 0.56% and Telecom up by 0.43%, while FMCG down by 0.58%, TECK down by 0.15%, Healthcare down by 0.09%, IT down by 0.07% and Bankex down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.94%, JSW Steel up by 1.49%, Tata Motors up by 1.02%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.90% and Nestle up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.23%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.94%, ITC down by 0.78%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.56% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has said that India will be driving 20 per cent of the world's economic growth in the next decade as it continues its march to become the third largest economy globally. He noted that India continues to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world and is the fifth-largest economy.

He stated ‘In the next three years, we will overtake Japan and Germany to be the third largest economy in the world. In a world which is starved for growth, India is an outlier and has emerged as a very resilient powerhouse driving growth.’

Moreover, he said ‘What we are witnessing today is a once-in-a-generation shift in our economic position. Just a few years back, we were in the fragile five, and from the fragile five, we moved to the top five in a decade.’ He noted that the country needs to transform the lives of people living in rural areas, improve health outcomes and enhance nutritional standards to become a developed nation by 2047.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25331.70, down by 57.20 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 25292.45 and 25430.50. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 2.63%, Tata Steel up by 2.30%, JSW Steel up by 1.50%, BPCL up by 1.10% and Hindalco up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.38%, Divi's Lab down by 1.05%, ITC down by 1.02%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.01% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 171.15 points or 0.98% to 17,411.54, Taiwan Weighted added 44.74 points or 0.21% to 21,697.99, Jakarta Composite gained 8.69 points or 0.11% to 7,806.84 and Straits Times rose 6.89 points or 0.19% to 3,563.42. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 slipped 284.86 points or 0.78% to 36,548.41, KOSPI dropped 4.92 points or 0.19% to 2,567.17 and Shanghai Composite weakened 2.35 points or 0.09% to 2,714.77.