Markets continue to trade flat with negative bias

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade flat with negative bias in morning session as Middle East tensions intensified following significant strikes by Israeli forces against targets inside Lebanon. Traders also remained on sidelines ahead of F&O monthly expiry on Thursday. Some concern also came as NSE data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 2,784.14 crore. However, traders took support as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) retained India's growth forecast for the current fiscal at 7 per cent and said that the economy is expected to accelerate in the coming quarters on improved farm output, and higher Government spending. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street, boosted by markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan after China's central bank unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic to support the nation's economy, primarily the property sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84887.73, down by 26.31 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 84743.04 and 84996.85. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.47%, while Small cap index down by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.65%, Metal up by 0.63%, Power up by 0.45%, Basic Materials up by 0.13%, Bankex up by 0.04% while, FMCG down by 1.01%, IT down by 0.59%, TECK down by 0.52%, Telecom down by 0.44%, Capital Goods down by 0.39% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corp up by 4.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.04%, HDFC Bank up by 0.99%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.81% and Axis Bank up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.71%, Tata Motors down by 1.13%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.13%, Nestle down by 1.08% and Asian Paints down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, SBI Research in its latest report has said that the working-age population in India has witnessed an increasing trend since 1971 and is projected to reach 64.4 per cent in the soon-to-be exercised Census. the report asserted that It will further increase to 65.2 per cent in 2031. The working age population, people in the age bracket of 15-59, rose from 55.4 per cent in 1991, to 56.9 per cent in 2001, 60.7 per cent in 2021. Further, it said the average annual growth is on a downward trajectory and is expected to decline from 2.20 per cent in 1971 to 1.00 per cent in 2024, putting the national population somewhere in the range of 138-142 crore in 2024.

It mentioned state-wise incremental share in total population growth reveals the share of southern states, mainly Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana the growth to decline while northern states, led by UP and Bihar drive the growth. North and Eastern regions together are expected to have 52 per cent share in the entire population. The administrative work to hold the long-delayed countrywide census is reportedly underway. The last decadal census was conducted in 2011 and the latest was due in 2021. The 2021 census exercise was delayed citing the then-COVID-19 pandemic and has been on hold since then. The Census provides key socio-economic and demographic data to policymakers and plays a crucial role in governance. The first census exercise was conducted in 1872. The soon-to-be-exercised census is likely to begin soon providing a range of data of a digital-heavy India that has undergone rapid changes in the last decade or so.

As per population census data, the share of children in the age group 0 -14 years increased till 1971 and gradually declined thereafter. In 2024, according to the SBI Research report authored by Group Chief Economic Adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the proportion of children in the age group 0 -14 years is projected to be 24.3 per cent whereas it was 30.9 per cent in 2011. The proportion of elderly persons has been ever-increasing since 1951 and is projected to reach 10.7 per cent in 2024 and is likely to further increase to 13.1 per cent in 2031.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25914.35, down by 26.05 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 25891.70 and 25954.15. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corp up by 4.20%, HDFC Bank up by 1.04%, Divi's Lab up by 1.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.00% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Product down by 2.05%, LTIMindtree down by 1.88%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.58%, Britannia Industries down by 1.27% and Tata Motors down by 1.21% were the top losers. 

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 116.23 points or 0.31% to 38,056.82, Taiwan Weighted added 273.65 points or 1.22% to 22,705.43, Hang Seng advanced 381.98 points or 1.97% to 19,382.54 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 49.52 points or 1.7% to 2,912.65.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 23.06 points or 0.64% to 3,599.68, KOSPI dropped 3.83 points or 0.15% to 2,627.85 and Jakarta Composite plunged 101.47 points or 1.3% to 7,677.02.