Bourses continue to trade in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade below neutral lines in late afternoon session. Investors overlooked the report that India's ranking in the Global Innovation Index has improved, climbing one place to 39th rank out of 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024. Last year, the country was ranked 40th. The consistent improvement in the GII ranking is owing to the knowledge capital, vibrant start-up ecosystem, and the amazing work done by the public and private research organisations. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continue to bet on further reductions in interest rates by the US Fed, and on hopes about more stimulus measures from the Chinese government to spur growth in the world's second largest economy. European markets were trading higher ahead of the crucial PCE-based inflation update due from the U.S. on Friday that could sway the Fed's plans regarding further monetary easing.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85627.36, down by 208.76 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 85542.10 and 85978.25. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.32%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.21%, Energy up by 1.74%, PSU up by 1.07%, Metal up by 0.92% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.76%, while Realty down by 1.68%, Telecom down by 0.86%, Bankex down by 0.80%, Utilities down by 0.03% and Capital Goods was down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.67%, Titan Company up by 1.76%, HCL Tech up by 1.59%, NTPC up by 1.19% and Reliance Industries up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 3.01%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.32%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.65%, HDFC Bank down by 1.46% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's ranking in the Global Innovation Index has improved, climbing one place to 39th rank out of 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024. Last year, the country was ranked 40th. The consistent improvement in the GII ranking is owing to the knowledge capital, vibrant start-up ecosystem, and the amazing work done by the public and private research organisations.

The GII is a reliable tool for governments across the world to assess the innovation-led social and economic changes in their respective countries. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom are the world's most innovative economies, while China, Turkiye, India, Viet Nam and the Philippines are the fastest 10-year climbers. 

The report added that India leads the lower middle-income group. It holds the record for over performing on innovation for the 14th consecutive year. It said that in Central and Southern Asia, India (39th) continues to lead, moving one spot forward. The Islamic Republic of Iran (64th, down by two places) comes second, followed by Kazakhstan (78th). Uzbekistan (83rd) retains its 4th position within the region.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26191.40, down by 24.65 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 26166.95 and 26277.35. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 6.58%, Sun Pharma up by 2.64%, Cipla up by 2.36%, Hindalco up by 2.12% and HCL Tech up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 3.05%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.44%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.65%, HDFC Bank down by 1.57% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite plunged 39.87 points or 0.52% to 7,704.65, Taiwan Weighted lost 36.02 points or 0.16% to 22,822.79, KOSPI dropped 21.79 points or 0.82% to 2,649.78 and Straits Times was down by 8.55 points or 0.24% to 3,573.68. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 86.58 points or 2.8% to 3,087.53, Hang Seng advanced 707.72 points or 3.43% to 20,632.30 and Nikkei 225 was up by 903.93 points or 2.27% to 39,829.56.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.29 points or 0.27% to 8,307.20, France’s CAC rose 10.06 points or 0.13% to 7,752.15 and Germany’s DAX was up by 65.83 points or 0.34% to 19,304.19.