Key gauges continue to trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade flat in morning deals, as the focus remained on trade negotiations in the weeks ahead, with India and the US working towards reaching an agreement before August 1. Some concerns also came as exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,681.23 crore on a net basis on Monday. However, traders took some support with Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary’s statement that the government has been taking a multi-pronged approach to sustain economic growth amid trade tensions, uncertain capital flows, and geopolitical risks. He said ‘The estimate of fiscal deficit for the year 2025-26, as presented in the Union Budget 2025-26, is at 4.4 per cent. There is no requirement felt for revision of fiscal deficit target at this stage, and neither is it considered appropriate’.  On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as investors awaited progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union, for clues about tariffs.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82294.14, up by 93.80 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 82245.64 and 82538.17. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.46%, while Small cap index was down by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.30%, Consumer Disc up by 0.27%, Metal up by 0.02%, Basic Materials up by 0.01% and IT up by 0.01%, while Realty down by 1.15%, Telecom down by 0.78%, Healthcare down by 0.72%, Auto down by 0.65% and Power down by 0.54% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 8.87%, Titan Company up by 1.01%, ICICI Bank up by 0.89%, HDFC Bank up by 0.74% and Trent up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.34%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.09%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.09%, Sun Pharma down by 1.01% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a draft circular on digital banking, has said that third-party products and services should not be displayed on banks' digital banking channels. The 'Reserve Bank of India (Digital Banking Channels Authorisation) Directions, 2025' said banks should put in place a risk-based transaction monitoring and surveillance mechanism. It stated study of customer transaction behaviour pattern and monitoring unusual transactions or obtaining prior confirmation from customers for outlier transactions may be incorporated in the systems in accordance with the Fraud Risk Management Policy of the bank. Stakeholders' comments have been sought on the draft till August 11.

It mentioned ‘Third-party products and services, including those of promoter groups or bank group entities (subsidiaries/joint ventures/associates), shall not be displayed on banks' digital banking channels except as specifically permitted by the Reserve Bank of Indian from time to time.’ Banks offering mobile banking service (other than through mobile applications) must ensure that customers across mobile network operators can avail of the service, meaning the service will be network independent.

It said banks shall put in place appropriate risk mitigation measures in accordance with their policies, like transaction limit (per transaction, daily, weekly, monthly), transaction velocity limit, and fraud checks depending on their risk perception. Further, it said banks should not make it mandatory for the customer to opt for any digital banking channel to avail any other facility like debit cards. Moreover, it stated ‘While it may be more convenient for the customer to opt for some services together (for example, virtual access to card controls), the choice to apply for digital banking facilities shall lie solely with the customer.’ Also, it said banks should obtain explicit consent from the customer for providing digital banking services, which may be duly recorded/documented.

Besides, it said ‘banks shall require prior approval of the Reserve Bank for launching transactional banking facility.’ Subject to fulfilment of the prudential eligibility criteria, banks may apply to the respective Regional Office of the Reserve Bank for launch of transactional banking facility, along with a board resolution. They will also have to provide supporting documents, including related to net worth as per minimum regulatory requirement or Rs 50 crore, whichever is higher, as on March 31 of the immediately preceding financial year. It also said all banks which have implemented Core Banking Solution (CBS) and have enabled their public-facing Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to handle Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) traffic are eligible to provide view-only banking facility for internet banking, mobile banking, and other digital banking channels-based services.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25097.80, up by 7.10 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 25085.60 and 25182.00. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 8.72%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.52%, Hindalco up by 1.03%, Titan Company up by 0.96% and ICICI Bank up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 1.56%, Tata Motors down by 1.34%, Shriram Finance down by 1.32%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.21% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 152.34 points or 0.38% to 39,666.77, Taiwan Weighted lost 309.06 points or 1.32% to 23,031.50, KOSPI dropped 44.59 points or 1.39% to 3,166.22 and Straits Times fell 8.98 points or 0.21% to 4,198.15. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.99 points or 0.25% to 3,568.78, Jakarta Composite gained 15.59 points or 0.21% to 7,413.78 and Hang Seng advanced 62.97 points or 0.25% to 25,057.11.