Sensex, Nifty trade lower in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a negative start on Friday, tracking overnight mixed cues from Wall Street as well as broadly negative cues from Asian counterparts, amid traders were cautious and optimistic that the U.S. will sign up more deals with its remaining trading partners before President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline. The UK, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia have already struck deals, while Canada, India, South Korea, and the EU are ramping up their efforts. Sensex and Nifty are trading lower with cut of around half a percent each in early deals led by selling in Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv stocks. Slowing earnings growth and persistent foreign fund outflows also dented domestic sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,133.69 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Meanwhile, India and the United Kingdom have signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement on Thursday that is expected to ease tariffs on key goods and boost bilateral market access. In stock specific development, Sun Pharma inched up as it signed a settlement agreement with the End Purchaser Plaintiffs in the generic pharmaceuticals pricing antitrust litigation in the US.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81787.07, down by 397.10 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 81721.69 and 82069.51. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.40%, while Small cap index was down by 0.69%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.23% and Healthcare up by 0.10%, while Capital Goods down by 0.98%, Power down by 0.92%, Industrials down by 0.82%, Auto down by 0.81% and Utilities down by 0.76% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 0.39%, SBI up by 0.06% and Sun Pharma up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.69%, Bajaj Finserv down by 4.52%, Infosys down by 1.21%, Power Grid down by 0.94% and Tata Motors down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is truly a game changer in trade, investment and services sectors. He said it was ‘remarkable’ that a journey which started over two decades ago culminated with a historic prime ministerial visit and in a very ‘fair, equitable and balanced agreement’ that ensures the possibility to double India-UK trade to $120 billion in the next five years. He noted that ‘Our farmers will get a lot of opportunities, because we can process those farm products and market them in the UK. Our MSME sector will get a plethora of opportunities in aircraft parts and auto components, various engineering products. Our textiles will see a massive spurt in demand, because now on a competitive basis, we will be right on top with zero duties’.

He said whether it's leather, footwear, toys, furniture, pharma products, a very wide range of India's own strengths, which we are currently exporting in big measure across the world, will find markets in the United Kingdom. He also highlighted the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), which has been agreed to be enforced alongside the FTA. He explained ‘Our people who come and serve in UK for short term, two years or three years, who today land up losing almost 25 per cent of their earnings in Social Security, which never gives them any benefit, will now have an opportunity under the DCC to pay this money into their provident fund account in India, and that money will be secure. That money will be giving them an over 8 per cent tax-free return and will become their pension and Social Security in the long run’.

He noted that though the parliamentary ratification process in the UK will take some time, the signing process gives businesses certainty for the long run due to bipartisan support in Britain for the agreement. He said ‘The UK parliamentary process will take a few months. The good part is that it has always had bipartisan support. It was largely negotiated when the Conservatives were in power, and today, with the Labor government, it has culminated into a robust and very fair and balanced agreement, and therefore, I think this will get cleared pretty quickly’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24922.15, down by 139.95 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 24907.45 and 25010.35. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 2.64%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.18%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.56%, ICICI Bank up by 0.30% and Hindalco up by 0.12%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 4.71%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.69%, Shriram Finance down by 2.86%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.84% and Infosys down by 1.40% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 306.18 points or 1.21% to 25,361.00, Nikkei 225 slipped 277.34 points or 0.66% to 41,549.00, Straits Times fell 21.03 points or 0.49% to 4,252.02, Shanghai Composite weakened 12.35 points or 0.34% to 3,593.38 and Jakarta Composite was down by 8.01 points or 0.11% to 7,522.89. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted added 18.85 points or 0.08% to 23,392.58 and KOSPI was up by 9.55 points or 0.3% to 3,200.00.