Domestic indices continue to trade lower in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices continued to witness weakness in late morning deals owing to selling in Infosys, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics, Reliance Industries and Asian Paints companies’ stocks. Traders were cautious amid renewed tariff warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump over India’s ongoing imports of Russian oil. Further, depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 14 paise to 87.80 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks. Market participants overlooked report that India’s services sector continued strong growth momentum in July. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index grew to 60.5 in July from 60.4 in June.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Basic Materials, Metal, Telecom, Power and Auto, while selling was witnessed in Oil & Gas, IT, Energy, Realty and FMCG.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80716.84, down by 301.88 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 80558.94 and 81010.49. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.12%, while Small cap index down by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.28%, Metal up by 0.22%, Telecom up by 0.18%, Power up by 0.17% and Auto up by 0.13%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.82%, IT down by 0.75%, Energy down by 0.69%, Realty down by 0.66% and FMCG down by 0.60% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.04%, Axis Bank up by 0.86%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.79%, SBI up by 0.65% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.63%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.48%, ICICI Bank down by 1.07%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.00%, Reliance Industries down by 0.94% and Asian Paints down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, government think tank Niti Aayog in its report titled 'Unlocking a $200 Billion Opportunity: Electric Vehicles in India', has pitched for a National Electric Vehicle (EV) policy with clear targets and timelines to fast-track India's electric mobility transition. The Aayog further recommended expanding corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) norms to a wider segment of vehicles. It called for establishing a National EV policy with clear targets and timelines, and a regulatory framework with phased EV mandates. It also pitched for a clear policy, with target timelines, for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption.   

The report said create a pooled fund with contributions from the public budget and multilateral development banks for providing lower-interest loans for the procurement of e-buses and e-trucks, and suggested designing and launching an appropriate scheme to channel funds. It also called for prioritising service delivery models over asset procurement, shifting capital costs to operating expenditures and scaling R&D efforts to drive down battery costs, enhance energy density and reduce reliance on imported rare earth materials. Strategic scaling of charging infrastructure and enhancing public awareness and information systems are critical enablers. India seeks to attain a 30 per cent share of electric vehicles in total vehicles sold by 2030.

According to the report, sales of EVs in India increased from 50,000 in 2016 to 2.08 million in 2024, against global EV sales of 9,18,000 units in 2016 to 18.78 million in 2024. It said India's transition has been slow to start, but it is picking up. Noting that India's EV penetration was only about one-fifth of the global penetration in 2020, but has picked up to over two-fifths in 2024, the report said it continues to show an increasing trend, though relatively slow. It further said India has progressed to only about 7.6 per cent of sales in 2024, which is far behind its target of 30 per cent by 2030. Thus, it has taken nearly 10 years to reach a penetration level of 7.6 per cent and now needs to increase this share by over 22 per cent in the next 5 years alone.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24637.10, down by 85.65 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 24593.15 and 24733.10. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.42%, Grasim Industries up by 0.98%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.93%, Axis Bank up by 0.92% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.54%, Asian Paints down by 1.13%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.10%, ICICI Bank down by 1.10% and Reliance Industries down by 1.08% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 265.3 points or 0.66 to 40,556.00, Hang Seng advanced 59.55 points or 0.24 to 24,793.00, Taiwan Weighted added 281.65 points or 1.19 to 23,660.59, Straits Times rose 21.79 points or 0.52 to 4,219.02, Shanghai Composite strengthened 25.71 points or 0.72 to 3,609.02, Jakarta Composite gained 71.96 points or 0.95 to 7,536.61 and KOSPI increased 48.66 points or 1.55 to 3,196.41.