Key gauges remain in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, as rising crude oil prices heightened concerns over uncertainty surrounding efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Investors also remained watchful ahead of India and U.S. CPI inflation data, which could provide further clues about the future course of interest rates. Traders overlooked SBI Research’s report stated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is likely to rise to 8% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1FY27), higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 7% growth projection. 

Both the Sensex and Nifty were trading over 0.25% lower in early deals, pressured by selling in Realty, Utilities and FMCG stocks. Gains in metal and Telecom stocks helped cushion the decline. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity, purchasing Indian equities worth Rs 258.55 crore on August 11. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green despite uncertainty about the reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting spike in crude oil prices. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77920.16, down by 234.09 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 77784.04 and 78263.33. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.90%, Telecom up by 0.70%, PSU up by 0.61%, Bankex up by 0.61%, Basic Materials up by 0.44% while, Realty down by 0.80%, Utilities down by 0.76%, FMCG down by 0.75%, IT down by 0.71%, Consumer Durables down by 0.62% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were State Bank Of India up by 1.22%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.61%, Axis Bank up by 0.18%, ICICI Bank up by 0.18% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.10%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.75%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.06%, Eternal down by 0.99%, TCS down by 0.92% and Reliance Industries down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government in its data has said that India’s net direct tax collections rose by 23.09 per cent to over Rs 8.11 lakh crore as of August 10 in the current fiscal year (FY27). Net corporate tax collections increased 19.83 per cent to about Rs 2.70 lakh crore, while net non-corporate tax collections, which include personal income tax, grew 23 per cent to Rs 5.07 lakh crore during the period. 

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) revenues grew 51 per cent to Rs 33,824 crore till August 10. Refunds worth Rs 1.43 lakh crore were issued between April 1 and August 10, a 3.8 per cent growth over the year-ago period.

Further, it stated gross direct tax collection (which includes corporate, personal income tax and STT) recorded 19.75 per cent growth till August 10 to about Rs 9.55 lakh crore. The government had budgeted to collect Rs 26.97 lakh crore from direct taxes in the FY27, a 15 per cent growth over Rs 23.40 lakh crore collected in FY26.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24395.60, down by 76.10 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 24357.50 and 24473.30. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco Industries up by 3.04%, Grasim Industries up by 1.57%, State Bank of India up by 1.28%, Nestle India up by 0.77% and Trent up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Max Healthcare down by 2.29%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.66%, TCS down by 1.42%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.08% and Infosys down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 508.78 points or 0.76% to 67,479.00, Taiwan Weighted added 363.67 points or 0.81% to 45,484.39, Jakarta Composite gained 63.77 points or 1.02% to 6,331.65, Shanghai Composite strengthened 9.55 points or 0.24% to 3,943.64 and KOSPI increased 225.33 points or 3.55% to 6,570.86.

On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 305.82 points or 1.19% to 25,347.00 and Straits Times fell 22.35 points or 0.39% to 5,731.82.