Markets trade lackluster during late afternoon deals

Indian equity markets traded lackluster in late afternoon session as Brent crude oil prices continued to trade above $90 a barrel mark amid lingering tension between US and Iran over war in West Asia. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s threat to impose the toughest sanctions in history on Iran has sparked caution among investors. Further, market risk appetite remained subdued as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out capital from Indian markets. FIIs were the net sellers on Friday’s session, offloading securities worth Rs 542.71 crore.

Both Sensex and Nifty were trading with cuts of three tenth of a percent as banking, financial services and energy counters leading the laggards. Meanwhile, buying among IT, Metals and Pharmaceutical stocks capped further losses in indices.

On the global front, all Asian equity markets were trading lower as traders awaited earnings from chip giant Nvidia along with the release of key U.S. inflation data and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech for direction.  European equity markets were trading mostly in red as high crude oil prices and elevated bond yields across the globe kept market participants on edge.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77280.31, down by 260.52 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 77201.66 and 77789.40. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.24%, Telecom up by 0.95%, Basic Materials up by 0.47%, Realty up by 0.47% and IT up by 0.21%, while Bankex down by 0.53%, Consumer Durables down by 0.42%, PSU down by 0.40%, Utilities down by 0.29% and Auto down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.48%, HCL Technologies up by 1.06%, Infosys up by 0.75%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 0.42% and Interglobe Aviation up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.44%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.40%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.26%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.20% and State Bank of India down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India is all set to accelerate the next phase of growth in its electronics manufacturing sector, with the notification of the Rs 62,500 crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS). The Scheme, notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), aims to increase global competitiveness by further enhancing scale, deepening the mobile manufacturing supply chain through higher Domestic Value Addition (DVA), and strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities. 

The scheme will also support Indian mobile phone brands to achieve technological sovereignty, capture greater economic value, and encourage Indian patents in design and R&D, while generating employment. The scheme has two Target Segments- Incentivizing mobile phone manufacturing (Target Segment 1 (TS1)) and Supporting Indian mobile phone brands (Target Segment 2 (TS2)). The scheme tenure shall be 5 years, i.e. from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.

During the Scheme tenure, cumulative mobile phone production in the country is expected to reach approximately Rs 39 lakh crore, with a significant increase in mobile phone exports. MPMS is also expected to generate around 60,000 direct jobs, contributing to economic growth, employment generation, and strengthening India's position as a global electronics manufacturing hub.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24175.00, down by 77.00 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 24144.30 and 24313.00. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco Industries up by 1.80%, JSW Steel up by 1.77%, Tata Steel up by 1.43%, HCL Technologies up by 1.17% and Dr. Reddy's Labs. up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.57%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.45%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.44%, State Bank of India down by 1.36% and Bharat Electronics down by 1.32% were the top losers.

All Asian equity markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 471.36 points or 0.72% to 65,545.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 461.97 points or 1.03% to 44,762.32, Hang Seng declined 510.46 points or 2% to 25,499.00, KOSPI dropped 215.99 points or 3.23% to 6,696.96, Straits Times fell 5.51 points or 0.1% to 5,683.45, Shanghai Composite weakened 23.19 points or 0.6% to 3,882.01 and Jakarta Composite plunged 38.62 points or 0.6% to 6,487.07.

European equity markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 3.23 points or 0.04% to 8,481.20 and Germany’s DAX lost 8.16 points or 0.03% to 26,128.40, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.06 points or 0.12% to 10,829.62.