The key benchmark indices were trading with small losses in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 84.86 points or 0.15% at 57,467.53. The Nifty 50 index lost 24.95 points or 0.15% at 17,107.25.
The Sensex hit record high of 57,918.71 while the Nifty hit all time high of 17,225.75 in morning trade today.
Infosys (down 1.76%), HDFC (down 1.71%) and TCS (down 1.73%) were major drags.
The broader market outperformed the barometers. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.81%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.32%.
Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,473 shares rose and 1,625 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,881.16 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,872.40 crore in the Indian equity market on 31 August 2021, provisional data showed.
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COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 21,77,14,423 with 45,19,287 deaths. India reported 3,78,181 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,39,020 deaths while 3,19,93,644 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India administered more than 1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses yesterday. With the administration of 1,33,18,718 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed the cumulative figure of 65.41 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
The recovery of 33,964 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally of recovered patients (since the beginning of the pandemic) to 3,19,93,644. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 97.51%.
Economy:
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 52.3 in August, pointing to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the second straight month. The headline figure fell from 55.3 in July, indicating a softer rate of growth that was subdued in the context of historical survey data.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) surged 20.1% in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal. The GDP logged a high growth amid the opening of the economy after the lockdown to arrest Covid-19 and low base effect as the economy witnessed a contraction of 24.4% in the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal.
Briefing the media, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said the banking sector has now developed a cushion to withstand impending bad loans. He said inflation is expected to be in the 5 to 6% range going forward. Subramanian said India is poised for stronger growth from structural reforms, government CAPEX push and rapid inoculation. He said high-frequency indicators such as the Google mobility indicator shows activity has picked up, even grocery activity has picked up to pre-COVID 19 levels. Subramanian said MNREGA work requirement has declined in August. He said power consumption is indicating strong recovery as well.
Further, India's fiscal deficit for April-July period stood at Rs 3.21 lakh crore ($43.98 billion), which is 21.3% of the full fiscal's target. The deficit figures this fiscal appear much better than the previous financial year, when it soared to 103.1% of the estimate, mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the production of eight core industries rose by 9.4% in July against a 7.6% decline in the year-ago month. According to official data released on Tuesday showed that all sectors except crude oil registered an increase in output. The output of core sectors had registered a 7.6% decline in July 2020 due to COVID-19 related restrictions. On a month-on-month basis, output rose 5.4% in July after growing 1.5% in June.
Gainers & Losers:
Asian Paints (up 3.60%), Axis Bank (up 2.67%), Eicher Motors (up 2.39%), Nestle India (up 1.51%) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 1.39%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 2.56%), Tata Steel (down 1.95%), Bajaj Finserv (down 1.91%), Infosys (down 1.76%) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) (down 1.71%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.
Stocks in Spotlight:
HDFC Life Insurance Company lost 0.90%. The board will meet on Friday, 3 August 2021, to consider issue of equity shares and / or other securities of the company by way of preferential allotment.
Tourism Finance Corporation of India advanced 3.01% after the company announced that its board will meet on 3 September 2021 to consider fund raising.
Global Markets:
European stocks rallied across the board while most Asian stocks were positive on Wednesday.
The euro zone inflation data for August showed consumer prices increased by 3% this month from a year ago, according to preliminary estimates. This was far above expectations and the European Central Bank's 2% target. The data will put pressure on the central bank to address inflation concerns at a key meeting next week.
China's Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 last month, from 50.3 in July, breaching the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.
U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Tuesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. jobs data for August coming Friday, where they might find clues as to when the Federal Reserve may begin tapering its bond purchases which have helped to support markets during the pandemic.
The Conference Board said its closely followed index of consumer confidence slid to a six-month low at 113.8 this month from a revised 125.1 in July, reflecting concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
In other U.S. economic data, the Chicago purchasing managers index dropped to 66.8 in August from a previous reading of 73.4. And home prices rose 18.6% annually in June, up from a 16.8% increase in May, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index.
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