The stock markets opened flat. Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a choppy note on Thursday, tracking a weak trend in Asian equities and sustained foreign fund outflow.
After opening on a negative note, the 30-share index was trading 46.78 points or 0.08 per cent higher at 55,990.99. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 16.80 points or 0.10 per cent to 16,651.45.
The broader indices were up with BSE Midcap index adding 0.52 per cent and BSE Smallcap 0.39 per cent.
Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 1 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance and L&T.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Maruti, Titan and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
Among the early gainers, Bajaj Finserv was up 1.06 percent a Rs 16065.56, Asian Paints Rs 3058.36 (+0.64 percent), HCL Tech Rs 1161.80 (+0.63 percent), Reliance Rs 2213.95 (+0.53 percent) and Titan Rs 1831.45 (+0.52 percent).
Bharti Airtel at Rs 604.85 (-1.24 percent), State Bank of India at Rs 413.50 (-0.65 percent) , Axis Bank at Rs 734.60 (-0.58 percent) , PowerGrid at Rs 174.65 (-0.51 percent) and Maruti at Rs 6683.85 (-0.48 percent) were among the early losers.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 14.77 points or 0.03 per cent lower at 55,944.21, while Nifty settled 10.05 points or 0.06 per cent higher at its new closing record of 16,634.65.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,071.83 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.
Wall Street closes at record high
The stock indexes closed further in record territory Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its gains to a fourth straight day. The move higher for equities comes as strong second-quarter corporate earnings offset doubts about the pace of economic recovery, even with the coronavirus delta variant limiting consumer and business activity in some countries.
Investors pushed equities higher Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index putting in its 51th all-time high of 2021 and the Nasdaq Composite booking its 30th record close of the year.
Asian stocks trade flat
Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed in early trade on Thursday, as US markets again surged to record highs.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s central bank hiked interest rates.
Asian stocks were flat to slightly lower Thursday as traders await more clues about the regulatory outlook in China as well as the Federal Reserve’s approach to paring stimulus. Fed officials attend the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium from Thursday through Saturday.
Fuel rates unchanged
After price cuts, petrol and diesel prices in the country remained unchanged for the second consecutive day on Thursday as oil marketing companies decided to go on pause mode to see global developments in the oil markets before any further revision.
Accordingly, in Delhi, petrol continues to be sold for Rs 101.49 per litre and diesel for Rs 88.92 a litre. Across the country as well fuel prices remained unchanged on Wednesday. Petrol prices in Mumbai and Kolkata remained at Rs 107.52 and Rs 101.82 per litre respectively while in Chennai, petrol was priced at Rs 99.20. In Chennai, petrol prices fell by almost Rs 3 per litre on August 14 after the state government cut VAT on the fuel.
Similarly, diesel prices in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata remained at Rs 96.48, Rs 93.52 and Rs 91.98 per litre, respectively.
International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.53 per cent to $70.90 per barrel
NSE directive on sale of digital gold
National Stock Exchange (NSE) has directed its members, including stockbrokers, to discontinue the sale of digital gold on their platforms by September 10. The direction came after capital markets regulator Sebi said that certain members are providing a platform to their clients for buying and selling digital gold.
Talks to remove caps on number of flights, fares
Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has started discussion on the possibility of removing the existing caps on the number of flights and the minimum and maximum fares that airlines can charge in the domestic sector.
In a 90-minute long meeting with top airline executives earlier this week, Scindia discussed the issue of relaxing or abolishing these restrictions. However, no decision was taken, reported The Economic Times citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the meeting was attended by Vistara chairman Bhaskar Bhat, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta, and AirAsia India chief executive Sunil Bhaskaran, besides top executives of SpiceJet and GoAir.
South Korea Central Bank raises policy rate
South Korea’s central bank raised its policy rate on Thursday, becoming the first major Asian economy to do so in the pandemic amid concerns record-low monetary settings are overheating demand.
The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent, as expected by 16 of 30 analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Sebi orders Rana Kapoor's bank accounts to be defreezed
Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday ordered de-freezing of bank accounts as well as share and mutual fund holdings of Rana Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Yes Bank.
The release order came after Supreme Court, on August 2, stayed the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order which had upheld a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Kapoor. The stay was subject to payment of Rs 50 lakh by Kapoor.
Sebi asked all banks in the country and depositories - NSDL and CDSL - "to release the bank accounts /locker, demat accounts and mutual fund folios of defaulter (Kapoor) attached if any pursuant to... the notice of attachment".
Sebi asks depositories to use Blockchain technology
Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday asked depositories to use distributed ledger or blockchain technology to record and monitor security creation as well as covenants of non-convertible securities.
The distributed ledger technology has the potential to provide a more resilient system than traditional centralised databases. It offers better protection against different types of cyber-attacks because of its distributed nature, which removes the single point of attack, Sebi said in a statement.
The regulator said that a platform for 'security and covenant monitoring system' hosted by depositories is being developed.
Stocks under F&O ban
Four stocks--Vodafone Idea, NALCO, NMDC, and SAIL – are under the F&O ban today.
