Indices trade with modest losses; broader market outperforms

The domestic equity benchmarks edged lower in early trade, amid some selling in index pivotals. The Nifty traded below the 17,900 mark. Pharma, IT and oil & gas stocks declined while FMCG, metals and realty shares managed to hold in the green.

At 09:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 206.42 points or 0.34% to 60,053.71. The Nifty 50 index lost 56.30 points or 0.31% to 17,887.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.28%.

The market breadth was positive. On the NSE, 424 shares rose and 315 shares fell. A total of 12shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) shed 0.37%. ONGC has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with global petroleum giant ExxonMobil for Deepwater exploration in East and West coasts of India. The collaboration areas focus on the Krishna Godavari and Cauvery Basins in the eastern offshore and the Kutch-Mumbai region in the western offshore.

GAIL (India) rose 0.52%. The board of directors of the company approved fundraising of $3.125 billion from external commercial borrowing and up to Rs 25,000 crore via NCD or non-convertible debentures.

Natco Pharma gained 1.83%. The company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval to its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Trabectedin for Injection (generic for Yondelis) for the 1mg/vial presentation.

Craftsman Automation added 2.20%. The company has commenced the commercial operations of its new/additional plant at Pune, Maharashtra.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading lower on Thursday after the latest Wall Street rally cooled overnight.

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in July suggested policymakers may be less aggressive than previously thought when they raise interest rates in September.

The minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting shows that central bankers plan to continue rate hikes in order to bring down inflation.

With inflation remaining well above the Committee's objective, participants judged that moving to a restrictive stance of policy was required to meet the Committee's legislative mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability, the minutes said.

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