Markets Witness Range Bound Trades

The Indian markets are range bound at this time. The Asian and European markets are also signaling towards flattish trades, with no sign of cheer.

The benchmark Sensex is down by 0.24%, while the 50-share Nifty is down by 0.13%. Most of the sectoral indices are under pressure. The Auto index has declined by 0.7% after mixed sales numbers by the auto companies as well as the rise in crude oil prices. The Oil & Gas has also continues to trade in negatives. Consumer Durables is the top gainer, with 1.14% intraday returns so far.

Meanwhile, the Economic Times has reported that Macquarie Equities Research has downgraded the Indian IT sector to ‘Underweight’. It has factored in the demand concerns for its bearish outlook on the sector. The agency has also slashed the ratings of the top 3 Indian IT services firms, TCS, Infosys and Wipro. Macquarie, however, is 'Overweight' on the industrials. The reason for this optimism is the pickup in infra spending, the interest rate cut and the possible rupee appreciation.

On the global front, Nikkei and Shanghai have continued to trade flat. European markets have shown mixed trends, with DAX flat with a negative bias, and FTSE and CAC both trading with gains.

Among the Sensex stocks, Maruti Suzuki has surged by 1.49% at this time on the back of good June sales. GAIL and BHEL are both up more than 1%. Banking stocks like SBI and HDFC bank are also positive. Jindal Steel, though, has continued to trade in negatives and is down 2.5%, the highest loser on the Sensex.

The advance-decline ratio remains positive as of now.

We expect the volatility to continue.