Stock markets end flat after volatile session as investors await outcome of US-Russia talks
Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI): Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a highly volatile trade on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of the US-Russia talks on August 15.
Extending gains to the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 57.75 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 80,597.66. During the day, it rallied 211.27 points or 0.26 per cent to 80,751.18.
The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 11.95 points or 0.05 per cent to 24,631.30.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Infosys, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the major gainers.
However, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.
The Trump-Putin meeting could have significant implications for energy markets, potentially leading to an easing of sanctions against Moscow.
"After a volatile weekly expiry-day session, Indian equities ended flat as investors traded cautiously ahead of the US-Russia summit. IT and pharma stocks advanced on the back of a softer US inflation data and dovish outlook. Banking and consumer durables also gained on hopes of a consumption-led recovery," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.59 per cent and midcap index dipped 0.18 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables climbed 0.82 per cent, while BSE Focused IT (0.45 per cent), teck (0.39 per cent), IT (0.38 per cent), financial services (0.26 per cent), bankex (0.23 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.13 per cent) also advanced.
Metal dropped the most by 1.40 per cent, followed by oil & gas (1.18 per cent), commodities (0.73 per cent), FMCG (0.57 per cent), power (0.55 per cent) and industrials (0.53 per cent).
On a weekly basis, Sensex climbed 739.87 points or 0.92 per cent and Nifty edged higher by 268 points or 1.10 per cent, snapping their six-week losing streak.
Meanwhile, S&P upgraded India's sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' with a stable outlook after a gap of nearly 19 years, citing robust economic growth, political commitment for fiscal consolidation and 'conducive' monetary policy to check inflation.
"India remains among the best performing economies in the world...The quality of government spending has improved in the past five to six years," S&P Global Ratings said.
The impact of US tariffs on the Indian economy will be "manageable", S&P said, adding that a 50 per cent tariff on US exports (if imposed) will not pose a "material drag" on growth.
"India is relatively less reliant on trade and about 60% of its economic growth stems from domestic consumption," it said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi settled in positive territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.
Equity markets in Europe were trading mostly higher.
The US markets ended higher on Wednesday.
Wholesale price inflation declined to a 2-year low of (-) 0.58 per cent in July, as deflation in food and fuel kept WPI in the negative zone for the second consecutive month, government data released on Thursday showed.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53 per cent to USD 65.92 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,644.43 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 5,623.79 crore, according to exchange data.
Equity markets would remain closed on Friday for Independence Day.
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Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
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