Markets trade flat with negative bias in range-bound session of trade

In the extremely range-bound session of trade, Indian equity benchmarks altering between positive and negative territory, were now trading flat with bit of negative bias as investors and foreign funds were adopting a cautious approach, ahead the release of July-September economic growth data on Friday and the RBI policy review on Tuesday. Also, there was cautiousness with the OPEC’s crucial meet scheduled today, which can decide on whether the group members will go for a production cut or not, impacting the global crude prices. Sentiment on the street weakened further on report that Indirect tax collection may fall short of the annual target by an estimated Rs. 90,000 crore in the current fiscal, mainly because of subdued industrial activities. However, losses remained capped as global credit rating agency Moody's in its latest report on India has said that Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country increased significantly in the current fiscal and the trend will continue in the coming quarters of fiscal 2015 and beyond, on account of the country's pro-growth policy agenda. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 181.46 crore on November 26, 2014. Besides, covering-up of pending short positions by speculators on the last day of November series expiry in the derivatives segment also influenced sentiment.

On the sectoral front, stocks from information technology, Oil & Gas and Power counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Capital Goods, FMCG and Consumer Durables counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of 8K Miles Software Services has locked in upper circuit for second straight day, after the company through its US subsidiary acquired SERJ Solutions, a provider of innovative Epic EHR consulting, custom application development, and support solutions for the healthcare market. On the flip side, shares of Crompton Greaves have declined after Avantha Holdings, the promoter group company, has some sold part of its stake through multiple block deals.

On global front, Asian shares were mostly higher as investors bet that more central bank stimulus in China and Europe would shore up the global economy, while oil prices tumbled to a four-year low as hopes for output cuts by OPEC faded. Back home, Indian rupee strengthened by 4 paise to 61.80 against the dollar in early trade on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks amid sustained foreign capital inflows.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2341 stocks traded, 1328 stocks advanced, while 917 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28364.83 down by 21.36 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 28432.45 and 28343.11. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.45%, while Small cap index up by 0.55%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.70%, Oil & Gas up by 0.37%, TECK up by 0.37%, Power up by 0.30% and PSU up by 0.28% while, Capital Goods down by 0.41%, FMCG down by 0.37%, Consumer Durables down by 0.33%, Realty down by 0.29% and Bankex down by 0.16% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.00%, Hindalco up by 1.51%, Infosys up by 1.41%, Cipla up by 1.30% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.61%, ITC down by 1.54%, Sesa Sterlite down by 0.96%, Tata Motors down by 0.81% and HDFC Bank down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the global credit rating agency Moody's in its latest report on India has said that Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country have increased significantly in the current fiscal and the trend will continue in the coming quarters of fiscal 2015 and beyond, on account of the country's pro-growth policy agenda.

Moody’s has said that FDI inflows are likely to remain buoyant in the coming months and said that 'We expect India's economic growth to pick up materially next year. In contrast, China's economic slowdown is set to continue, while the growth outlooks for Brazil and Russia remain precarious.'

The ratings agency has opined that rising FDI inflows which are typically less volatile than portfolio capital, will help to plug India's current account shortfall and in turn will help to reinforce the economy's resilience to external headwinds, such as monetary policy normalisation in the US and deflationary risks in the euro area.

Moody's Investors Service in its report has further stated that India's GDP growth will accelerate in the next fiscal year driven by increased manufacturing activity, while the country's pro-growth agenda will continue to attract more foreign direct investments. It also said that the improved external and domestic scenario will boost the ongoing increase in foreign currency bond issuance.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8467.00 down by 8.75 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 8489.25 and 8465.30. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.83%, Asian Paints up by 1.57%, Hindalco up by 1.51% and PNB up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 2.04%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.61%, DLF down by 1.45%, ITC down by 1.44% and Jindal Steel & Power down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Most of the Asian markets were showing a positive trend, KOSPI Index gained 0.24%, Jakarta Composite was up by 0.09%, Shanghai Composite added 0.49%, Straits Times up by 0.02% and Taiwan Weighted was higher by 0.68%. On the other hand Nikkei 225 declined by 0.70%, Hang Seng lost 0.44% and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 0.53%.