Benchmarks continue to trade in red in early noon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade red in early noon session, on sustained selling by cautious investors ahead of the pre-poll results of Bihar elections. Also weaker-than-expected Q2 earning by some blue-chip companies were impacting market sentiments. Market mood also remained dampened after US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen rekindled hopes of an interest rate hike in December stating growth in the US economy. Depreciation in the rupee too dampened the sentiments. The rupee fell by 19 paise to 65.67 against the dollar in early trade due to fresh demand for the American currency from importers. The broader markets are however underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down by 0.50% and 0.69% respectively. Market breadth is negative with 1,416 losers and 848 gainers on the BSE.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as confidence grew that stimulus measures are helping the world's No. 2 economy to stabilize. Back home, both sensex and Nifty were trading below the crucial 26,500 and 8,050 levels, respectively. In scrip specific development, share of Ashok Leyland was trading down by 4.56% after the company reported a net profit Rs 286 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 (Q2), lower than the estimates. The automaker had profit of Rs 121 crore in a year ago quarter. On the flip side, Pratibha Industries was trading up by 4.71% after the company bagged an order worth of Rs 1,023.62 crore from Telangana government.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26477.31, down by 75.61 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 26373.48 and 26557.80. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.56%, while Small cap index declined by 0.72%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.25%, Auto up by 0.14% and FMCG up by 0.13%, while Bankex down by 0.97%, Realty down by 0.83%, TECK down by 0.35%, Capital Goods down by 0.31% and Metal down by 0.30% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.47%, Coal India up by 1.35%, NTPC up by 0.93%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.65% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.68%, Tata Steel down by 2.01%, Vedanta down by 1.98%, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.88% and Axis Bank down by 1.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a positive move to provide faster approvals for urban development projects, the government will soon provide a single-window clearance for urban development projects. Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu  said “By November 30, we will be bringing out a notification about easy approvals...Like a single-window clearance is in the offing by November end”. He further said that the quicker clearances are important as the country needs to attract foreign investments.

Naidu further notified that once the framework is operational the delays in approvals would be addressed. In this regard, the government has consulted the ministries of environment, civil aviation, defence, culture and consumer affairs to create a unified platform for clearances.

Charting out an ambitious road map for infrastructure and urban development, the government is working to set up 100 smart cities and housing for all by 2022. Naidu said that these targets are likely to get easier to achieve with this initiative.

Naidu further stated that plans are on the anvil to have city-wise special purpose vehicles for each project to fix the shortcomings of the public-private partnership or PPP projects. Besides, the government is also working on the policy for converting waste into energy. On the World Bank's ease of doing business for 2016, India is ranked 183 out of 189 countries on the parameter of 'dealing with construction permits' which underscores the urgency of reforms in this respect.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8010.05, down by 30.15 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 7981.90 and 8031.20. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 1.24%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.16%, Adani Ports &Special up by 0.98%, Power Grid up by 0.95% and Tata Power up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.89%, Vedanta down by 2.08%, Tata Steel down by 1.98%, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.89% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 7.67 points or 0.46% to 1,693.29, Hang Seng increased 11.61 points or 0.05% to 23,065.18, Shanghai Composite increased 102.53 points or 2.96% to 3,562.17 and Nikkei 225 increased 196.47 points or 1.04% to 19,123.38, while Jakarta Composite decreased 18.69 points or 0.41% to 4,593.88, Taiwan Weighted decreased 6.84 points or 0.08% to 8,850.18  and KOSPI Index decreased 5.49 points or 0.27% to 2,047.28.