Benchmarks continue to hold their head above water

In the extremely range-bound session of trade, Indian equity benchmarks altering between positive and negative territory, were trading flat with bit of positive bias as investors and foreign funds were adopting a cautious approach, ahead of the US presidential election, with investors optimistic over improving prospects for a win by Democrat Hillary Clinton. Holding slender gains, both Sensex and Nifty were trading little above their crucial 27,450 and 8,500 levels respectively. Markets participants got some confidence with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that the Centre will step up on reforms to attract more investment and fill up infrastructure deficit. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 311 crore on November 07, 2016. Meanwhile, a report has stated that GST benefits are likely to accrue over time rather than immediately, though in the long run the indirect tax regime will boost growth, lower costs and strengthen tax revenues. It added that it expects over time, as the GST council widens the tax net, minimises the tax slabs and lower the standard tax rates, the benefits will be substantial.

On the global front, Asian markets remained strong on Tuesday on reports that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is most likely to win the US election boosted investors sentiments. Japan's Nikkei came off its early highs on profit taking and the benchmark Nikkei was trading flat with positive bias. Among others, the Shanghai Composite, Straits Times and Hang Seng were trading with marginal gains.

Back home, stocks from Auto, Metal and Oil & Gas counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from FMCG, Capital Goods and Consumer Durables counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Engineers India (EIL) has edged higher after the company said that the board will meet on November 16, to consider a bonus issue. Furthermore, EID Parry gained after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 126.15 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 as compared to a net loss of Rs 4.00 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

The market breadth remained pessimistic as there were 1190 shares on the gaining side against 1334 shares on the losing side, while 104 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27478.55, up by 19.56 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 27437.88 and 27600.71. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.04%, while Small cap index up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.06%, Metal up by 0.85%, Oil & Gas up by 0.38%, Power up by 0.34% and PSU up by 0.28%, while FMCG down by 0.78%, Capital Goods down by 0.17%, Consumer Durables down by 0.14% and Realty down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 5.36%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.52%, Power Grid up by 1.26%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.20% and Asian Paints up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.58%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.69%, ITC down by 1.60%, Adani Ports &Special down by 1.14% and Cipla down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet is expected to decide on listing of Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) general insurance firms this month. Recently, Finance Ministry had circulated a draft Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultations on the listing of four PSU general insurance companies.

These companies are New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company. In the Union Budget 2016-17, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced listing of PSU general insurance companies.

The government had allowed 49 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to foreign insurance player to increase the stake in their joint venture. There are 52 insurance companies operating in India and out of which 24 are in life business and 28 general insurance.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8505.80, up by 8.75 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 8489.30 and 8543.15. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 5.47%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 4.99%, BHEL up by 2.88%, Hindalco up by 1.97% and Power Grid up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.28%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.66%, HCL Tech down by 1.60%, ITC down by 1.52% and Adani Ports &Special down by 1.11% were the top losers

Asian markets were trading higher; KOSPI Index increased 0.29%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.39%, Nikkei 225 rose 0.1%, Shanghai Composite jumped 0.44%, Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.3%, Jakarta Composite surged 1% and Hang Seng was up by 0.29%.