Benchmarks make cautious start; Nifty slips below 8,150 mark

Indian equity benchmarks have made a cautious start and are trading slightly in red in early deals on Friday, as traders remained concerned over the report of widening trade deficit. India's trade deficit widened to $13 billion in November from a provisional $10.16 billion last month, it’s the highest since $13.08 billion in July 2015, and sharply wider than the $10.41 billion gap in October. However, losses remained capped as some support came with the statement of chief economic adviser at the ministry of finance Arvind Subramanian that India is as better equipped than other emerging markets to weather the impact of higher US interest rates because of its stronger economic growth and record high foreign exchange reserves of more than $300 billion.

On the global front, Asian stocks were tepid, reflecting the differing fortunes for developed and emerging market economies faced with higher U.S. interest rates. The US markets managed a positive close but were off the highs of the day in last session, as traders continued to digest the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday.

Back home, sentiments remained down-beat on report that foreign investors turned net sellers with net sale value of Rs 611.97 crore on December 15. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong, with 1,026 shares gaining and 763 shares declining, while a total of 92 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26496.92, down by 22.15 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 26496.29 and 26594.55. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.14%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.68%, IT up by 0.46%, TECK up by 0.37%, Auto up by 0.34% and Realty was up by 0.10%, while Metal down by 0.80%, Oil & Gas down by 0.67%, PSU down by 0.46%, FMCG down by 0.33% and Bankex was down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.13%, Infosys up by 1.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.91%, HDFC up by 0.77% and TCS up by 0.66%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.99%, ONGC down by 1.72%, Adani Ports &Special down by 1.27%, Tata Steel down by 0.99% and ITC down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in an aim to move towards a less-cash economy, the government and the Reserve Bank are taking measures to bring down the digital transaction cost. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the government is trying to encourage digitisation as much as possible because an excessive cash economy has its own social and economic costs and consequences. He said the government and the RBI have taken various steps to bring down the cost of digital transactions and specifically mentioned about MDR charges.

Jaitley however, said that digital transactions are a parallel mechanism, not a substitute, for cash transactions and 'cashless economy is actually a less cash economy as no economy can be fully cashless'. He further said that the Centre has announced various incentives to attract people to shift to digital mode of payment and the response is quite positive so far in this regard.

Elaborating further the Finance Minister said that 55 per cent petrol pumps in the country are accepting payment through digital means and with the government providing incentives, more people are switching to this mode.

Jaitley in the Consultative Committee meeting attached to his ministry, emphasized that the government is conscious of the need of cyber security of high level to secure digital payments and assured the members of the Committee about cyber security measures being taken by the banks under RBI supervision. He said the government was trying its best to minimise common man's pain.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8141.40, down by 12.20 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 8141.25 and 8178.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 1.28%, Infosys up by 1.22%, Bank of Baroda up by 0.94%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.87% and HDFC up by 0.84%. On the flip side, Aurobindo Pharma down by 3.64%, ACC down by 2.12%, Hindalco down by 2.10%, Sun Pharma down by 2.05% and ONGC down by 1.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted slipped 14.98 points or 0.16% to 9,345.37, Jakarta Composite decreased 12.57 points or 0.24% to 5,241.79, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 2.96 points or 0.18% to 1,634.03 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.19 points or 0.04% to 3,116.48.

On the flip side, KOSPI Index gained 4.18 points or 0.21% to 2,040.83, Hang Seng increased 17.56 points or 0.08% to 22,076.96 and Nikkei 225 was up by 103.73 points or 0.54% to 19,377.52.