Benchmarks remain under pressure in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued to remain under pressure in late afternoon session on the back of selling in metal and oil & gas counters. Sentiments remained dampened with the report that CLSA has cut its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for FY17 by 1.2 percentage points to 6.5 percent and added that the current disruption is unlikely to affect the outlook for FY18. On the global front, European markets were trading flat as investors remain cautious ahead of two separate attacks in the German and Turkish capitals. However, Emerging markets remained under pressure after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gave an upbeat view of the U.S. jobs market and the Bank of Japan kept its policy settings steady, as widely expected. Further, trading activity is likely to remain thin in the run-up to Christmas. Back home, in script specific development, Tata Coffee was trading in green on plan of setting up freeze dried coffee plant in Vietnam and the plant will help the coffee plantation company to expand its global footprint.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26292.61, down by 82.09 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 26241.43 and 26435.56. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.24%, while Small cap index was down by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.75%, TECK up by 0.55%, Consumer Durables up by 0.25%, Capital Goods up by 0.21% and FMCG up by 0.20%, while Bankex down by 1.24%, Metal down by 0.97%, PSU down by 0.95%, Oil & Gas down by 0.76% and Auto down by 0.70% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.64%, NTPC up by 1.37%, ITC up by 1.25%, Coal India up by 1.09% and GAIL India up by 0.80%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.79%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.54%, ICICI Bank down by 2.43%, Adani Ports &Special down by 2.03% and Tata Steel down by 1.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a bid to encourage cashless economy, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has called the banks to skip convenience charges. TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma batting for the issue said that banks should eliminate convenience charges to implement digital payment system across the country in the post-demonetisation era. He said that it is vital to eliminate convenience charge by the banks to create a well-operational and sustainable digital and cashless economy as India is an extremely cost sensitive market.

Sharma highlighted that cost, convenience and confidence were crucial factors for digital payments, and an effective digital infrastructure was essential for digital remonetisation. He further said that JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity creates a robust system for digital inclusion with 1.1-billion Aadhaar users across the country. As a trinity of the government's initiative for financial inclusion, JAM links accounts of all the unbanked individuals with their Aadhaar cards and mobile numbers, ostensibly to plug leakages of state subsidies.

Sharma also supported extensive use of Bharatnet with Digital Cable Television System for digital connectivity across the country. He said that interoperable or interlinked digital wallets can also support the digital payment systems.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8075.50, down by 28.85 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 8062.75 and 8124.10. There were 21 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ambuja Cement up by 2.24%, NTPC up by 1.59%, TCS up by 1.57%, ITC up by 1.26% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 3.40%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 3.23%, SBI down by 2.79%, ICICI Bank down by 2.53% and Bajaj Auto down by 2.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted increased 3.09 points or 0.03% to 9,242.41, KOSPI Index increased 3.55 points or 0.17% to 2,041.94 and Nikkei 225 increased 102.93 points or 0.53% to 19,494.53. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 103.62 points or 0.47% to 21,729.06, Jakarta Composite decreased 44.39 points or 0.85% to 5,147.68, Shanghai Composite decreased 15.21 points or 0.49% to 3,102.88 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 0.86 points or 0.05% to 1,633.44.

European markets were trading flat; France’s CAC increased 9.26 points or 0.19% to 4,832.03 and Germany’s DAX increased 9.83 points or 0.09% to 11,436.53, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 2.99 points or 0.04% to 7,014.17.