Benchmarks trim gains to trade flat in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks pared all their gains and were trading flat in late afternoon session on the back of selling in Oil & Gas, PSU and TECK stocks. Traders remained cautious ahead of a crucial meeting of Parliament's standing committee on finance over the demonetisation issue with Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel. However, investors were taking support with the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2017 report, which highlighted that India's economy is projected to grow by 7.7 percent in fiscal year 2017, on the back of robust private consumption and significant domestic reforms gradually being implemented by the government.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May provided further clarity on her aims for the upcoming Brexit talks and investors received a number of corporate reports. Asian markets were trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, Siemens surged on launching most energy efficient low voltage motors in India and Swan Energy jumped higher after it received an Expression of Interest (EOI) from Tata Realty and Infrastructure, showing its willingness to invest up to 10% of the Equity in the subsidiary of the Company, namely Swan LNG.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27218.83, down by 16.83 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 27217.65 and 27422.67. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index up by 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.80%, Consumer Durables up by 0.75%, Capital Goods up by 0.64%, Bankex up by 0.26% and FMCG up by 0.25%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.88%, PSU down by 0.50%, TECK down by 0.07% and Auto down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.84%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.33%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.66%, Asian Paints up by 0.53% and Coal India up by 0.41%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 2.05%, GAIL India down by 1.90%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.46%, Reliance Industries down by 1.15% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel will be appearing before a parliamentary panel to explain about demonetisation and its impact on economy, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016 to fight against corruption and black money.

The RBI governor has been asked to brief the details after the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and employees wrote a letter to the RBI governor alleging that the image of the central bank has been dented beyond repair post the government’s demonetisation move. The meeting will discuss the decision of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and its implications on the economy and the steps taken by central bank to counter the cash crunch. The RBI Governor is also scheduled to appear before parliament's Public Accounts Committee regarding the same issue on Friday, January 20.

The meeting will see participation from representatives of the Finance Ministry, including from the department of Economic Affairs, Financial Services and Revenue will also brief the members of the Standing Committee on Finance which is headed by former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily. Representatives of Indian Banks Association (IBA), State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) are also scheduled to be present in the meeting.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8405.85, up by 7.85 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 8403.25 and 8460.30. There were 30 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BHEL up by 3.95%, Tata Steel up by 2.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.42%, Hindalco up by 1.96% and Grasim Industries up by 1.56%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 1.97%, NTPC down by 1.96%, Idea Cellular down by 1.81%, BPCL down by 1.80% and Bosch down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.94 points or 0.24% to 1,666.97, Shanghai Composite increased 4.24 points or 0.14% to 3,113.01, Jakarta Composite increased 20.61 points or 0.39% to 5,287.55, Nikkei 225 increased 80.84 points or 0.43% to 18,894.37 and Hang Seng increased 257.29 points or 1.13% to 23,098.26. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted decreased 12.56 points or 0.13% to 9,341.97 and KOSPI Index decreased 1.33 points or 0.06% to 2,070.54.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.41 points or 0.32% to 7,243.79 and Germany’s DAX increased 25.04 points or 0.22% to 11,565.04. On the flip side, France’s CAC decreased 3.55 points or 0.07% to 4,856.14.