Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks oscillated between green and red terrain throughout the day and ended flat. The market breath was neutral with one stock advancing against one declining ones. Fresh weakness in the rupee against the dollar and continued foreign fund outflows also dampened the sentiments. The benchmarks made a cautious start and traded slightly in red in early deals as the sentiments were dampened after North Korea’s deputy UN ambassador warned that the situation on the Korean peninsula has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment. However, the downside was capped with statement of NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, who has pitched for fiscal stimulus to boost growth with a rider that additional expenditure should be used only for increasing productivity and capital expenditure. He said that faced with slowing economic growth, the industry has been clamouring for a stimulus package from the government, while various experts have argued against fiscal stimulus as it would threaten the fiscal consolidation programme.

Investors took note that to strengthen the fiscal responsibility frameworks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested India to consider setting up an independent fiscal council, as introduction of this institution contributed to better outcomes in the countries where it has been introduced. Mixed reaction was witnessed in pharma stocks on report that the proposed amendment to Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) will put prices of non-scheduled drugs under check, kill competition, and prove negative for industry growth. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) and the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) had put forward a proposal that suggests scrapping the current system of fixing the ceiling price of drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) by accepting simple average price of brands having a market share of over 1 percent.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mixed. Confidence among Japanese manufacturers rebounded in October to match a peak last seen in mid-2007, a poll found, further evidence that the economic recovery is gathering momentum helped by a weak yen and strong overseas demand. The European stocks were trading mostly in green. Accelerating inflation bodes well for the German economy and makes it more probable that the European Central Bank will alter its ultra-loose monetary policy. The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiments inched forward to 17.6 this month from September’s reading of 17.0.

Back home, Colgate Palmolive closed in red on the back of poor numbers announced by the company on October 16 for the quarter ended September 2017. The company has reported a fall of 2% in its September quarter net profit at Rs 177.6 crore against Rs 181.3 crore during the same period last year. HT Media closed in green as the company has recorded a whopping 52% growth year-on-year in consolidated profit at Rs 77.8 crore for the quarter ended September 2017, backed by strong operational performance. Consolidated revenue during the quarter fell 6.9% to Rs 560.6 crore compared with Rs 602.2 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

The BSE Sensex ended at 32610.07, down by 23.57 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 32556.74 and 32699.86. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.44%, while Small cap index was up by 0.52%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.58%, Realty up by 0.91%, Oil & Gas up by 0.75%, Energy up by 0.51% and Basic Materials up by 0.44%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.26%, Bankex down by 0.22% and IT down by 0.19% were the few losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 3.88%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.60%, Asian Paints up by 2.01%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.23% and TCS up by 0.53%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.57%, Tata Motors down by 1.03%, Infosys down by 0.83%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.64% and Power Grid down by 0.56% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, emphasizing that Infrastructure sector investment and bankruptcy reforms are the two issues which are on the top of the government's agenda, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg  said that the country needs to take more efforts to improve the infra sector as it would lead to a better economy, a better life and better management.

Garg detailing priorities, noted the importance of insolvency and broken funds resolution for the banking sector as this will help the banks to improve their performance. Further, Garg expressed need of India to become a formal economy, a less cash economy and ensured that the government will look on these problems too.

On the most discussed Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme, Economic Affairs Secretary said that the government has looked at it very closely, while adding that in a way programmes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) are kind of UBI scheme, which also applies test of work rather than a dole. He further said that there was a big analysis in the economic survey about the big basic scheme of schemes and these are the ideas which always remain under examination.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10238.35, up by 7.50 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 10212.60 and 10251.85. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 4.64%, BPCL up by 2.76%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.75%, Asian Paints up by 2.33% and Indiabulls Housing up by 2.30%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 3.74%, Axis Bank down by 1.44%, Tata Motors down by 1.29%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.02% and Infosys down by 0.96% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 1.78 points or 0.02% to 7,528.75, Germany’s DAX increased 5.4 points or 0.04% to 13,009.10, while France’s CAC decreased 2.79 points or 0.05% to 5,360.09.

Asian equity markets made a mixed closing on Tuesday after major US indexes hit fresh record highs overnight, buoyed by rising oil prices and optimism about the economic outlook and the possibility of major tax reform. The dollar edged up after Fed Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that additional gradual interest rate hikes are likely to be appropriate over the next few years. Oil prices remained elevated due to supply worries after Iraqi forces seized the oil-rich city of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters. Japanese shares extended gains for an 11th straight day as the dollar held gains against the yen and euro and investors remained hopeful that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will win Sunday's Lower House election. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks ended on a flat note, heading into the National Congress of the Communist Party kicking off on Wednesday.