Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks traded on lackluster note throughout the day and ended the session in negative territory with Sensex & Nifty snapping 4-day gaining streak. The lackluster trade was in absence of any upside trigger but Nifty managed to hold 10,200 mark. The benchmarks made a cautious start and traded marginally lower in early deals as traders remained on sidelines ahead of long Diwali weekend, as the markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday for Diwali, with Thursday just having one hour of Muhurat trading. Investors took note of a private report that about 49% Indians are likely to spend less this Diwali compared to last year due to demonetization and impact of GST, with expenditure on clothes and sweets to be the highest. Though 21% will be spending more over last year, 18% will spend same as the last year while 21% respondents said they were undecided.

Separately, almost three months after roll out of new indirect tax regime, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compliance is still low. He added that a clear trend about revenue collections is likely to emerge only after three-four months, once integrated GST (IGST) is converted into Central GST and State GST, as GST revenue includes IGST revenue. He also said that compliance will fall further if penalty for late filing of returns is dropped. However, the downside was capped after Surjit Bhalla, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council said that the government is likely to stick to its fiscal deficit target of 3.2% of GDP, and may accelerate sales of government stakes in lenders and other companies as part of an effort to recapitalize banks.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mixed. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the country will relax market access for foreign investment and expand access to its services sector. Xi also said China will deepen market-oriented reform of its exchange rate as well as its financial system, while at the same time strengthening the role of state firms in the economy. The European markets were trading in green. British pay growth has lagged behind inflation again, official data showed, but the figures are likely to cement expectations among investors that the Bank of England will soon raise interest rates for the first time in a decade.

Back home, non-banking finance company MAS Financial Services closed on firm note after debuting on exchanges. The issue price is fixed at higher end of price band of Rs 456-459 per share. The Rs 460-crore initial share sale offer had received overwhelming response from investors as it was oversubscribed 128.39 times.

The BSE Sensex ended at 32605.01, down by 4.15 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 32462.85 and 32670.32. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.01%, while Small cap index was down by 0.01%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.67%, Oil & Gas up by 1.32%, Utilities up by 1.30%, Power up by 1.24% and FMCG up by 0.14%, while Telecom down by 1.81%, Bankex down by 1.67%, Healthcare down by 0.79%, TECK down by 0.55% and Auto down by 0.51% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 4.74%, Power Grid up by 3.73%, Wipro up by 1.90%, ONGC up by 1.90% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.61%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 9.53%, ICICI Bank down by 3.67%, Cipla down by 3.37%, SBI down by 2.47% and Lupin down by 1.65% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India Inc’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in overseas ventures plunged by 39.29 per cent to $2654.45 million during September 2017 from $4372.47 million in the same month of last year. In august month, OFDI declined by 14.82 per cent to $1339.26 million from $1572.23 million in the same month of last year.

According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India, of the total investments in foreign ventures by Indian companies overseas, $1,216.48 million was in the form of issuance of guarantees, $ 1,063.02 million as loan and $374.95 million was part of equity investment.

Of all leading investors, Tata Steel put in $858.29 million in a wholly-owned subsidiary (WoS) in Singapore, while TCS invested $356.29 million in WoS unit in the UK and Bharat Petroresources committed a collective $164.60 million in its two fully owned units in the Netherlands and Singapore. The foremost shareholders also include Chemicals, shipping and metal company Sanmar Group International that kept $280 million in a WoS in Switzerland.

Besides, government-owned Gail India invested a combined $101.50 million in the US-based wholly owned company and Myanmar-based joint venture company, while Wipro put $79.52 million in UK-based wholly owned firm.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10216.80, down by 17.65 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 10175.75 and 10236.45. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 4.86%, Power Grid up by 4.03%, Indiabulls Housing up by 2.89%, ONGC up by 2.07% and Wipro up by 1.83%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 9.38%, ICICI Bank down by 3.80%, Bharti Infratel down by 3.66%, Cipla down by 3.40% and Tech Mahindra down by 3.14% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.11 points or 0.31% to 7,539.28, Germany’s DAX increased 95.89 points or 0.74% to 13,090.95 and France’s CAC increased 26.78 points or 0.5% to 5,388.15.

Asian equity markets made a mixed closing on Wednesday as China's ruling Communist Party began its week-long once-in-a-five-year Congress and a survey showed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition is on track for a roughly two-thirds majority in Sunday's general election. Chinese shares firmed up after President Xi Jinping conveyed a positive view of the economy, but made a rare acknowledgement of grim challenges facing the country. Japanese shares closed higher for a 12th day in a row, getting a lift from hopes that this weekend’s election will produce political stability and continuation of loose monetary policy. Meanwhile, markets in Malaysia and Singapore were closed for Deepavali.