Weak trade persists on D-Street

Key Indian benchmarks continued to trade in red in late afternoon session, as traders were cautious due to October month derivatives expiry later today along with heavy profit booking in banking stocks after a recent rally. Concerns also came with Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian’s statement that India ideally should have 5-7 large banks, both public sector and private sector that are able to compete domestically and be competitive globally. Citing example of China, he said that there are four big banks which are now amongst biggest in the world. Besides, weak Asian cues and selling in Telecom, Consumer Durables, IT and FMCG stocks also kept the bourses under pressure.  Investors also took note of report that India’s economy will likely grow at its slowest pace in four years this financial year, as a currency ban and the new goods and services tax (GST) have disrupted business activity and dampened consumer demand. However, some losses got trimmed with the report stating that India imposed an anti-dumping duty on some cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China, the United States, South Korea and the European Union, to curb the influx of cheaper imports and help local producers. Meanwhile, Indian companies raised $3.28 billion debt from overseas market in September month.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the negative lead from Wall Street and as investors digested regional corporate earnings results. Investors were also in a cautious mood ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy decision later in the day. ECB chief Mario Draghi is expected to announce a gradual reduction in the massive monetary stimulus as the euro area economic growth gains momentum. Back home, in scrip specific development, KEC International (KEC) traded higher after the company secured new orders of Rs 1,931 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32995.92, down by 46.58 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 32835.06 and 33074.91. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.54%, Oil & Gas up by 1.49%, Capital Goods up by 1.46%, PSU up by 0.99% and Industrials up by 0.78%, while Telecom down by 0.79%, Consumer Durables down by 0.43%, TECK down by 0.33%, FMCG down by 0.26% and IT down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 2.81%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.87%, Coal India up by 1.52%, Tata Steel up by 1.16% and Infosys up by 0.87%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 3.14%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.88%, HDFC down by 1.50%, Asian Paints down by 1.33% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to protect local producers from cheap imports, India has imposed anti-dumping duty on certain stainless steel products from China, Taiwan (Chines Taipei) South Korea, South Africa, Thailand, the United States of America, and the European Union. Following recommendation by the Directorate General of Anti- Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), the duty has been imposed by the revenue department.

The government in its notification has said that the levy ranges between 4.58 percent and 57.39 percent of the landed value of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel. The duty exempts certain grades of stainless steel and will be in effect until December 10, 2020. The government has also allowed import of the product as long as the end use of the import is in the same form.

The government recently had imposed an anti-dumping duty on the import of some flat steel products from China and the European Union for five years. Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime. Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10288.40, down by 6.95 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 10271.85 and 10297.25. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 3.75%, Cipla up by 3.08%, HPCL up by 2.76%, Yes Bank up by 2.48% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.08%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 3.66%, ICICI Bank down by 3.24%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.79%, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.22% and Bharti Infratel down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 107.87 points or 0.38% to 28,195.02, Taiwan Weighted decreased 15.81 points or 0.15% to 10,734.76, KOSPI Index decreased 8.1 points or 0.32% to 2,484.40 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 2.75 points or 0.16% to 1,736.30.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite increased 8.06 points or 0.13% to 6,033.49, Shanghai Composite increased 10.83 points or 0.32% to 3,407.73 and Nikkei 225 increased 25.74 points or 0.12% to 21,733.36.