Sensex, Nifty remain dull; Telecom plunges most

The local equity benchmarks remained dull in late afternoon session, as sell-off continues in all sectors except Consumer Durables, amid weak global cues. Investors looked forward to macroeconomic data due later in the day. Some concerns also came with rising global crude oil prices which would stoke inflation and impact future interest rate decisions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Sentiments were downbeat with the report that India’s retail inflation likely breached the central bank’s 4.0 percent medium-term target in November after unseasonably heavy rains sent food prices soaring.  The market participants paid no heed toward the credit rating agency, Care Ratings’ latest quick survey report stating that on the whole majority are satisfied with the implementation of new tax regime. The survey found that there was no perceptible change in the cost of raw materials and demand for products & services post GST implementation.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red, as investors remained cautious ahead of upcoming monetary policy meetings scheduled this week in the US, the euro zone and the UK. Asian markets were also trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Ramco Systems traded jubilantly after the company bagged an order from SUEZ Middle East Water Services. The company will deploy its HCM with Global Payroll Solution to integrate the HR and Payroll processes spread across 8 entities in 3 locations of Middle East.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33282.99, down by 172.80 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 33264.92 and 33458.41. There were 9 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.57%, while Small cap index was down by 0.27%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Consumer Durables up by 0.48%, while Telecom down by 1.90%, Realty down by 1.11%, Power down by 1.08%, FMCG down by 0.82% and Bankex down by 0.78% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.53%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.08%, Lupin up by 1.33%, ONGC up by 1.09% and Infosys up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.82%, ITC down by 1.64%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.56%, TCS down by 1.54% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, assessing the position of various industries post the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), credit rating agency, Care Ratings in its latest quick survey report has said that on the whole majority are satisfied with the implementation of new tax regime. However, it noted that though the GST implementation is satisfactory, majority of industry players faced difficulty in filing GST returns.

The report titled ‘Post-GST Survey: December 2017’ examined impact of GST implementation on the operating and financial performance of industries on the basis of parameters like - inventory levels, input costs, demand supply matrix and profitability. It found that for the majority, disruptions caused by destocking were not significant, while position of re-stocking came back to normal in the most of the sectors. The survey further said that Infrastructure players would take some time before the position of stocks normalizes.

The survey also found that there was no perceptible change in the cost of raw materials and demand for products & services post GST implementation. Also, the festive season sales were not impacted for the majority of respondents. The survey further noted that most respondents were not sure of the GST impact on their profit margins.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10264.15, down by 58.10 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 10255.60 and 10326.10. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.56%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.11%, GAIL India up by 2.27%, Vedanta up by 1.44% and Lupin up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.45%, HPCL down by 3.39%, BPCL down by 2.56%, Eicher Motors down by 1.86% and ITC down by 1.77% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 171.41 points or 0.59% to 28,793.88, Nikkei 225 decreased 72.56 points or 0.32% to 22,866.17, Shanghai Composite decreased 41.38 points or 1.25% to 3,280.81, Taiwan Weighted decreased 29.81 points or 0.28% to 10,443.28, KOSPI Index decreased 10.49 points or 0.42% to 2,461.00 and Jakarta Composite decreased 10.02 points or 0.17% to 6,016.61. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 7.59 points or 0.44% to 1,727.06.

European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 30.48 points or 0.23% to 13,093.17 and France’s CAC decreased 26.78 points or 0.5% to 5,360.05. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 0.39 points or 0.01% to 7,453.87.