Bourses erase losses to turn positive

The local benchmarks erased all of their losses in late afternoon session to turn positive, supported by buying witnessed at Oil & Gas, Banking up and Energy counters. Traders took some support with reports that the government will hold consultations with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to work out a mechanism to bring down merchant discount rates (MDR) that have gone up to 0.90% recently from 0.25% of transaction value. However, the upside remained capped on the back of weak global cues and higher wholesale price inflation (WPI) data. India’s annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices rose in the month of November, due to increasing prices of food and fuel products. The WPI surged to 3.93% in November 2017 from 3.59% in October 2017 and 1.82% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Besides, current account deficit (CAD) data also restricted the indices to gain further. The RBI’s latest data showed that India’s CAD doubled to 1.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) or $ 7.2 billion in July-September, from 0.6% of GDP or $3.4 billion reported in the same period a year ago. The broader indices continued their trade in red, while Utilities and Consumer Durables indices fell the most.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as investors await the outcome of the last European Central Bank meeting of the year. The euro was steady along with core European bonds after Treasuries dropped in the wake of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve rate increase. Asian markets were also trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Lupin gained after the company received final approval for its Tydemy (Drospirenone, Ethinyl Estradiol, and Levomefolate Calcium Tablets, 3 mg/0.03 mg/0.451 mg and Levomefolate Calcium Tablets, 0.451 mg) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market a generic version of Safyral Tablets of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33061.78, up by 8.74 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 32886.93 and 33169.74. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.16%, while Small cap index was down by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.53%, Bankex up by 0.39%, Energy up by 0.35%, Healthcare up by 0.29% and Telecom up by 0.23%, while Utilities down by 0.72%, Consumer Durables down by 0.71%, Power down by 0.62%, Capital Goods down by 0.50% and Industrials down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.91%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.20%, Cipla up by 1.11%, Lupin up by 1.03% and Asian Paints up by 0.82%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.17%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.87%, Wipro down by 0.85%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.69% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the importance of port development, the industry chamber Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in its latest comprehensive study on ports has stated that India must boost its ports fast to make them globally competitive as the gap with China is widening rapidly. India’s total containerised cargo capacity of 8.75 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) at all its 12 major ports is less than total containerised cargo capacity of 36.5 million TEUs at China’s single port of Shanghai, making it imperative for the country to do a fast catching up.

According to the study titled ‘Indian ports sector: Challenges of scale and efficient operations’, China has four ports which handle more than 20 million TEUs. Even on the parameter of overall cargo, both with or without containerisation, India has a fragmented capacity at different ports. Noting that for India to remain competitive globally, the study said investment in port capacity is a must. It suggested that it would be appropriate to augment capacity of existing ports to create ports with large capacity of 100 million tonnes rather than building new ports and spreading resources thinly. It also stressed the need to revisit the Major Ports Trusts Act, 1963 with a view to modernise the institutional structure of major ports and to secure greater operational freedom for ports, in tune with present day requirements.

The study pointed out that handling of containerised cargo is a key indicator of a country’s integration with global supply chain for value-added manufactured goods. The industry chamber secretary general, D.S. Rawat has said that though Indian ports met rapidly expanding traffic, handling more than a billion tonne of cargo in 2016-17, the capacity is expected to go up to 2.5 billion tonnes by 2025. He added that the freight mainly comprises petrol, oil, and lubricant, coal, iron ore and other commodities. Referring to Odisha, Rawat said setting up 13 non-major ports along its 480 km-long coastline will further boost the prospect of port infrastructure, bring in investment, create thousands of jobs and also add to the revenues of the state exchequer.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10198.85, up by 5.90 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 10141.55 and 10230.65. There were 27 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index, while 2 stocks remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were HPCL up by 2.36%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.85%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.81%, HCL Technologies up by 1.44% and BPCL up by 1.37%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.29%, UPL down by 1.66%, GAIL India down by 1.37%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.30% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 63.62 points or 0.28% to 22,694.45, Hang Seng decreased 55.72 points or 0.19% to 29,166.38, KOSPI Index decreased 11.07 points or 0.45% to 2,469.48 and Shanghai Composite decreased 10.6 points or 0.32% to 3,292.44. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 17.9 points or 1.03% to 1,755.56, Jakarta Composite increased 49.78 points or 0.82% to 6,104.39 and Taiwan Weighted increased 67.31 points or 0.64% to 10,538.01.

All European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX dropped 19.88 points or 0.15% to 13,105.76, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 15.75 points or 0.21% to 7,480.76 and France’s CAC was down by 11.53 points or 0.21% to 5,387.92.