Key indices remain flat; Banking, Auto major losers

Indian equity benchmarks were hovering near their neutral lines in early afternoon session as investors adopted a cautious approach in view of December derivatives expiry. The sentiments remained in lackadaisical mood with the government decision to make additional borrowing of Rs 50,000 crore this fiscal through dated securities, a move that may put burden on the fiscal deficit target of 3.2 percent of GDP.  However, the markets were taking some support with the reports that the capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is likely to ease entry norms for FPIs willing to invest in the Indian markets. Further, positive cues from Asian markets too provided some support to the major indices. In scrip specific development, Tata Steel was up by over a percent on ramping up production at its Khondbond iron ore mine in Odisha in order to fuel expansion of the Kalinganagar plant.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green and were on track for their best annual performance since 2009, as investors bet on a bright outlook for the global economy with copper at a four-year peak. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33904.81, down by 7.00 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 33883.62 and 33975.05. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.24%, Realty up by 1.54%, Basic Materials up by 1.06%, Telecom up by 0.75% and Power up by 0.56%, while Bankex down by 0.31%, Auto down by 0.18%, Oil & Gas down by 0.15%, Capital Goods down by 0.11% and PSU down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.39%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.29%, Coal India up by 0.95%, TCS up by 0.72% and HDFC Bank up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.20%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.13%, Axis Bank down by 1.00%, Sun Pharma down by 0.83% and ICICI Bank down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has slashed the interest rate on small savings schemes such as National Savings Certificate (NSC), Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and Public Provident Fund (PPF), by 20 basis points or 0.2 percentage point, for Q4 FY18 (January-March) in comparison to the previous quarter. The move is expected to see banks lowering their deposit rates in line with the small savings rate offered by the government. Since April 2016, interest rates on all small savings schemes have been recalibrated on a quarterly basis.

However, interest rates in the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme have been retained at 8.3 percent. The interest rate on the senior citizens’ scheme is paid quarterly. As per the finance ministry notification, investments in the PPF scheme will now fetch a rate of 7.6%, marginally lower than the rate of 7.8% in the October to December quarter. The five-year NSC will fetch a lower annual rate of 7.6 percent, while KVP investments will yield 7.3 per cent and mature in 11 months.

Besides, the girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Account will offer 8.1% from existing 8.3% annually. Term deposits of 1-5 years will fetch a lower interest rate of 6.6-7.4%, to be paid quarterly, while the five-year recurring deposit is pegged at 6.9%. The finance ministry has said that rates of small savings schemes would be linked to government bond yields.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10493.05, up by 2.30 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 10486.25 and 10515.90. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.40%, Vedanta up by 2.12%, UPL up by 2.12%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.41% and Lupin up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.37%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.20%, Wipro down by 1.13%, Axis Bank down by 1.12% and BPCL down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 8.15 points or 0.46% to 1,779.91, Jakarta Composite rose 14.91 points or 0.24% to 6,292.07, Shanghai Composite added 20.91 points or 0.64% to 3,296.70, KOSPI Index inched up 30.82 points or 1.26% to 2,467.49, Taiwan Weighted surged 80.97 points or 0.77% to 10,567.64 and Hang Seng increased 200.51 points or 0.68% to 29,798.17.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 127.23 points or 0.56% to 22,783.98.