Indices hover near intra-day lows; Sensex slips below 36,500 mark

Indian equity indices were hovering near their intra-day lows in the early noon session with Sensex and Nifty trading below their crucial psychological levels of 36,500 and 11,050 as investors were cautious ahead of the September month derivatives’ expiry tomorrow and outcome of the US Federal Reserve meet later. Selling in FMCG, Auto and IT stocks also dragged the markets lower. Besides, broader markets were also trading in red terrain. Sentiments weakened further on report that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1231.7 crore on September 25, 2018. Some concerns came with Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018 in its flagship annual economic publication stating that depreciation of the rupee and volatile external financial markets pose challenges for the Indian economy. Investors also remained cautious with World Bank’s report highlighting that India and Pakistan’s bitter rivalry is costing them $35 billion worth of annual trade.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors awaited a third interest rate hike by the United States Federal Reserve for this year. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, although investors are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Back on the domestic front, stocks related to telecom sector were in focus with Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha indicating that the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector has grown nearly five times in the last three years - from $1.3 billion in 2015-16 to $6.2 billion in 2017-18.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36486.59, down by 165.47 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 36476.78 and 36938.74. There were 8 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.08%, while Small cap index was down by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.01%, Telecom up by 0.79%, Healthcare up by 0.48%, Basic Materials up by 0.14% and Metal up by 0.08%, while FMCG down by 1.49%, Auto down by 1.13%, IT down by 0.93%, TECK down by 0.62% and Consumer Disc down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 2.43%, Indusind Bank up by 0.88%, Tata Steel up by 0.63%, HDFC Bank up by 0.54% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.09%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 3.29%, ITC down by 2.38%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.94% and Wipro down by 1.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has indicated that the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector has grown nearly five times in the last three years - from $1.3 billion in 2015-16 to $6.2 billion in 2017-18. He also noted that the new sectoral policy in works envisages the FDI in the telecom space to reach $100 billion by 2022. He added that FDI would be key to unleash the full potential of upcoming modern technologies. 

Sinha has stated that the government is keen on providing 5G services in India at a par with global standards in 2020, which will play a key role in harnessing new emerging technologies like machine-to-machine communications, internet of things, artificial intelligence, etc. He also said that keeping all the future technologies in mind and their potential, draft National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 has been formulated.

The minister further said that India needs massive investments in developing newer technologies which are accessible and affordable to the people and at the same time create productive employment. He also said that India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world over the next two decades and it is the most opportune moment for the investors across the world to invest in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11030.15, down by 37.30 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 11025.45 and 11145.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indiabulls Housing up by 6.78%, Yes Bank up by 2.73%, GAIL India up by 2.07%, Titan Co up by 1.57% and Lupin up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.07%, HCL Tech down by 2.64%, ITC down by 2.47%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.75% and SBI down by 1.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 462.34 points or 1.65% to 27,961.73, Shanghai Composite surged 39.50 points or 1.4% to 2,820.64, Jakarta Composite gained 29.97 points or 0.51% to 5,904.27, Nikkei 225 advanced 93.53 points or 0.39% to 24,033.79 and Straits Times was up 24.84 points or 0.76% to 3,260.92.

Bucking the trend, Taiwan Weighted was down 4.66 points or 0.04% to 10,974.19.

Markets remain closed in South Korea for a national holiday.