Key gauges continue to trade sluggish in early noon deals

Domestic markets continue to trade sluggish in early noon deals in sync with gradual slippage on the Asian bourses. The rupee has made a new record low on back of consistent rise in the crude oil prices. Sharp volatility in the local equities and FIIs outflows from equity and debt segments keeping sentiments bearish for the rupee. Selling in frontline blue chip stocks such Mahindra & Mahindra, TCS, Maruti Suzuki and Indusind Bank too weighed down sentiment, while buying in Yes Bank, Vedanta and Tata Steel minimizing losses up to certain level. Investors made a close watch on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision on key interest rates. The RBI's monetary policy committee will decide on the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy. After two successive hikes, the repo-rate currently stands at 6.50 per cent.

The sentiments were further weighed down with a report that India’s core sector output grew at a slower pace of 4.2% in August 2018, from 7.3% in July 2018, as output of coal, refinery products and fertilisers moderated. Traders shrugged off a report that the finance ministry expects the GST collections to cross Rs 1 lakh crore in November and December on account of festive season demand and the anti-evasion measures initiated by the revenue department. Besides, the country's microfinance sector which rose by 25 per cent in the first quarter, may need Rs 6,000-9,000 crore over the next three years to meet it growth plans.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red; as investors weighed continuing concerns in Indonesia and India and strength in commodity prices. The euro climbed on reports the Italian government trimmed its budget-deficit plans. In scrip specific development, Lupin surged on expanding business partnership with Lilly. Besides, Future Enterprises jumped on planning to acquire majority stake in Livquik Technology.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36263.02, down by 263.12 points or 0.72% after trading in a range of 36200.99 and 36602.85. There were 8 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green and red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.09%, while Small cap index was up by 0.26%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.17% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.03%, while Telecom down by 2.27%, Auto down by 1.88%, Consumer discretionary down by 1.41%, TECK down by 1.30% and Consumer Durables was down by 1.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.86%, Vedanta up by 4.34%, Tata Steel up by 0.77%, ONGC up by 0.64% and Adani Ports &Special was up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.56%, TCS down by 2.65%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.25%, Indusind Bank down by 2.04% and Axis Bank was down by 1.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry is expecting that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections are likely to cross Rs 1 lakh crore mark in November and December. The Ministry is expecting higher collections on the back of festive season demand and the anti-evasion measures initiated by the revenue department. In September, the GST revenue rose to Rs 94,442 crore.

With the current trend for GST mop-up, it is expected that the monthly collections could again touch Rs 1 lakh crore around November and December. The collections during November and December 2018 would reflect the sales and purchases made during the months of October and November 2018.

The Ministry said people usually hold back their purchases till Ganesh Chaturthi, which marks the onset of festive season and fell in September this year. Besides, the revenue department's initiative to plug loopholes in the system to curb evasion too would help in raising revenue. Besides, the collections stood at Rs 94,016 crore in May, Rs 95,610 crore in June, Rs 96,483 crore in July, Rs 93,960 crore in August.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10918.60, down by 89.70 points or 0.81% after trading in a range of 10900.40 and 10982.70. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 6.10%, Vedanta up by 4.73%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.57%, HPCL up by 1.05% and Hindalco was up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 5.66%, Bharti Infratel down by 5.04%, UPL down by 3.74%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.43% and Grasim Industries was down by 3.12% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng fell 102.12 points or 0.38% to 27,024.26, Nikkei 225 lost 159.66 points or 0.66% to 24,110.96, Taiwan Weighted slips 55.69 points or 0.51% to 10,863.94, Jakarta Composite decreased 25.12 points or 0.43% to 5,850.50 and KOSPI was down by 29.31 points or 1.27% to 2,309.57. On the flip side Straits Times was up by 24.67 points or 0.76% to 3,267.32.