Local equities trim initial gains to trade flat

Local equity benchmarks trimmed their initial gains but are managing to trade flat at this point of time. Consumer Durables, Realty and Auto counters witnessed notable losses, while Capital Goods and Metal sectors edged higher. Some cautiousness came with a report that outflows from liquid schemes in September were a whopping Rs 2.11 lakh crore, the largest monthly withdrawals seen in at least five years. In December 2017, companies had withdrawn Rs 1.38 lakh crore from the liquid scheme. Adding to some pessimism the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported that it seems that the Narendra Modi-led government failed to inject confidence in common people in the country as they don’t think that there are enough jobs or the Indian economy is doing really well. Traders were taking note of a private report that with earnings growth in the three months to September expected to be subdued, the consensus forecasts of a 25% increase in earnings in 2018-19 are beginning to look increasingly optimistic. However, losses remained capped as traders are getting some solace with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement that India will be among the top three economies of the world by 2030 if it kept up its current pace of growth.

On the global front, Asian markets were mixed, following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street amid worries about the impact of rising interest rates, US-China tensions and a slowing Chinese economy. Back home, in scrip specific development, NCL Industries advanced on reporting 32% growth in cement production in Q2 FY19. Besides, Federal Bank gained on getting RBI’s nod to sell 45% stake in Fedbank Financial Services.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34480.77, up by 6.39 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 34394.32 and 34711.68. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index slipped 0.10%, while Small cap index was down by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.79%, Metal up by 0.59%, Utilities up by 0.31%, Healthcare up by 0.25% and Power was up by 0.11%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.57%, Realty down by 1.37%, Auto down by 0.97%, IT down by 0.74% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.62% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.71%, Adani Ports up by 2.81%, HDFC up by 2.79%, Vedanta up by 1.57% and Larsen & Toubro was up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 7.40%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 6.50%, Asian Paints down by 2.21%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.03% and Wipro was down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that there was no question of going back on deregulation of oil prices despite the government asking state-owned oil marketing companies to subsidise petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre. He also said that international oil prices hitting a four-year high of $85 per barrel is a challenge that has resulted in fuel prices continuing to rise despite a one-off excise duty cut and public sector units (PSUs) subsidising fuel.

According to Minister, the combination of rupee depreciation and rise in international oil rates has made imports costlier, resulting in retail pump rates shooting up. He also said that the decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and ask state oil firms to absorb another Rs 1-a-litre was aimed at giving relief to consumers. He noted that the government was sensitive to consumers and had taken the decision in their interest. On asking oil PSUs to subsidise fuel, he said that the companies have taken the decision to shield consumers from high prices.

Pradhan further said “this is not going back on deregulation. Fuel prices continue to be decided on a daily basis based on factors like benchmark international rate and foreign exchange rate.” He also said that the Centre had done its bit and now states should come forward and cut sales tax or VAT. He noted that many states have done but some who were shedding only crocodile tears over high fuel prices haven't. He does not want to politicise the issue but states must realise their responsibility and cut value added tax (VAT).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10341.20, down by 6.85 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 10319.70 and 10397.60. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 3.75%, HDFC up by 3.04%, Adani Ports up by 2.86%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.16% and Bharti Infratel was up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 8.55%, Eicher Motors down by 2.50%, Titan Company down by 2.50%, BPCL down by 2.23% and Asian Paints was down by 2.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Jakarta Composite gained 6.45 points or 0.11% to 5,767.52, Hang Seng advanced 103.07 points or 0.39% to 26,305.64, Taiwan Weighted surged 40.65 points or 0.39% to 10,496.58 and Shanghai Composite was up by 13.29 points or 0.49% to 2,729.80.

On the other side, Nikkei 225 slipped 296.14 points or 1.26% to 23,487.58 and Straits Times was down by 12.69 points or 0.4% to 3,168.76.