Indices trim initial gains; continue trade in green zone

Stock market indices continued to trade in green zone but gave up initial gains in the early noon session on the back of profit booking at higher levels. Selling pressure in Healthcare, IT and TECK stocks also kept a lid on the gains. Some level of cautiousness came in with a private report stating that the Indian growth story has been far from perfect and a growing challenge for the economy is the fast-evolving problem of inequality. However, a strong rupee against the US dollar amid falling crude oil prices, and continued buying by domestic institutional investors kept market sentiments buoyed. Buying in Realty, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods stocks helped the Sensex and Nifty post gains of around 100 and 40 points respectively. Besides, broader markets were too trading in green terrain and the market breadth was favoring positive trend; out of 2350 stocks traded, 1262 stocks advanced, while 978 stocks declined and 110 remain unchanged on the BSE.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as concerns, ranging from worries about U.S. corporate earnings to Middle East tensions, weighed on sentiments while crude oil approached two-month lows after Saudi Arabia flagged possible supply increases. Back home, aviation sector remained in focus with DGCA data showing that country's domestic passenger traffic grew over 18.94 percent to 113.98 lakh in September over the same period year ago. Stocks related to oil and gas sector were trading in green due to fall in crude oil prices. A report showed that petrol prices were slashed for the 7th straight day on October 24 (Wednesday).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33946.91, up by 99.68 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 33895.01 and 34300.97. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.26%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.73%, Oil & Gas up by 1.17%, Capital Goods up by 0.59%, Bankex up by 0.59% and Consumer Durables up by 0.56%, while Healthcare down by 0.85%, IT down by 0.58%, TECK down by 0.41%, Auto down by 0.27% and Power down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.48%, Indusind Bank up by 2.11%, HDFC up by 1.66%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.59% and Vedanta up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.18%, Adani Ports down by 2.80%, Sun Pharma down by 2.35%, Wipro down by 1.39% and Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, for issuing regulations under the insolvency law, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has notified the mechanism to govern the process of making regulations and consulting the public. A set of procedures would be followed for making or amending regulations under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Under the mechanism, a draft of regulations would be put out for public consultations as well as a statement of the problem that the proposed regulation seeks to address. Among others, there would be an economic analysis of the proposed regulations and a statement carrying relevant norms advocated by international standard setting agencies and the international best practices.

The IBBI shall allow at least twenty-one days for public to submit their comments. If the governing board of the IBBI decides to approve regulations in a form substantially different from the proposed regulations, it shall repeat the process under the issuing regulations. In case, there is an urgent need for issuing or amending regulations, then the consultation process could be done away with.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10184.85, up by 38.05 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 10159.90 and 10290.65. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 5.02%, BPCL up by 4.06%, Hindalco up by 3.19%, HPCL up by 3.03% and Indian Oil Corp. up by 2.92%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.12%, Adani Ports down by 2.05%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.02%, Sun Pharma down by 1.95% and Grasim Industries down by 1.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Straits Times increased 16.27 points or 0.53% to 3,047.66, Nikkei 225 increased 80.40 points or 0.36% to 22,091.18, Hang Seng increased 38.610 points or 0.15% to 25,385.16 and Shanghai Composite increased 9.05 points or 0.35% to 2,603.88.

On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted decreased 15.80 points or 0.16% to 9,759.40, KOSPI decreased 11.36 points or 0.54% to 2,094.74 and Jakarta Composite decreased 3.87 points or 0.07% to 5,794.02.