Local equities trim some losses in morning deals

Local equity benchmarks trimmed some of their initial losses in morning session, but continue to trade below the neutral lines, with losses of around half a percent. IT, Power and TECK counters witnessed notable losses, while Telecom and Consumer Durables sectors edged higher. Trader took note of a report stating that the rupee may average at 69.79 to the dollar in the second half, down 8.3% from the first half if the monetary authority props it up by mobilising at least $30 billion from NRIs as it has done in 2013. Traders remained concerned with a report stating that the fiscal deficit of the Central government has widened in the first half of 2018-19 to 95.3% of the Budget Estimate (BE), mainly on account of slow growth in revenue collections. The deficit was at 91.3% of BE at September-end of the last financial year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, despite the overnight jump on Wall Street. Worries over corporate earnings, trade and the outlook for growth weighed on sentiment. Back home, on the sectoral front, Agriculture industries related stocks were trading mixed on the D-street, despite Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu’s stated that the government will soon come out with a new agri export policy which would have provisions for setting up agro specific zones to boost outbound shipments. Meanwhile, a private report stated that India's coffee exports could drop 8% to 230,000 tonnes in 2019 as production is expected to fall to its lowest in five years after plantations were hit by floods in key producing southern states.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33551.51, down by 138.58 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 33332.10 and 33776.80. There were 9 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index slipped 0.38%, while Small cap index was down by 0.45%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.93%, Consumer Durables up by 0.52% and Energy was up by 0.42%, while IT down by 1.29%, Power down by 1.17%, TECK down by 1.16%, Utilities down by 0.99% and Realty was down by 0.94% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.45%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.76%, Tata Steel up by 1.51%, Reliance Industries up by 1.20% and Tata Motors - DVR was up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.31%, NTPC down by 2.50%, Asian Paints down by 2.09%, Infosys down by 1.93% and TCS was down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to boost outbound shipments of agri products, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the government will soon come out with a new agri export policy which would have provisions for setting up agro specific zones. He added that the strategy is to increase farmers' income and reduce wastage of food products as India produces nearly 600 metric tonne (MT) of agri products including horticultural produce.

Prabhu also said that India is bestowed with the potential to produce all varieties of organic commodities due to the country’s varied agro-climatic regions. He said it is a great advantage for organic producers to tap the market which is growing steadily in both domestic and export markets. He noted that India ranks first in terms of total number of organic producers and 9th in terms of world's organic agricultural land.

India produced around 1.70 MT of certified organic commodities in 2017-18, which includes oilseeds, sugarcane, cereals and millets, cotton, pulses, medicinal plants, tea, fruits, spices, dried fruits, vegetables and coffee. Total volume of organic exports during 2017-18 was 4.58 lakh MT. Besides, India's organic products are exported to the US, EU, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, South Korea, Vietnam, New Zealand and Japan.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10075.55, down by 49.35 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 10004.55 and 10122.35. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.93%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.03%, Titan Company up by 2.01%, Tata Steel up by 1.48% and GAIL India was up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.56%, Grasim Industries down by 2.78%, NTPC down by 2.71%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.64% and HPCL was down by 2.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, KOSPI slipped 32.11 points or 1.58% to 2,031.19, Taiwan Weighted fell 62.53 points or 0.66% to 9,458.26, Straits Times declined 50.80 points or 1.72% to 2,962.04, Hang Seng dropped 244.04 points or 0.99% to 24,750.42, Shanghai Composite lost 15.14 points or 0.58% to 2,588.66 and Jakarta Composite was down by 3.07 points or 0.05% to 5,751.90.

On the other side, Nikkei 225 was up by 51.94 points or 0.24% to 21,320.67.