Markets back in green; Sensex gains around 100 points

Indian equity benchmarks came back in green terrain in late afternoon session, with Sensex gaining around 100 points. Domestic sentiments turned positive with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that GST collections in October have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. The revenue from goods and services tax (GST) in September was Rs 94,442 crore. Adding some relief, the finance ministry said that India is likely to announce new steps to support small and medium-sized businesses, such as increased access to credit and financial markets, at an industry event on November 2. The street took note of AIIB's Director General for Investment Operations Department, Yee Ean Pang’s statement that India is the biggest commitment country for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is interested in funding rural roads and transmission lines projects in the country. Meanwhile, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) called for immediate action by the central bank to ensure sufficient liquidity in the financial market to prevent a potentially crippling credit crunch.

On the global front, European markets were trading mixed, after Eurozone inflation accelerated to a near six-year high in October largely on energy prices and the unemployment rate was at its lowest since 2008, despite the economy growing at the slowest pace in four years. Inflation rose to 2.2% in October from 2.1% in September. Separately, France's consumer price inflation was steady in October, after easing in the previous month. As per preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE, the consumer price index rose 2.2% year-on-year, same as in September. The street also got cautious as UK consumer confidence weakened as expected in October. The market research firm GfK reportedly said that the consumer sentiment index dropped to (-) 10 in October from (-) 9 in September. Asian markets were also trading mixed, as China's manufacturing sector expanded only slightly in October, as output remained broadly unchanged amid marginal increase in new business. The survey data from IHS Markit showed that the Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 50.1 in October versus 50.0 in September.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34537.27, up by 95.22 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 34303.38 and 34679.93. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.17%, while Small cap index was up by 1.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 3.17%, Industrials up by 2.27%, Realty up by 2.19%, Basic Materials up by 1.86% and Metal up by 1.67%, while IT down by 1.92%, TECK down by 1.66%, FMCG down by 0.55% and Healthcare down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 8.38%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.81%, Indusind Bank up by 3.68%, Axis Bank up by 3.57% and SBI up by 1.96%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 3.10%, NTPC down by 1.22%, Sun Pharma down by 1.22%, ITC down by 1.04% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Indian manufacturing sector strengthened further in the month of October, on account of stronger order inflows and job creation. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - improved to 53.1 in October from 52.2 in September. This is the 15th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI reading stood above the watershed 50 mark, which differentiates growth from contraction.

During the reported month, manufacturing firms responded to stronger order inflows by scaling up production, input purchasing and employment. New orders grew at fastest rate since June, on the back of successful advertising efforts, strengthening underlying demand and competitive price setting, while job creation was the strongest since last December. However, the upturn in export sales cooled at the start of the fourth quarter. The expansion was the weakest in three months and below the long-run series average.

On the price front, the manufacturing companies continued to face higher input costs during October, amid reports of higher prices for chemicals, energy and metals. Consecutively, the firms attempted to pass on their higher cost burdens on to their clients by hiking their charges. In the month, the rate of selling price inflation was mild in the context of historical survey data and much weaker than seen for costs. Meanwhile, Indian manufacturers were confident that output will be higher over the course of the next year, with sentiment underpinned by planned R&D investments and marketing initiatives.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10407.70, up by 21.10 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 10341.90 and 10441.90. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 8.19%, Hindalco up by 5.10%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.85%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 3.41% and Indusind Bank up by 3.39%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 4.09%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.22%, Infosys down by 3.12%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.71% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Shanghai Composite added 3.46 points or 0.13% to 2,606.24, Taiwan Weighted rose 42.61 points or 0.43% to 9,844.74, Straits Times gained 39.06 points or 1.28% to 3,057.86 and Hang Seng increased 436.31 points or 1.72% to 25,416.00. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 232.81 points or 1.07% to 21,687.65, KOSPI dipped 5.23 points or 0.26% to 2,024.46 and Jakarta Composite was down by 7.71 points or 0.13% to 5,823.94.

European markets were trading mixed, France’s CAC surged 10.09 points or 0.2% to 5,103.53 and Germany’s DAX increased 64.10 points or 0.56% to 11,511.61. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 12.73 points or 0.18% to 7,115.37.