Markets off day’s high

Trimming some of their gains, Indian equity benchmarks came off their intraday high points in late afternoon session. Firm opening of European markets failed to support the Indian markets to hold their high peaks.  Domestic sentiments got affected as leading stock exchange BSE will delist as many as nine companies from Monday as trading in their shares remained suspended for over 6 months. The street also got cautious as, the US revoked duty-free concessions on import of at least 50 Indian products, mostly from handloom and agriculture sectors, reflecting the Trump administration's tough stand on trade-related issues with New Delhi. IT and TECK stocks also pared some of their early gains. However, the trade remained in green, supported by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that India can crack into top 50 if it improves on time taken for registering real estate, starting business and enforcement of contracts. Adding some comfort, Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that as many as 10 million employees were added afresh to avail the benefits of Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) schemes and more than 10 million people came under the fold of the EPFO.

On the sectoral front, power stocks were trading higher, amid a private report stating that the country's power sector is poised to attract investments worth Rs 11.56 trillion between 2017 and 2022. Investments are expected to flow into thermal, hydro, nuclear and renewables segments. IT stocks were in focused after the Trump administration introduced a new set of stringent provisions to the H-1B labour application process under which the US employers must disclose the total number of foreigners already employed by them, making it tougher to sponsor fresh foreign workers. Besides, stocks related to agri companies remained in limelight, with Additional Principal Secretary to the prime minister, P K Mishra’s statement that the government is making efforts with an integrated approach and has initiated ‘multiple reforms’ in order to achieve the target of doubling farmers' income by 2022.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as The UK and the European Union have reportedly reached a tentative deal that would grant UK companies continued access to European markets after Brexit. Meanwhile, UK house prices rose at the slowest pace in nearly five-and-a-half years in October. The figures from the Nationwide Building Society showed that the house price index rose 1.6 percent year-on-year following a 2 percent increase in September. Street had forecast a 1.90 percent gain. Asian markets were trading in green, after comments from US President Donald Trump suggested the door is still open for US-China trade talks.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34997.19, up by 565.22 points or 1.64% after trading in a range of 34649.80 and 35190.20. There were 26 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.75%, while Small cap index was up by 0.78%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 3.64%, Metal up by 2.98%, Basic Materials up by 2.57%, Oil & Gas up by 2.29% and Consumer Disc up by 2.19%, while IT down by 1.12%, TECK down by 0.75% and Healthcare down by 0.55% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 6.49%, Vedanta up by 5.68%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 5.33%, Maruti Suzuki up by 5.15% and Indusind Bank up by 4.79%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.52%, TCS down by 0.99%, SBI down by 0.63%, Infosys down by 0.43% and Sun Pharma down by 0.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to protect the domestic players and to discourage cheap imports, the government may impose anti-dumping duty on imports of 'Zeolite 4A (Detergent Grade)' chemical, largely used in the detergent industry, imported from China.

After the investigation, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) which ensures a level playing field to the Domestic Industry against the adverse impact of the unfair trade practices, recommended the imposition of the duty on imports of the said chemical originating in or exported from the China, in order to address the injury to the domestic industry.

DGTR suggested imposition of anti-dumping duty for a period of 5 years in the range of $163.9 per tonne to $207.72 per tonne. The final call to impose the duty would be taken by the Finance Ministry. Meanwhile, Gujarat Credo Mineral Industries and Chemicals India had appealed for initiation of anti-dumping investigation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10559.95, up by 179.50 points or 1.73% after trading in a range of 10457.70 and 10606.95. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 6.71%, BPCL up by 6.54%, Vedanta up by 5.99%, Maruti Suzuki up by 5.26% and Indusind Bank up by 5.06%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.78%, Wipro down by 2.46%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.63%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.62% and Cipla down by 1.36% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; Shanghai Composite added 70.24 points or 2.62% to 2,676.48, Taiwan Weighted surged 61.85 points or 0.62% to 9,906.59, Straits Times rose 50.83 points or 1.63% to 3,111.68, Hang Seng jumped 1070.35 points or 4.04% to 26,486.35, Nikkei 225 zoomed 556.01 points or 2.5% to 22,243.66, KOSPI gained 71.54 points or 3.41% to 2,096.00 and Jakarta Composite was up by 61.17 points or 1.04% to 5,897.09.

All European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 56.60 points or 0.79% to 7,171.26, France’s CAC soared 74.71 points or 1.45% to 5,160.49 and Germany’s DAX was up by 176.64 points or 1.52% to 11,645.18.