Sensex, Nifty remain under pressure

Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure in late afternoon session, with Sensex losing around 250 points, tracking weak opening of European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader markets were too crumbling under pressure with the losses of more than 0.70% each. Anxiety spread among the traders, as the Reserve Bank cancelled the certificate of registrations of as many as 31 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) on November 09 for unspecified reasons. The street overlooked a private report indicating that foreign investors have pumped in nearly Rs 4,800 crore into the Indian capital markets in the last five trading sessions, after pulling out hefty funds in October, amid cooling global crude oil prices and rising rupee. On the sectoral front, consumer durables stocks remained in limelight, amid private report stating that this festive season, sales of consumer electronics and white goods grew 12-15% over last year, indicating a return of discretionary spending two years after demonetization.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as France's industrial production decreased more-than-expected in September. The data from the statistical office Insee revealed that industrial production logged a monthly drop of 1.8%, in contrast to a 0.2% rise in August. This was the first fall in five months and the biggest since January. Besides, UK industrial production remained flat, while manufacturing output recovered in September. The data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that industrial production remained unchanged for the second straight month in September. Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as investors were encouraged after the China Securities Regulatory Commission rolled out a series of measures over the weekend to support the private sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34909.32, down by 249.23 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 34896.80 and 35333.22. There were 5 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.78%, while Small cap index was down by 0.73%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.43%, IT up by 0.82% and TECK up by 0.40%, while Auto down by 1.74%, Oil & Gas down by 1.73%, Telecom down by 1.73%, PSU down by 1.63% and Power down by 1.51% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.67%, Tata Steel up by 1.54%, Infosys up by 0.94%, TCS up by 0.54% and Indusind Bank up by 0.01%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.35%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 3.14%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.98%, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.51% and Vedanta down by 2.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, terming Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a ‘monumental reform’, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the new tax reform had only a transient impact on growth and that too for two quarters. Besides, he pointed towards the fast economic recovery from the limited disruptionist impact of the tax reform.

The Finance Minister further highlighted that GST had a smooth implementation and had impacted growth for just two quarters, as GDP numbers since then climbed up to 7, 7.7 and 8.2 percent in the subsequent quarters. He made a comparison of these growth numbers with 2012-2014 numbers. He also said that the country has been able to retain its position as the fastest growing major economy, with the current government.

Besides, the minister noted that the economy became more formalized, on the back of the government’s various reform measures including GST, demonetisation and the much-contested Aadhaar. These initiatives also made available extra resources which are now being utilised for building infrastructure, rural roads and also for paying for various social sector schemes aimed at uplifting the masses.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10517.90, down by 67.30 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 10507.70 and 10645.50. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan up by 5.29%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.97%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.91%, Tata Steel up by 1.50% and Cipla up by 1.15%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 6.09%, Tata Motors down by 4.35%, Hindalco down by 3.92%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 3.25% and Hero MotoCorp down by 3.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite increased 31.65 points or 1.2% to 2,630.52, Taiwan Weighted added 1.20 points or 0.01% to 9,831.21, Hang Seng gained 31.26 points or 0.12% to 25,633.18 and Nikkei 225 rose 19.63 points or 0.09% to 22,269.88. On the flip side, Straits Times decreased 10.57 points or 0.34% to 3,067.40, KOSPI lost 5.65 points or 0.27% to 2,080.44 and Jakarta Composite was down by 97.10 points or 1.68% to 5,777.05.

European markets were trading in red, France’s CAC decreased 8.69 points or 0.17% to 5,098.06 and Germany’s DAX fell 80.74 points or 0.71% to 11,448.42. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 24.84 points or 0.35% to 7,130.18.