Sensex, Nifty turn volatile

Key Indian equity benchmarks turned volatile in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty lingering in red terrain. The trade got affected because of weak opening in European markets along with heavy selling at Telecom and PSU counters. Domestic sentiments got hit with a private report stating that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to slow down to 7.4% in the July-September quarter of the current financial year, down by 0.8 percentage points from the previous quarter. Losses led by major industry leaders like Tata Motors and Vedanta, also weighed on the sentiments. However, downside remained capped, as Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Bibek Debroy said that the government is looking to reform tax structures such that there is no deviation from fiscal consolidation. On the sectoral front, airlines stocks were in focused, as rating agency ICRA indicated that domestic carriers, which are grappling with high jet fuel cost and falling rupee coupled with cut-throat competition, are estimated to require a massive capital infusion of around Rs 350 billion over the next 3-4 years. These funds would help bring down the high debt-levels in the airline industry.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Eurozone's economic sentiment weakened for an eleventh straight month in November, but the pace of decline was less than expected, helped by an improvement in morale in the industrial sector. The survey data from the European Commission showed that the economic sentiment indicator fell to 109.5, which was the weakest reading since May 2017, when the score was 109. The October reading was revised to 109.7 from 109.8. However, Asian markets were trading in green, even though China's manufacturing activity continued to worsen in November. The manufacturing PMI stood at 50.0 in November, missing expectations for a score of 50.2, which would have been unchanged from the October reading. The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 53.4 - also shy of expectations for 53.8 and down from 53.9 in the previous month. The composite index posted a score of 52.8, down from 53.1 a month earlier.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36124.65, down by 45.76 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 36082.97 and 36389.22. There were 11 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.39%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.03%, Healthcare up by 1.11%, IT up by 1.00%, Consumer Disc up by 0.69% and TECK up by 0.66%, while Telecom down by 1.57%, PSU down by 1.17%, Oil & Gas down by 1.03%, Energy down by 0.60% and Metal down by 0.58% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 4.49%, Wipro up by 2.60%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.03%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.35% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.79%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.60%, Vedanta down by 1.86%, ICICI Bank down by 1.75% and Indusind Bank down by 1.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underlining the role of startups in creation of jobs and in growth of the economy, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the government is taking several steps, such as reducing regulatory burden and ensuring availability of adequate funds, for budding entrepreneurs to promote startup ecosystem in the country.

Prabhu listed the efforts taken by the government, noting that they are working on a policy to provide mentorship to startups, meet with regulators for reducing burden and provide funding support to startups. He also highlighted that the ministry is working on strengthening the ecosystem for them in every sector including agriculture and services.

Besides, the minister expects that the country's economy will touch $5 trillion in next seven years and $10 trillion by 2035. Further, he said that manufacturing will contribute $1 trillion in this, while $3 trillion will come from services sector and $1 trillion from agriculture.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10852.95, down by 5.75 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 10835.10 and 10922.45. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 4.71%, Cipla up by 2.97%, Wipro up by 2.57%, Indiabulls Housing up by 2.40% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.15%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 3.75%, Tata Motors down by 2.65%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.47%, UPL down by 2.32% and ICICI Bank down by 1.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Straits Times increased 10.67 points or 0.34% to 3,120.11, Nikkei 225 jumped 88.46 points or 0.4% to 22,351.06, Taiwan Weighted added 2.67 points or 0.03% to 9,888.03, Hang Seng surged 55.72 points or 0.21% to 26,506.75 and Shanghai Composite rose 20.75 points or 0.8% to 2,588.19. On the flip side, KOSPI decreased 17.24 points or 0.82% to 2,096.86 and Jakarta Composite was down by 44.13 points or 0.73% to 6,063.04.

All European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 fell 38.47 points or 0.55% to 7,000.48, France’s CAC lost 20.79 points or 0.42% to 4,985.46 and Germany’s DAX was down by 53.75 points or 0.48% to 11,244.48.