Key indices continue to trade with small losses

Key benchmark indices continued to trade with small losses in afternoon trade, dragged by Realty, and Metal stocks amid weakness in Asian markets. Sentiments remained pessimistic on report that Finance Commission Chairman N.K. Singh has sounded a note of caution against fiscal slippage, saying it would adversely impact the country’s macroeconomic stability as well as investment climate. He expressed apprehension that some states are not according priority to fiscal discipline, which was not the case earlier. However, downside remained capped as some optimism came with Finance minister Arun Jaitley expressing confidence of meeting the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 % of GDP for the current financial year (FY19) despite revenue loss on account of reduction in GST rates. On the sectoral front, tourism sector was in focus with Government think tank NITI Aayog proposing that the validity period of e-Visas be increased to 10 years and the number of annual visits for those on e-medical visa be enhanced to attract more tourists in the country.

On the global front, Asian market were trading mostly in red, as investors fretted that political instability in the United States was leaving the country rudderless at a time when the global economy was showing signs of faltering. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35656.71, down by 85.36 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 35616.55 and 35910.67. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.26%, while Small cap index was down by 0.73%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.24%, TECK up by 0.99%, FMCG up by 0.08%, while Realty down by 2.18%, Consumer Disc down by 1.16%, Metal down by 1.04%, Auto down by 1.03% and Consumer Durables down by 1.00% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.78%, Infosys up by 1.43%, Sun Pharma up by 1.35%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.97% and ITC up by 0.63%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.43%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.62%, Asian Paints down by 1.79%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.53% and HCL Tech. down by 1.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Oil ministers from leading Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations have expressed hopes that crude oil prices will halt their recent drop and rebalance early next year, when a new deal to reduce oil output takes effect. Both U.S. crude and Brent have shed more than 36 percent from early October to trade at $54 (47 euros) per barrel, amid worries about oversupply and weak global demand.

However, president of OPEC and UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said that the surplus in the oil market was small compared to 2017 and expected it to vanish in one or two months. Mazrouei said “Based on available figures, we have around 26 million barrels of surplus ... compared to 340 million barrels in early 2017. I think that we can easily do with this surplus and reach market rebalance in one or two months... in the first quarter of next year.” He noted that there has been higher than anticipated supply on the market in recent months, as US sanctions on Iran have had a less pronounced effect on the country's oil exports than had been expected.

Iraq's Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadhban has stated that there is a consensus among OPEC and non-OPEC producers to comply with the new agreement to trim output in a bid to stabilise the market. He also said that the new agreement is valid for six months and the ministers will meet in April to assess the impact of the cuts. Besides, he believed that that the new measures taken by producers will stop the slide in oil prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10738.10, down by 15.90 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 10708.65 and 10782.30. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 2.30%, TCS up by 1.98%, Infosys up by 1.32%, Grasim Industries up by 1.10% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 4.49%, JSW Steel down by 3.18%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.49%, Asian Paints down by 1.89% and Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.86% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 102.04 points or 0.4% to 25,651.38, KOSPI fell 6.48 points or 0.31% to 2,055.01 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 6.46 points or 0.07% to 9,639.70.

On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 5.02 points or 0.16% to 3,051.06 and Shanghai Composite was up by 8.61 points or 0.34% to 2,524.86.