Sensex, Nifty pare losses but trade continues in red

Indian benchmark indices trimmed some of their early losses but continued to trade in red in afternoon session, following heavy selling in Realty, Energy and IT stocks amid global growth concerns. Sentiments on the street remained on pessimistic mood with former chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu’s statement that distress in some sectors of the economy has slowed India’s GDP growth, the consequences of which could be far reaching. Basu said distress has been very much visible in the agriculture sector as the condition of farmers is bad. The mood of the markets remain impacted with a private report that as India near 2019 general elections, populist steps by the government may exert pressure on India’s fiscal scenario. It expected the general government debt at 70.1% of the GDP in FY19. However, markets trimmed some of their early losses, as traders took some support with a private report that the government is considering several measures to support farmers in distress as pressure mounts for a nationwide loan waiver scheme ahead of the general election. In the currency front, the rupee emerged strong, and was trading at 69.97 against US Dollar, higher by 17 paise. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after US President Donald Trump said that there was 'nothing new' in efforts to end the partial government shutdown over a US-Mexico border wall. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35239.35, down by 230.80 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 35010.82 and 35443.99. There were 7 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.79%, while Small cap index was down by 0.91%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Consumer Durables up by 0.30%, while Realty down by 1.56%, Energy down by 1.09%, IT down by 1.03%, Bankex down by 0.81% and TECK down by 0.80% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 0.88%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.70%, ITC up by 0.51%, Axis Bank up by 0.44% and HCL Tech. up by 0.42%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.10%, Indusind Bank down by 2.57%, Sun Pharma down by 1.89%, SBI down by 1.50% and Reliance Industries down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian IT industry faces threats from rising protectionism, data flow curbs and fast-changing technological shifts, but it is keeping hopes high for the New Year with plans afoot for big investments in automation and artificial intelligence (AI). For the industry body National Association of Software & Services Companies (Nasscom), 2018 has been the year of 'Digital at Scale' as IT firms focussed on leveraging new technologies and ensuring sustainability by creating right skills with help from innovation, policies and partnerships.

The industry body has projected exports to grow at 7-9 percent for 2018-19, almost same as the previous fiscal, but domestic revenues, excluding hardware, is expected to grow by 10-12 percent to be at $28 billion-$29 billion in the next financial year against $26 billion this year and this may make the new year transformative with overseas funds accounting for a lion's share so far. Over years, the industry has graduated from being the back office of the world to being at the forefront of change, helping clients optimise operations and stay ahead of competition. Protectionist stances are being seen across key markets -- be it the US, the UK or Australia - with governments bringing in more stringent regulations around procurement of work visas. As a counter, Indian IT firms are ramping up their local presence abroad by hiring locals.

Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh has said that the year ahead is punctuated with several transformative opportunities. He also said that rising protectionism continues to be an irritant and the anti-immigration rhetoric discriminatorily targets Indian companies and challenges the level playing field for business delivery. He added that the companies, however, are upbeat on opportunities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10608.15, down by 55.35 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 10534.55 and 10635.45. There were 17 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 2.98%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.19%, Titan Co up by 1.06%, UPL up by 0.94% and ITC up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.40%, Indusind Bank down by 2.54%, Sun Pharma down by 2.05%, SBI down by 1.55% and Reliance Industries down by 1.52% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times trembled 41.05 points or 1.35% to 3,010.01, Shanghai Composite declined 5.31 points or 0.21% to 2,499.51, KOSPI fell 27.00 points or 1.31% to 2,028.01, Jakarta Composite dropped 31.13 points or 0.51% to 6,132.47 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 48.10 points or 0.5% to 9,478.99.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 171.32 points or 0.89% to 19,327.06.