Sensex, Nifty extend losses

Mirroring weak European markets, Indian key equity benchmarks extended their losses in late afternoon session. Heavy sell off in Oil & Gas down and banking stocks along with mixed cues from other Asian counters, also weighed on the markets. Domestic sentiments got hit with Engineering Exports Promotion Council’s (EEPC) statement that there was a sharp annualised drop of over 54% in the gross bank credit deployment in the export sector. It further noted that the Reserve Bank and the government need to ensure timely and affordable bank credit for exporters to boost outbound shipments. Traders paid no heed towards a private report indicating that India's December retail inflation is expected to have eased to its lowest since June 2017 as food costs fell and fuel prices rose at a slower pace, giving the central bank breathing space to keep policy on hold. The market participants even overlooked rating agency ICRA’s report that toll collections are likely to witness a double-digit growth in the next financial year, propelled by an increase in commercial vehicle sales and wholesale price index (WPI).

On the sectoral front, pharma stocks were trading higher, amid private report that the domestic pharmaceutical industry bounced back to a nearly double-digit year-on-year growth in 2018 (9.4%), after falling to an eight-year low (5.5%) in the previous year. The industry’s size was Rs 1.29 trillion last year. On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as France's consumer confidence fell sharply in December to its lowest level since late 2014. The survey data from INSEE showed that the consumer confidence dropped to 87 from 91 in November. The latest reading was the lowest since November 2014. The traders were looking for a score of 90. Asian markets were trading mixed, as optimism surrounding US-China trade talks waned and a partial US government shutdown over funding for a border wall entered the 20th day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36088.09, down by 124.82 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 36070.92 and 36269.31. 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 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.80%, Capital Goods up by 0.48%, Industrials up by 0.43%, Auto up by 0.36% and Utilities up by 0.29%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.02%, Bankex down by 0.82%, Energy down by 0.70%, Telecom down by 0.54% and PSU down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.47%, NTPC up by 1.33%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.90% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.15%, Axis Bank down by 1.66%, ONGC down by 1.41%, Sun Pharma down by 1.21% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the importance of access to data in achieving faster growth, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that India needs to adopt a middle path with regard to data protection.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman said ‘I think there is a midway that will make for digital cooperation as opposed to data protection.’ He further said that India would be the creator of the largest amount of data going forward and also added that the country has something like data nationalism and that may be the anti-thesis of global growth of digital economy.

Meanwhile, India is in the process of coming out with a law on data protection. The draft personal data protection bill was prepared by a high-level panel headed by Justice B N Srikrishna. The draft bill moots seeking ‘explicit consent’ for processing 'sensitive personal information' like religious or political beliefs and biometric details.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10813.40, down by 41.75 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 10801.80 and 10859.35. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 1.56%, Titan Co up by 1.36%, NTPC up by 1.09%, UPL up by 1.07% and Eicher Motors up by 1.00%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 2.55%, Indusind Bank down by 2.18%, Grasim Industries down by 1.86%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 1.86% and Axis Bank down by 1.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Straits Times gained 18.40 points or 0.58% to 3,176.47, Hang Seng rose 59.11 points or 0.22% to 26,521.43 and Jakarta Composite jumped 56.47 points or 0.90% to 6,328.71. On the flip side, KOSPI lost 1.43 points or 0.07% to 2,063.28, Shanghai Composite fell 9.24 points or 0.36% to 2,535.10, Nikkei 225 slipped 263.26 points or 1.29% to 20,163.80, Taiwan Weighted dropped 17.62 points or 0.18% to 9,720.69 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.34 points or 0.13% to 2,541.00.

All European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE lost 32.29 points or 0.47% to 6,874.34, Germany’s DAX fell 66.61 or 0.61% points to 10,826.71 and France’s CAC was down by 41.53 points or 0.86% to 4,772.05.