Bourses turn negative in afternoon deals

Indian equities erased all of their strong gains to turn negative in afternoon session, on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. Investors maintained cautious approach ahead of March quarter GDP data, scheduled for release later in the day. However, losses were limited as some optimism remained among the traders with industry body FICCI's economic outlook survey showed that India's GDP is likely to grow 6.5 per cent in the fourth quarter ended March 2019. FICCI survey has put forth an annual median GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 at 7.1 per cent and the projection for fiscal 2020-21 has been put at 7.2 per cent. In the currency front, the rupee emerged strong in early trade, and was trading at 69.78 against US Dollar, higher by 9 paise. On the sectoral front, the metal industry stocks remained in focus with report that Japan and South Korea strengthened their grip on the Indian steel market in April, supplying nearly three-fifths of the total imports. The increasing inroads the foreign steelmakers are making will add to pressure on the Indian government to take protectionist measures to support local mills.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as trade tensions are showing no signs of abating. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39748.73, down by 83.24 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 39374.24 and 40122.34. There were 9 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.10%, while Small cap index was down by 0.53%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.80%, TECK up by 0.71%, Oil & Gas up by 0.42%, Telecom up by 0.40% and Energy was up by 0.16%, while Power down by 1.28%, Metal down by 1.07%, Utilities down by 0.96%, Basic Materials down by 0.90% and Realty was down by 0.88% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.65%, TCS up by 1.66%, HCL Tech. up by 0.98%, Indusind Bank up by 0.70% and Coal India was up by 0.63%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.36%, Vedanta down by 2.26%, NTPC down by 1.74%, Tata Motors down by 1.54% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that Indian fintech market is likely to grow to $31 billion in the year 2020. He noted that the country is one of the fastest growing fintech markets globally. He pointed out that India is the only country in the world with over a billion mobile connections and biometrics, providing enough scope for penetration of fintech technology.

Kant has stated that the Indian fintech ecosystem is the third largest in the globe. He also said that $6 billion investments have already happened in fintech market in the country in the previous 3-4 years. He also said the government has played a pivotal role in building fintech startups in the country.

Noting that unlike China where all data is owned by Alibaba, and the US where data is owned by Google and Facebook, Niti Aayog CEO said, data in India is owned by the government.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11936.30, down by 9.60 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 11829.45 and 12039.25. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.58%, Asian Paints up by 2.56%, Britannia up by 2.25%, Indian Oil  up by 2.22% and Indiabulls Housing Finance was up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 2.79%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.35%, Yes Bank down by 2.29%, Vedanta down by 2.26% and NTPC was down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 163.27 points or 0.6% to 26,951.61, Nikkei 225 slipped 341.34 points or 1.63% to 20,601.19, Straits Times trembled 24.80 points or 0.79% to 3,118.20 and Shanghai Composite was down by 6.93 points or 0.24% to 2,898.88.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 2.94 points or 0.14% to 2,041.74, Jakarta Composite soared 55.96 points or 0.92% to 6,160.07 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 115.50 points or 1.11% to 10,498.49.