Markets remain sluggish in late noon deals

Indian equity bourses remained sluggish in late afternoon deals, with Sensex and Nifty losing more than 100 and 30 points, respectively. Weak cues from European markets weighed on the domestic sentiments. ITC lost the most among all other major industry leaders on the BSE, while broader markets were trading mixed. The street also got worried amid reports that the rupee witnessed high volatility in the forex market Friday following the allocation of key portfolios in the newly elected government. Traders paid no head towards NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that a slew of 'big-bang' economic reforms that should please foreign investors are likely to be pursued in the first 100 days of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term. Kumar further said that the reforms will include changes in labour laws, privatisation moves, and creation of land banks for new industrial development.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, even though Germany's retail sales rebounded in April from last year driven by the timing of Easter. The data from Destatis showed that retail sales rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace of 4 percent annually in April, reversing a 2 percent fall in March. Sales were forecast to grow moderately by 1.3 percent. Asian markets were also trading in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39725.94, down by 106.03 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 39374.24 and 40122.34. There were 11 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.06%, while Small cap index was down by 0.72%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.25%, TECK up by 1.11%, Oil & Gas up by 0.36%, Telecom up by 0.13% and Energy up by 0.02%, while Metal down by 1.41%, Power down by 1.14%, Basic Materials down by 1.08%, FMCG down by 0.99% and Utilities down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.40%, TCS up by 2.17%, HCL Tech. up by 1.26%, Indusind Bank up by 1.04% and Infosys up by 0.86%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.20%, Yes Bank down by 2.88%, Vedanta down by 2.84%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.03% and Tata Motors down by 1.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that a slew of 'big-bang' economic reforms that should please foreign investors are likely to be pursued in the first 100 days of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term.

Kumar further said that the reforms will include changes in labour laws, privatisation moves, and creation of land banks for new industrial development.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman also noted that reforms in India's complicated labour laws will see the light of day as early as the next parliamentary session in July, when the government will place a new bill before the lower house for approval. Besides, he said the government will focus on fully privatising or closing more than 42 state-controlled companies in the coming months.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11915.45, down by 30.45 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 11829.45 and 12039.25. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 3.51%, Asian Paints up by 2.25%, TCS up by 2.08%, Britannia up by 2.00% and Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.23%, ITC down by 3.19%, Grasim Industries down by 3.04%, Vedanta down by 2.90% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.15% 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.

All European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 lost 61.33 points or 0.85% to 7,156.83, France’s CAC fell 65.51 points or 1.25% to 5,183.40 and Germany’s DAX was down by 188.20 points or 1.58% to 11,713.88.