Markets trade flat; Metal, Oil & Gas major losers

In the volatile trading, Indian equity benchmarks traded flat in afternoon session, despite the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee (MPC) reduced the repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 5.40 percent from 5.75 percent for fourth time in a row, to help revive the economy. The market sentiment failed to pick up after the rate cut as the central bank cut its FY20 economic growth outlook to 6.9% from 7% in the June policy review. The sentiments remained in lackluster mood with economic think-tank NCAER’s statement that India's GDP growth is likely to be 6.2 per cent during the current fiscal, down from 6.8 per cent in 2018-19, on account of flat growth in agriculture sector. The prospects for agricultural sector in 2019-20 depend largely on the south-west monsoon. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as traders remained cautious in the face of trade tensions.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37025.11, up by 48.26 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 36815.47 and 37104.79. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.49%, while Small cap index was up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.92%, TECK up by 0.92%, IT up by 0.85%, Bankex up by 0.54% and Realty was up by 0.44%, while Metal down by 1.47%, Oil & Gas down by 0.99%, Consumer Durables down by 0.77%, PSU down by 0.61% and Energy was down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 6.26%, Indusind Bank up by 2.59%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.07%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.97% and HCL Technologies was up by 1.88%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.01%, ONGC down by 1.37%, ITC down by 1.08% and Vedanta was down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Parliament has given its nod to the landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019, which aims to protect the rights of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute. The Bill, already passed by Lok Sabha, was passed in the Upper House by voice vote and will replace the more than three decades old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Moving the Bill for consideration and passing in Rajya Sabha, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said that the new legislation seeks to establish a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce consumer rights. He also noted that this new bill will provide a better mechanism to dispose consumer complaints in a speedy manner and will help in disposal of large number of pending cases in consumer courts across the nation. He also said that if a product is found faulty, instead of earlier individual examination, the entire batch would be examined. He added that the new bill seeks to take care of product liabilities and service, as well as action against publishers and celebrities of misleading advertisements.

Talking on maximum retail price (MRP), Paswan said many restaurants were overcharging but when it tried to intervene, the matter was challenged in court. He said MRP should be displayed prominently on products apart from date of expiry, date of manufacturing and complaints redressal mechanism. He observed that there is no concept of levying a service charge globally and the government advised restaurants to make it voluntary. He also urged the state governments to pay more attention to consumer awareness programmes like 'Jaago Graahak Jaago'. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10940.80, down by 7.45 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 10891.55 and 10975.65. There were 22 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 7.14%, Yes Bank up by 6.15%, Cipla up by 2.30%, Indusind Bank up by 2.30% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 1.99%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 8.82%, Tata Steel down by 3.80%, BPCL down by 3.08%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.15% and Titan Company was down by 2.00% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 68.75 points or 0.33% to 20,516.56, Hang Seng decreased 11.67 points or 0.04% to 25,964.57, Taiwan Weighted dropped 8.57 points or 0.08% to 10,386.18, KOSPI fell 7.79 points or 0.41% to 1,909.71 and Shanghai Composite was down by 2.71 points or 0.1% to 2,774.85.On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 10.15 points or 0.32% to 3,180.62 and Jakarta Composite soared 95.06 points or 1.55% to 6,214.53.