Sensex, Nifty hold heads in green terrain

Indian equity benchmarks were holding their heads in green terrain in late afternoon session, despite weak European markets. Traders took support with Niti Aayog Vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that with several steps taken by the government in the past couple of months to boost the economy, the country’s growth is expected to be around 6.5% this year (FY20), although it is lower than expected. Some relief also came among investors because of the Finance Ministry’s statement that the Reserve Bank's decision to lower benchmark lending rate will complement recent measures taken by the government to accelerate growth.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Norway's industrial production declined further in August. The figures from Statistics Norway showed that industrial production declined a calendar-adjusted 9.2 percent year-on-year in August, following a 5.7 percent fall in July. However, Asian markets were trading mostly in green.

Back home, auto industry stocks were in watch, after rating agency ICRA said its outlook for the domestic commercial vehicle industry remains negative for the rest of the fiscal due to subdued sales amid slowing economic growth and tight financing environment. The rating agency believes that demand headwinds would continue in the near-term with likelihood of limited pre-buying ahead of the roll-out of BS-VI emission norms.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37727.57, up by 54.26 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 37534.54 and 37919.47. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.17%, while Small cap index was down by 0.58%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.07%, Consumer Durables up by 1.05%, Telecom up by 0.71% and Consumer Disc up by 0.06%, while Healthcare down by 2.27%, Oil & Gas down by 1.78%, PSU down by 1.44%, Capital Goods down by 1.25% and Industrials down by 1.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 9.61%, Axis Bank up by 1.71%, ICICI Bank up by 1.66%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.48% and HDFC Bank up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 3.08%, ONGC down by 2.12%, Indusind Bank down by 2.03%, Tata Motors down by 1.84% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to protect the domestic players and to discourage cheap imports, the Government of India has started a probe into an alleged increase in imports of a chemical, which is used to make dyes and insecticides, from South Korea.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) which ensures a level playing field to the Domestic Industry against the adverse impact of the unfair trade practices, has initiated an investigation following complaints by domestic firms. IG Petrochemicals and Thirumalai Chemicals have alleged that an increase in imports of Phthalic Anhydride from South Korea is causing serious injury to them.

In the probe, it would determine whether the imports of the chemical from Korea constitute increased imports and whether that have caused or is threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry. If it was established that the increase in imports has impacted domestic players, the directorate would recommend the imposition of safeguard duty on the imports. The finance ministry will take the final call to impose the duty.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11179.55, up by 4.80 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 11117.85 and 11233.85. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 9.49%, Zee Entertainment up by 6.50%, Britannia up by 3.56%, Nestle up by 1.66% and Axis Bank up by 1.57%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 5.31%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.60%, Indusind Bank down by 2.19%, ONGC down by 2.12% and Tata Motors down by 2.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were mostly trading mostly in green; KOSPI rose 1.04 points or 0.05% to 2,021.73, Straits Times advanced 17.66 points or 0.57% to 3,096.02 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 40.58 points or 0.37% to 10,935.06. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 42.85 points or 0.71% to 6,018.40 and Nikkei 225 was down by 34.95 points or 0.16% to 21,375.25.

All European markets were trading in red; FTSE lost 7.27 points or 0.10% to 7,148.11, CAC fell 9.50 points or 0.17% to 5,478.82 and DAX was down by 16.44 points or 0.14% to 11,996.37.