Local equities continue flat trade tad above neutral lines

Local equity benchmarks continued their flat trade tad above the neutral lines in morning session. Traders were seen piling positions in Capital Goods, Power and Utilities sector, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, IT and TECK sector stocks. Some optimism came in with World Bank’s report that in an era of slowing trade and growth, developing countries can achieve better outcomes for its people through reforms to boost their participation in global value chains. However, gains remained capped as traders took note of a report that India has moved down 10 places to rank 68th on an annual global competitiveness index, largely due to improvements witnessed by several other economies, while Singapore has replaced the US as the world’s most competitive economy. On the sectoral front, coal industry stocks were in focus as ICRA rating agency showed that the country’s overall thermal coal import is likely to cross the 200-million tonnes (MT) mark in the current financial year. Besides, power generation in the country fell 4.5% year-on-year to 113.6 billion units (MU) in September, recording the second straight month when electricity produced was less than the corresponding period in 2018.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, as US and China's ever-expanding dispute over trade and foreign policy showed little sign of coming to an end, weighing on global economic growth. Back home, a report stated that the overall food grain production is expected to increase marginally by 8.4 million tonne from the average output in the past five years at 140.57 million tonne in 2019-20.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37566.43, up by 34.45 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 37415.83 and 37663.12. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.05%, while Small cap index was down by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.13%, Power up by 0.76%, Utilities up by 0.67%, Basic Materials up by 0.56% and Telecom was up by 0.53%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.16%, IT down by 0.98%, TECK down by 0.76%, Realty down by 0.28% and Energy was down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.22%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.76%, NTPC up by 1.38%, Kotak Mahindra Bank was up by 1.16% and Asian Paints up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 7.68%, HCL Tech down by 2.90%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.47%, TCS down by 1.44% and SBI was down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) has said that mobile tower installations have reached only 60% of intended target of 1,00,000 towers annually, mainly on account delay in permission from local authorities and other structural issues. COAI also said it is reasonable for regulator Trai to review service quality norms, especially at a time when technology is changing dramatically, but added that policy or regulatory actions need to be curative rather than penal.

COAI’s Director General, Rajan Mathews said ‘we expect that in any particular year there will be 1,00,000 mobile tower installations. But at the last count, it has reached 50,000 or 60,000 towers.’ He said the big impediment has been lack of crucial installation permissions. He asserted that customers' grouse on mobile service quality and call drops also need to be viewed in the backdrop of structural issues and infrastructural bottlenecks faced by operators.

He added that the recent initiative of Department of Telecom (DoT) to bring together various stakeholders, including MCD Commissioners in Delhi to resolve outstanding issues, is an approach that should be replicated and amplified in various states. Overall, he noted structural issues need to be identified and addressed at the earliest.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11137.00, up by 10.60 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 11090.15 and 11159.15. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 3.50%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.08%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.69%, Grasim Industries up by 1.31% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 7.78%, Titan Co down by 5.52%, HCL Tech down by 2.93%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.54% and Zee Entertainment was down by 1.51% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 167.87 points or 0.65% to 25,725.53, Nikkei 225 slipped 147.97 points or 0.69% to 21,439.81, Taiwan Weighted dropped 75.73 points or 0.69% to 10,941.58, Jakarta Composite lost 16.08 points or 0.27% to 6,023.52, Straits Times trembled 12.79 points or 0.41% to 3,098.06 and Shanghai Composite was down by 4.04 points or 0.14% to 2,909.53.