Benchmarks turn volatile

Indian equity benchmarks turned volatile in late afternoon deals, following weak European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader indices were too trading mixed, while power sector lost the shine in late noon deals. The street got cautious as tax officers expressed concerns over the faceless income tax assessment system initiated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), saying it will create procedural difficulties and may hit revenue collections. However, downside remained capped after Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian called upon the industry to start making investments, stressing that the fundamentals of the economy are very strong.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, after German investors' confidence decreased less than expected in October, while their assessment of the current economic situation worsened to the lowest since 2010. The survey data from the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim showed that the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany dropped slightly to -22.8 from -22.5 in September. However, Asian markets were trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38490.30, down by 15.79 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 38416.67 and 38666.38. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.96%, Oil & Gas up by 0.89%, Energy up by 0.70%, Telecom up by 0.53% and Basic Materials up by 0.47%, while Power down by 1.18%, Utilities down by 1.07%, Metal down by 0.47%, FMCG down by 0.41% and Consumer Disc down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.82%, HDFC up by 1.23%, HCL Tech. up by 1.13%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.85% and Sun Pharma up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.39%, Vedanta down by 2.38%, Power Grid down by 2.01%, Asian Paints down by 1.88% and ITC down by 1.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting developments achieved by India, the World Bank has said that the country has halved its poverty rate since the 1990s and achieved a seven-plus growth rate over the last 15 years. It also noted that India is both critical to the success of global development efforts, including eliminating extreme poverty, and as an influential leader for global goods such as addressing climate change.

World Bank is expecting India's growth to continue and elimination of extreme poverty in the decade is within reach and added that the country's development trajectory nonetheless faces considerable challenges. It further said that India will need to achieve greater resource efficiency as it sustains growth, given its resource endowments and large population.

As per the World Bank, India's rapidly growing economy needs investment in infrastructure, an estimated 8.8 percent of GDP or $343 billion a year until 2030. Besides, sustained growth will also need to accelerate inclusion, especially to create more and better jobs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11436.00, up by 7.70 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 11411.10 and 11481.05. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 5.12%, Grasim Industries up by 3.66%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.82%, Wipro up by 2.46% and Zee Entertainment up by 2.23%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.42%, Vedanta down by 2.38%, Hindalco down by 2.31%, Asian Paints down by 2.10% and Power Grid down by 1.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 265.71 points or 1.2% to 22,472.92, Hang Seng increased 141.73 points or 0.53% to 26,645.66, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 51.03 points or 0.46% to 11,162.83, Straits Times advanced 27.34 points or 0.88% to 3,143.51 and KOSPI was up by14.66 points or 0.71% to 2,082.83. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 2.31 points or 0.04% to 6,155.86 and Shanghai Composite was down by 10.61 points or 0.35% to 2,980.44.

All European markets were trading in red; FTSE lost 13.92 points or 0.19% to 7,197.72, CAC fell 18.73 points or 0.33% to 5,683.32 and DAX was down by 9.97 points or 0.08% to 12,619.82.