Benchmarks trade flat in early noon session

Indian benchmarks traded mixed in early noon session, with Sensex gaining 16 points, while Nifty was down by 10 points. Selling in frontline blue chip stocks such as Vedanta, TCS, Tata Steel and Tech Mahindra restricted the markets to go up. Sentiments were weak with latest data of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which showed that credit growth at Indian banks has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years as slowing domestic consumption weighs on demand. However, downside remained capped with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that investors can find no better place in the world than India that has a democracy loving and capitalist respecting environment. Meanwhile, the growth in the value of currency notes has crossed Rs 69,077 crore during the current financial year - a rise of 3.2%. The week before Diwali usually sees a surge in currency in circulation as consumption increases during this period and majority of payments for personal expenditure continues to be in cash. Besides, FMCG, Capital Goods and Consumer Discretionary stocks were amongst the top gainers on the BSE sectoral space.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors were confused over the concerns revolving around Sino-US trade talks along with ongoing negotiations on Brexit. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, shares of BHEL gained on inaugurating metal-cutting gas plant at Bhopal Unit. Besides, Zee Entertainment surged as its ZEE5 on course to cross 100 million active user mark before March 2020.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38615.94, up by 16.95 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 38557.43 and 38702.89. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.56%, Capital Goods up by 0.38%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.34%, Industrials up by 0.26% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.26%, while Metal down by 1.23%, Telecom down by 0.96%, Basic Materials down by 0.96%, Oil & Gas down by 0.48% and Utilities was down by 0.48% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.01%, Asian Paints up by 0.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.76%, HDFC up by 0.66% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 2.81%, TCS down by 1.48%, Tata Steel down by 1.42%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.13% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, stressing that the fundamentals of Indian economy are ‘very very strong’, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) K V Subramanian has called upon the industry to start making investments. He noted that fundamentals of the economy have not changed and it would be back on the 7-8 percent growth path. On more than Rs 40,000 crore of dues pending to small companies, he nudged large companies to ensure timely payment to the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector as small players are dependent on cash flows.

The CEA further said the slowdown in the economy is due to a decline in investment, which is a key driver. He also said corporates must recognize that in a slowdown labour is available cheaper and so it is the time to make investments and added that investment must be made from a long-term perspective. He stated that the government has been at its toes addressing various aspects of the economy.

In October 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sharply reduced India’s GDP growth projection to 6.1% for 2019-20 from 6.9% estimated in the August credit policy. The central bank’s estimates come in the wake of GDP growth plunged to 5% in the first quarter of 2019-20, touching a six-year low, on a massive slowdown in consumption and private sector investments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11453.45, down by 10.55 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 11439.65 and 11482.60. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.96%, Britannia Industries up by 2.01%, Coal India up by 1.44%, Indusind Bank up by 1.07% and Asian Paints was up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 2.94%, Grasim Industries down by 2.20%, JSW Steel down by 2.00%, Hindalco down by 1.94% and TCS was down by 1.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Hang Seng increased 153.55 points or 0.58% to 26,817.83, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 24.05 points or 0.22% to 11,186.88, Nikkei 225 surged 5.81 points or 0.03% to 22,478.73 and Jakarta Composite was up by 7.99 points or 0.13% to 6,177.58. On the other hand, Straits Times trembled 10.85 points or 0.35% to 3,123.86, KOSPI fell 8.76 points or 0.42% to 2,074.07 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.44 points or 0.01% to 2,978.27.