Markets trade volatile; Sensex loses over 50 points

India equity markets were trading volatile in late afternoon session, despite firm cues from European markets. Anxiety remained among investors, after Fitch Ratings slashed India's GDP growth forecast in the current fiscal to 5.5 per cent saying a large credit squeeze emanating from shadow banks has pushed economic growth to a six year low.  However, downside remained capped, with the commerce and industry ministry’s statement that India has recorded continuous improvement in its ease of doing business ranking issued by the World Bank on account of steps taken by the government in this regard.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, after France's private sector expanded at a faster pace at the start of the fourth quarter. The survey data from IHS Markit showed that the composite output index rose more-than-expected to 52.6 in October from 50.8 in September. The expected reading was 51.0. Asian markets were also trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39006.43, down by 52.40 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 38840.76 and 39327.15. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining, while 1 remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.40%, while Small cap index was down by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.10%, Energy up by 0.72%, Consumer Durables up by 0.18% and Basic Materials up by 0.01%, while PSU down by 1.94%, Telecom down by 1.77%, Bankex down by 1.13%, Power down by 1.08% and Utilities down by 0.91% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech up by 2.33%, Reliance Industries up by 1.81%, Asian Paints up by 1.57%, Tata Steel up by 1.45% and Vedanta up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.19%, SBI down by 3.96%, Yes Bank down by 3.61%, Infosys down by 1.60% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after the release of World Bank's ‘ease of doing business’ report where India jumped 14 places to rank 63rd, the Commerce and Industry Ministry has said that the country has recorded continuous improvement in its ease of doing business ranking issued by the World Bank on account of steps taken by the government in this regard.

The Ministry also noted that as a result of continued efforts by the government, India has improved its rank by 79 positions in the last five years (2014-19). Commerce Ministry further listed the segments where significant improvements have been registered such as resolving insolvency, dealing with construction permits, registering property, trading across borders and paying taxes indicators.

Meanwhile, as per World Bank's report, the country figured among the top 10 performers on the list for the third time in a row. India was ranked 142nd among 190 nations in 2014.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11573.80, down by 30.30 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 11534.65 and 11679.60. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.53%, HCL Tech up by 2.41%, Reliance Industries up by 1.72%, Tata Steel up by 1.31% and Titan up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 7.11%, Grasim Industries down by 5.86%, Indusind Bank down by 4.36%, SBI down by 4.17% and GAIL India down by 3.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were mostly trading in green; Hang Seng increased 164.55 points or 0.62% to 26,731.28, Nikkei 225 surged 125.22 points or 0.55% to 22,750.60, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 80.47 points or 0.72% to 11,320.14, Jakarta Composite soared 61.17 points or 0.98% to 6,318.98, Straits Times advanced 28.26 points or 0.9% to 3,172.54 and KOSPI was up by 5.04 points or 0.24% to 2,085.66. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 1.04 points or 0.04% to 2,940.58.

All European markets were trading in green; FTSE gained 53.48 points or 0.74% to 7,314.22, CAC rose 27.67 points or 0.49% to 5,681.11 and DAX was up by 74.55 points or 0.58% to 12,872.74.