Markets trade slightly higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Tuesday but soon turn volatile. Markets are trading tad above natural lines in early deals. Gains were supported by buying in Auto, Metal and Healthcare stocks. Positive leads from global markets also aided domestic indices. Though, volatility came amid SBI report stating that India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is likely to slow further in the July-September quarter of this financial year to below 5 per cent amid decline in consumption, weak investments and an under-performing service sector. Also, there was some cautiousness with report that India has decided not to join the mega Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal as negotiations failed to address the government’s concerns.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street amid growing optimism about a US-China trade deal. A private report said that the US is considering dropping tariffs on $112 billion of Chinese imports. Besides, the Bank of Japan said that the monetary base in Japan was up 3.1 percent on year in October, coming in at 517.100 trillion yen. That's up from the 3.0 percent increase in September.

Back home, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled two new information technology (IT) initiatives for improved monitoring of clearance of the imported goods and making it easier for international passengers to arrive in India. In scrip specific development, Yes Bank gained amid report that investors have lined up with proposals to pump in $3 billion into troubled the Bank. Yes bank also received a binding $1.2 billion capital offer from a North America-based family that has never invested in India.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40328.80, up by 26.84 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 40237.97 and 40466.55. There were 21 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.70%, Metal up by 0.54%, Healthcare up by 0.32%, Basic Materials up by 0.26% and Utilities was up by 0.19%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.64%, IT down by 0.53%, TECK down by 0.52%, FMCG down by 0.44% and Capital Goods was down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.30%, Tata Motors up by 1.28%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.01%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.93% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.92%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.82%, TCS down by 0.81%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 0.70%, Infosys down by 0.61% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has decided not to join the mega Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal as negotiations failed to address the government’s concerns. India’s stand at RCEP is a strong reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong leadership and India’s rising stature in the world. India’s decision will greatly help Indian farmers, MSMEs and dairy sector.

The RCEP agreement was against India’s economic interest and national priorities. The country’s stand is a mixture of pragmatism, the urge to safeguard interests of the poor and the effort to give an advantage to India’s service sector. While not shying away from opening up to global competition across sectors, India made a strong case for an outcome which is favourable to all countries and all sectors.

The RCEP comprises 10 ASEAN nations and six of its FTA (free trade agreement) partners - China, India, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. The RCEP aims to facilitate the creation of the biggest free-trade region in the world as the 16-nation grouping is home to 3.6 billion people, or nearly half the world’s population.

Earlier, the trade ministers from 16 RCEP countries failed to resolve the outstanding issues identified by India, though back-channel talks continued on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit to resolve the sticky issues. India has been forcefully raising the issue of market access as well as protected lists of goods mainly to shield its domestic market as there have been fears that the country may be flooded with cheap Chinese agricultural and industrial products once it signs the deal.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11948.05, up by 6.75 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 11917.95 and 11978.95. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 5.29%, Hindalco up by 1.57%, Tata Motors up by 1.51%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.47% and Grasim Industries up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 1.84%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.02%, Titan Company down by 0.75%, TCS down by 0.75% and Sun Pharma Industries down by 0.72% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 453.84 points or 1.99% to 23,304.61, Hang Seng increased 147.19 points or 0.53% to 27,694.49, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 42.54 points or 0.37% to 11,599.39, Jakarta Composite soared 30.98 points or 0.5% to 6,211.32, Shanghai Composite gained 20.17 points or 0.68% to 2,995.66, Straits Times advanced 9.88 points or 0.31% to 3,246.28 and KOSPI was up by 4.24 points or 0.2% to 2,134.48.