Sensex, Nifty remain sluggish in late noon deals

Indian equity bourses remained sluggish in late afternoon session, mirroring weak European markets. Market participants were cautious, amid reports that presence of multiple regulators with disparate priorities is hindering the growth of the all important corporate bond market (CBM) in India. Sentiments also remained worried with a report that the US and Indian trade negotiators ended talks on Friday without making major progress on a range of disputes over tariffs and other protectionist measures imposed by both sides that are straining bilateral ties.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Estonia's trade deficit increased in September, as exports fell and imports rise. The figures from Statistics Estonia showed that the trade deficit rose to EUR 157 million in September from EUR 84 million in the same month last year. In August, trade deficit was EUR 97 million. Asian markets were also trading in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40244.42, down by 79.19 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 40150.97 and 40385.61. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.98%, Oil & Gas up by 0.94%, Bankex up by 0.73%, Realty up by 0.53% and Telecom up by 0.47%, while Auto down by 0.72%, IT down by 0.65%, FMCG down by 0.53%, Basic Materials down by 0.45% and Energy down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.65%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.41%, NTPC up by 1.15%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.90% and ICICI Bank up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.87%, Vedanta down by 1.80%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.27%, TCS down by 1.24% and Asian Paints down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to promote circular economy in the steel sector, Ministry of Steel has unveiled the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy. Ferrous Scrap being the primary raw material for EAF/IF based steel production, the policy envisages a framework to facilitate and promote establishment of metal scrapping centers in India. This will ensure scientific processing & recycling of ferrous scrap generated from various sources and a variety of products.

The policy framework will provide standard guidelines for collection, dismantling and shredding activities in an organized, safe and environmentally sound manner. Besides, the move also aims to produce high quality ferrous scrap for quality steel production thus minimizing the dependency on imports and to evolve a responsive ecosystem by involving all stakeholders.

The availability of scrap is a major issue in India and in 2017 the deficit was to the tune of 7 million tonne. This was imported at the cost of more than Rs 24,500 crore (approximately) in 2017-18. Thus, the scrapping policy will ensure that quality scrap is available for the steel industry.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11885.35, down by 22.80 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 11853.95 and 11920.30. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 5.80%, Zee Entertainment up by 5.20%, BPCL up by 2.93%, GAIL India up by 2.36% and Indian Oil Corporation up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.67%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.94%, Hindalco down by 1.74%, Vedanta down by 1.74% and UPL down by 1.66% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 60.03 points or 0.26% to 23,331.84, Jakarta Composite lost 41.24 points or 0.67% to 6,136.75, KOSPI fell 13.14 points or 0.61% to 2,124.09, Shanghai Composite declined 50.52 points or 1.7% to 2,913.66, Straits Times trembled 31.64 points or 0.97% to 3,232.66, Taiwan Weighted dropped 152.26 points or 1.31% to 11,427.28 and Hang Seng was down by 754.46 points or 2.73% to 26,896.68.

European markets were trading mostly in red; FTSE lost 40.08 points or 0.54% to 7,319.30 and DAX was down by 24.33 points or 0.18% to 13,204.23, while CAC was up by 0.56 points or 0.01% to 5,890.26.