Sensex, Nifty turn green in early noon deals

Local equity benchmarks erased all losses to turn positive in early noon session, both Sensex and Nifty were trading above 40,250 and 11,850 marks, respectively. Buying in frontline stocks such as Yes Bank, Infosys and Axis Bank were aiding sentiment, while selling in Indusind Bank, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors - DVR kept the gains in the markets in check. Markets turned positive with SBI report showing that credit growth picked up rapid pace beginning September - jumping by Rs 1.08 lakh crore - mainly helped by housing, NBFC and lately MSME. The report further said the week up to Diwali has shown an increase in currency in circulation of Rs 30,871 crore from the previous week, thereby showing that people have been demanding cash in the festive season. However, upside remained capped, as CPI inflation numbers as hit a 16-month peak of 4.62% in October, as food inflation jumped to 7.89% - the highest since July 2016. Meanwhile, in a major move, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has launched India’s first agri index -‘NCDEX Agridex’, for easy reference to price variations in agricultural commodities.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in mostly in red, as investors were cautious after US President Donald Trump’s speech on the trade ties with China diminished optimism for a deal and dented risk appetite. Back home, in scrip specific developments, shares of VST Industries gained after Radhakishan Damani bought 2,70,000 shares at Rs 4,259.99 apiece on the BSE, according to bulk deal data. The data also showed HDFC Mutual Fund sold 273,706 shares at Rs 4,260 apiece. Besides, Rites soared on reporting 2-fold jump in Q2 consolidated net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40295.84, up by 179.78 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 40026.99 and 40296.47. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.73%, IT up by 0.73%, Bankex up by 0.61%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.56% and Capital Goods was up by 0.52%, while Telecom down by 3.74%, Metal down by 0.83%, FMCG down by 0.35%, Basic Materials down by 0.24% and Energy was down by 0.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.00%, Infosys up by 2.34%, ICICI Bank up by 1.35%, Axis Bank up by 1.29% and Maruti Suzuki was up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.69%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.63%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.78%, Tata Motors down by 1.44% and Vedanta was down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued notice to telecom operators to pay their license fees and spectrum usage charges within three months as mandated by the Supreme Court. The DoT has given option to telecom operators to clear all the dues on individual assessments.
The apex court had upheld the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) calculation as stipulated by the DoT. The court held that all revenues, except for termination fee and roaming charges, will be a part of the AGR while telcos argued that non-telecom, non-core revenues should not be a part of the AGR. In the next two weeks, the telecom department will seek the Cabinet's approval on the panel's proposals. Vodafone's decision to halt further investments in India has also given rise to concern.

According to an internal estimate prepared by the DoT, total dues on the telecom service providers arising out of SC order are around Rs 1.33 trillion. As per DoT's estimate, liability of Bharti Airtel Group stands at Rs 62,187.73 crore, Vodafone Idea at Rs 54,183.9 crore and BSNL and MTNL at Rs 10,675.18 crore.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11870.05, up by 29.60 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 11802.65 and 11871.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 3.15%, Infosys up by 2.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.49%, ICICI Bank up by 1.39% and Eicher Motors was up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 6.62%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.67%, Indusind Bank down by 2.53%, Hindalco down by 1.76% and Britannia Industries was down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 198.00 points or 0.75% to 26,373.46, Taiwan Weighted dropped 17.41 points or 0.15% to 11,450.42, Jakarta Composite lost 62.31 points or 1.01% to 6,080.19, Straits Times trembled 6.55 points or 0.2% to 3,232.67 and Nikkei 225 was down by 178.32 points or 0.76% to 23,141.55.

On the other hand, KOSPI rose 7.75 points or 0.37% to 2,130.20 and Shanghai Composite was up by 10.88 points or 0.37% to 2,916.12.