Markets trade slightly lower early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks, altering between positive and negative territory, were trading slightly negative in early afternoon session on Monday, as Economic think-tank NCAER’s report has said the country's GDP growth is likely to decline to 4.9 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal due to sustained slowdown in virtually all the sectors. Meanwhile, the markets were closely watch the winter session of Parliament which started today, as it is likely to witness heated discussions as the Opposition looks to raise issues of economic slowdown, job crisis and the lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir. However, downside remained capped as traders got some support as RBI’s data showed that foreign exchange reserves continued their upward march surging $1.710 billion to touch a new high of $447.81 billion in the week to November 8. Some optimism also came with report that FPIs pumped in a net sum of Rs 19,203 crore into the domestic capital markets in the first half of November amid encouraging domestic and global factors. 

On the global turf, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, tracking broad optimism that China and the United States are close to the first phase of an initial trade agreement. Though, ongoing protests in Hong Kong capped some gains. Back home, stocks from Telecom, Healthcare and Metal counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from IT, Consumer Discretionary and FMCG counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific developments, shares of Indian Metals jumped on receiving approval for expansion proposal in Odisha. Besides, Abans Enterprises touched roof on acquiring entire stake in Zicuro Technologies. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40324.68, down by 32.01 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 40303.77 and 40542.40. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 4.43%, Healthcare up by 1.31%, Metal up by 1.25%, Basic Materials up by 1.17% and PSU was up by 0.72%, while Auto down by 0.47%, IT down by 0.41%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.38%, FMCG down by 0.24% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 5.18%, Tata Steel up by 3.09%, Sun Pharma up by 2.84%, SBI up by 1.29% and Vedanta was up by 1.13%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 1.53%, Yes Bank down by 1.53%, Asian Paints down by 1.26%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.11% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, falling for third straight month, India’s merchandise exports contracted by 1.11% in October 2019 as compared to same period of last year, mainly on account of a significant dip in shipments of petroleum, carpet, leather products, rice and tea. Trade deficit, gap between imports and exports, narrowed to $11.01 billion in October from $18.0 billion a year ago.

As per the data released by the Commerce Ministry, merchandise exports fell by 1.11% to $26.38 billion in October 2019, as compared to $26.67 billion in the same month a year ago. In Rupee terms, it was down by 4.59% to Rs 1,87,382.29 crore in October 2019, as compared to Rs 1,96,406.43 crore in October 2018. Cumulative value of exports for the period April- October 2019-20 was $185.95 billion as against $190.15 billion during the period April- October 2018-19, registering a negative growth of 2.21%. In Rupee terms, it was down by 1.04% to Rs 13,04,149.06 crore from Rs 13,17,881.40 crore.     

Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in October 2019 were $19.04 billion, as compared to $18.93 billion in October 2018, exhibiting a positive growth of 0.59%.  Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in April- October 2019-20 were $137.45 billion, as compared to $137.93 billion for the corresponding period in 2018-19, a decrease of 0.35%.      

On the other hand, Imports during October 2019, decreased by 16.31% to $37.39 billion as compared to $44.68 billion in October 2018, and in rupee terms it was down by 19.26% to Rs 2,65,628.46 crore from Rs 3,28,973.56 crore in October 2018.  Cumulative value of imports for the period April- October 2019-20 was $280.67 billion, as against $306.31 billion during the period April- October 2018-19, registering a negative growth of 8.37%. In rupee terms, it was Rs 19,67,625.73 crore, down by 7.36% from Rs 21,23,857.76 crore in the same period last year.        

Oil imports in October 2019 were $9.63 billion, which was 31.74% lower, compared to $14.11 billion in October 2018. Oil imports in April- October 2019-20 were $73.93 billion which was 12.16% lower compared to $84.17 billion, over the same period last year. Non-oil imports during October 2019 were estimated at $27.76 billion which was 9.19% lower than non-oil imports of $30.57 billion in October 2018. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were $25.92 billion in October 2019, down 10.04% over the same period of last year. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were $189.10 billion in April-October 2019-20, down 6.73%, over the same period of last year.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11885.65, down by 9.80 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 11884.10 and 11946.20. There were 25 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.69%, BPCL up by 3.37%, Tata Steel up by 3.04%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.88% and Grasim Industries was up by 2.85%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.33%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.72%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.38%, Asian Paints down by 1.29% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 254.53 points or 0.97% to 26,581.19, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 74.18 points or 0.64% to 11,599.78, Straits Times advanced 7.25 points or 0.22% to 3,246.11, Nikkei 225 surged 86.64 points or 0.37% to 23,389.96 and Shanghai Composite was up by 14.25 points or 0.49% to 2,905.59.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 16.89 points or 0.28% to 6,111.46 and KOSPI was down by 3.62 points or 0.17% to 2,158.56.