Benchmarks continue lackluster trade slightly in red

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade slightly in red in afternoon session, despite positive cues from global markets. Investors’ sentiment remain dented with Economic think-tank NCAER’s report that 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. Some anxiety also came as 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. However, losses were limited as traders found some support with Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh stating that the current economic slowdown is episodic and expressed hope that sluggishness will not continue for long. Meanwhile, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has prepared an initial draft industrial policy that targets to raise value addition in the manufacturing sector to $1 trillion by 2025. The policy envisions to create globally competitive business enterprises which can generate gainful employment and sustainable livelihoods.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as investors look for further developments on U.S.-China trade. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40251.56, down by 105.13 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 40231.98 and 40542.40. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.22%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 3.57%, Metal up by 1.28%, Basic Materials up by 1.20%, Healthcare up by 1.08% and PSU up by 0.73%, while Auto down by 0.59%, Consumer Disc down by 0.49%, IT down by 0.35%, FMCG down by 0.34% and Capital Goods down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 4.21%, Tata Steel up by 2.88%, Sun Pharma up by 2.19%, SBI up by 1.44% and Vedanta was up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.33%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.68%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.43%, Asian Paints down by 1.30% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh has said that the current economic slowdown is episodic and expressed hope that sluggishness will not continue for long. He noted that India's economic growth has slumped for the fifth straight quarter to an over six-year low of 5 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal (Q1FY20). He said it is estimated that the growth may further slip to below 5 percent in the second quarter and overall the economy is likely to register a less than 5 percent expansion for the full fiscal.

Singh further said “I do not regard that the current economic sluggishness is something that the country is going to experience for too long. I remain optimistic that the current slowdown is as much as anecdotal, episodic as much as cyclical and structural.” However, he stressed that India should continue with both structural and cyclical reforms.

Talking about Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), he said global economic structure is changing, but India is not at a disadvantage. He noted that it is inherent that India was better off in a multilateral world than in a bilateral world. He added that the country should continue to strengthen multilateral activity, but should also keep its own interests in mind. Earlier this month, India decided not to join the mega RCEP deal, which is being negotiated between 10 ASEAN member countries and their six trade partners, after negotiations failed to address New Delhi's concerns on the biggest trade deal in the world.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11882.15, down by 13.30 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 11869.80 and 11946.20. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.20%, BPCL up by 3.63%, Tata Steel up by 3.05%, UPL up by 3.01% and Grasim Industries was up by 2.58%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.77%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.70%, Britannia Industries down by 1.48%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.48% and HDFC Bank was down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 288.14 points or 1.09% to 26,614.80, Nikkei 225 surged 113.44 points or 0.49% to 23,416.76, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 74.18 points or 0.64% to 11,599.78, Shanghai Composite gained 12.66 points or 0.44% to 2,904.00 and Straits Times was up by 10.73 points or 0.33% to 3,249.59.

On the flip side, KOSPI fell 1.49 points or 0.07% to 2,160.69 and Jakarta Composite was down by17.09 points or 0.28% to 6,111.26.