Key indices keep head above water in early noon deals

Local equity benchmarks managed to keep their head above water in early noon deals with both Sensex and Nifty were trading above 41,000 and 12,100 marks. However, weak global cues and depreciation in rupee value against the dollar weighed on the sentiments. Meanwhile, investors took cautious approach ahead of the expiry of November derivative contracts today. On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red as market sentiments got dampened followed by reports that US President Donald Trump signed into law congressional legislation backing pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, despite strong objections by China. Back on street, Reliance Industries (RIL) has became the first Indian company to hit Rs 10 trillion market capitalisation (m-cap) after the stock price hit a new high of Rs 1,581.25 on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41033.09, up by 12.48 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 41022.81 and 41163.79. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.42%, Metal up by 0.94%, Realty up by 0.77%, TECK up by 0.72% and IT was up by 0.51%, while Auto down by 0.48%, FMCG down by 0.31%, Oil & Gas down by 0.17%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.15% and Healthcare was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 2.03%, TCS up by 1.51%, Yes Bank up by 1.47%, Tata Steel up by 1.38% and SBI was up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.16%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.04%, Tata Motors down by 1.03%, HDFC down by 1.02% and Vedanta was down by 0.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the problems in the automobile sector are essentially derived because of the Supreme Court's (SC) order to upgrade to Bharat Stage (BS) VI emission standards, thus resulting in churn in the sector. She said the auto sector is among the industries that are facing headwinds but have responded to the challenges. 

The minister further said the government also took a considered decision that from BS-IV emission standards, the country should go directly to BS-VI norms, which would come into effect from April 1, 2020. She noted if that decision is taken two years in advance, naturally, there is a churn in the automobile industry because they will have to change their business model, they have to move into production of BS-VI models for which R&D (research and development) funds are required.

Asserting that the government is aware of the challenges facing many sectors, Sitharaman said, 'we have already seen many of these segments responding, as the automobile sector.’  She also said in the auto sector, most of the companies have cleared their inventory. She added that the Indian auto sector has been going through a prolonged slump. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12111.65, up by 10.95 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 12099.95 and 12138.30. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 8.54%, UPL up by 4.19%, JSW Steel up by 2.57%, ICICI Bank up by 2.07% and Coal India was up by 1.72%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 2.03%, Tata Motors down by 1.12%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.07%, HDFC down by 1.03% and Hindalco was down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 46.53 points or 0.2% to 23,391.24, KOSPI fell 5.17 points or 0.24% to 2,122.68, Shanghai Composite declined 11.49 points or 0.4% to 2,891.70, Taiwan Weighted dropped 30.38 points or 0.26% to 11,617.08, Straits Times trembled 13.11 points or 0.41% to 3,202.42, Jakarta Composite lost 19.78 points or 0.33% to 6,003.26 and Hang Seng was down by 51.80 points or 0.19% to 26,902.20.