Last hour buying pushes markets near day’s high points

Last hour buying pushed Indian equity bourses to end near their intraday high points on Wednesday. After a positive start, indices traded in green terrain for the most part of the session, aided with Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that the government would spend a whopping Rs 5 trillion over the next two years in infrastructure projects to spur the economy and create thousands of jobs. However, volatility hit over the markets in noon deals, as the Asian Development Bank lowered forecast for India to 5.1% for 2019 from its September estimates of 6.5% as the foundering of a major nonbanking financial company in 2018 led to a rise in risk aversion in the financial sector and a credit crunch.

In late noon deals, markets entered into red terrain, after Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur informed that as many as 52,720 Integrated GST refund claims are pending for more than one year. But, bourses bounced back to end higher, taking support with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the government has carried out a number of reforms in various sectors & it is a continuous process for improvement in the economy. He said some of the reforms were by way of amendments in various acts such as the Finance (Amendment) Bills, the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, amendments in the Goods and Services Tax Act and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red territory, after the UK economy stagnated in October as Brexit uncertainties and upcoming election weighed on most of the sectors. The data from the Office for National Statistics showed that gross domestic product remained unchanged in October from September, when it was down 0.1 percent. Asian markets ended mostly higher, as the Singapore economy is likely to expand slightly more than previously projected in 2019. The survey of professional forecasters from Monetary Authority of Singapore, showed that Gross domestic product is forecast to grow 0.7 percent this year, instead of 0.6 percent projected in the previous survey.

Back home, the metal industry stocks ended in negative terrain, after credit rating agency, ICRA in its latest report said that domestic steel demand fell 1.8 per cent during the first two months of the third quarter of the current financial year (October-November) to 15.4 million tonnes (mt) as compared to 15.7 mt reported in same period last year. Further, stocks related to the mining sector remained in limelight, as Union Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the central government has taken various steps for development of the mining sector in the country. He said that the central government has also formulated National Mineral Policy, 2019 for a vibrant and forward looking mineral sector.

Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 172.69 points or 0.43% to 40,412.57, while the CNX Nifty was up by 53.35 points or 0.45% to 11,910.15.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 40,466.13 and 40,135.37, respectively and there were 21 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.52%, while Small cap index was up by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.52%, Oil & Gas up by 1.13%, Power up by 1.12%, IT up by 0.97% and Realty up by 0.90%, while Capital Goods down by 0.83%, Telecom down by 0.81%, Basic Materials down by 0.31%, Metal down by 0.24% and Industrials down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.77%, ONGC up by 2.28%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.97%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.62% and TCS up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 15.33%, Vedanta down by 1.63%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.44%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.21% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in its latest data has showed that India's power demand dropped 4.3% in November 2019 from a year ago, representing the fourth straight month of decline, potentially reflecting a worsening industrial slowdown which has stifled overall economic growth.

Data showed that electricity demand fell to 94.60 billion units in November 2019, from 98.84 billion units during the same period last year. India's most industrialized and electricity hungry state of Maharashtra saw demand fall 8.1%. Demand from large states such as the central Madhya Pradesh fell 13.9%, while power requirement from the north western state of Rajasthan fell 5.7%.

For the eight months ending November 30, 2019, India's electricity demand was up 1.2%. Demand rose 6.4% during the eight months ended November 30, 2018. Besides, India's power demand fell 13.2% in October from a year ago, posting its steepest monthly decline in more than 12 years, reflecting a deepening growth slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 11,923.20 and 11,832.30. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 5.31%, Zee Entertainment up by 4.85%, NTPC up by 2.86%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.73% and ONGC up by 2.24%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 13.85%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.85%, Vedanta down by 1.28%, Hindalco down by 1.26% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.26% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 0.95 points or 0.01% to 7,212.81 and France’s CAC was down by 8.26 points or 0.14% to 5,839.77, while Germany’s DAX was up by 20.16 points or 0.15% to 13,090.88.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on key events this week, including the Federal Reserve meeting, the UK general election and the weekend's Sino-US trade tariff deadline. Market sentiment has improved further on rising speculation that the America would delay implementing new tariffs at the 15 December deadline this week. Chinese shares ended higher as new loan growth data for November topped forecasts. China's bank lending increased more than expected in November, data from the People's Bank of China showed. Banks extended CNY 1.39 trillion new loans in November versus CNY 661 billion in October. Lending was forecast to rise to CNY 1.2 trillion. Further, Seoul shares ended higher after the release of labor market data. South Korea's jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent in November from 3.5 percent in October, a government report showed. The rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 3.5 percent. In the same period last year, the rate was 3.8 percent.