Bourses trade near neutral line in early noon session

Local benchmarks wiped out some of their early gains and were trading flat with positive bias in early noon session. Broader indices, BSE Mid cap and Small cap were also trading in green. Buying in frontline stocks such as Power Grid Corporation, Larsen & Toubro and NTPC kept the gains in the markets. On sectroal front, infrastructure sector companies trading in green with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement of Rs 102 lakh crore worth of investment in infrastructure projects over the next five year. According to the rating agency, the construction sector is likely to be a major beneficiary of this increased investment. Steel sector remained in focus as Steel production having 17.92% weight decreased by 3.7% in November, 2019 over November, 2018 while its cumulative index surged by 5.2% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year. Meanwhile, government kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the fourth quarter of 2019-20 despite moderating bank deposit rates.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are closed on Wednesday on account of the New Year holiday. Back home, in scrip specific development, Variman Global Enterprises zoomed on receiving purchase order worth Rs 81.69 lakh and Monnet Ispat shines on entering into SPA with Champak Corporate Services.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41307.80, up by 54.06 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 41277.29 and 41443.52. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.64%, IT up by 0.56%, Capital Goods up by 0.51%, Utilities up by 0.48% and TECK was up by 0.43%, while Metal down by 0.78%, Auto down by 0.29%, Realty down by 0.27%, Bankex down by 0.26% and Basic Materials was down by 0.14% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 0.95%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.85%, NTPC up by 0.84%, TCS up by 0.60% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.10%, Tata Steel down by 0.97%, ONGC down by 0.70%, Axis Bank down by 0.46% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the growth of eight core infrastructure industries contracted for the fourth consecutive month in November 2019 by 1.5 percent, as compared to same period of last year. However, the pace of contraction slowed to 1.5 percent in November as compared to 5.8 percent in October 2019 led by growth in output of fertilizer, cement and refinery products. According to data released by the ministry of Commerce and Industry, the combined Index of eight core industries stood at 126.3 in November, 2019, which was 1.5% lower compared to the index of November, 2018. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). 

Among eight core sectors, Coal production having 10.33% weight declined by 2.5% in November, 2019 over November, 2018, and its cumulative index decreased by 5.3% during April to November, 2019-20 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04% weight increased 3.1% in November, 2019 over November, 2018, while its cumulative index dropped by 1.1% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The Natural Gas production having 6.88% weight declined by 6.4 percent in November, 2019 over November, 2018, and its cumulative index was down by 3.1% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year. Steel production having 17.92% weight decreased by 3.7% in November, 2019 over November, 2018 while its cumulative index surged by 5.2% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85% weight fell 5.7% in November, 2019 over November, 2018 while its cumulative index increased by 0.7% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Cement production having 5.37% weight increased by 4.1% in November, 2019 over November, 2018 while its cumulative index fell by 0.02% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year. Crude Oil production having 8.98% weight declined by 6.0% in November, 2019 over November, 2018 and its cumulative index fell by 5.9% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63% weight surged by 13.6% in November, 2019 over November, 2018, and, its cumulative index increased by 4.0% during April to November, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12177.50, up by 9.05 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 12169.80 and 12222.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports &Special up by 2.27%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.95%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.92%, Wipro up by 0.87% and NTPC up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 1.23%, Indusind Bank down by 1.09%, Hindalco down by 1.06%, Tata Steel down by 1.04% and JSW Steel down by 0.89% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are closed today on Account of New Year holiday.