Bears hold grip over Dalal Street

Bears were holding their grip over Dalal Street in late afternoon session, amid mixed cues from European markets. Selling at banking, IT and TECK counters kept the markets down in red terrain, while IndusInd Bank performed worst among all major industry leaders on the BSE. Anxiety remained among market participants, despite the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) report stating that sound economic policies and strong institutions have transformed Asia and the Pacific over the past five decades into a center of global dynamism. The book-Asia's Journey to Prosperity: Policy, Market, and Technology over 50 Years-explains the reasons for Asia's economic success, while cautioning against complacency. Developing Asia's share of global gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 4% in 1960 to 24% in 2018.

On the global front, European markets were trading mixed, as Romania's industrial production decreased in November, driven by a decline in mining and quarrying. The data from the National Institute of Statistics showed that industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent month-on-month in November, led by a 1.8 percent drop in the mining and quarrying output. Asian markets were trading in red, after the Bank of Japan downgraded the economic view of three out of nine regions. The bank lowered its view on Hokuriku, Tokai, Chugoku regions, while maintained its assessment of other six regions, namely Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto-Koshinetsu, Kinki, Shikoku and Kyushu- Okinawa.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41756.19, down by 196.44 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 41648.11 and 41969.86. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 0.90%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.26%, Utilities up by 1.07%, Consumer Durables up by 0.99%, Consumer Disc up by 0.70% and Metal up by 0.62%, while Bankex down by 0.83%, IT down by 0.59%, TECK down by 0.58%, Energy down by 0.41% and Telecom down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.74%, Titan up by 1.17%, Asian Paints up by 1.00%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.92% and NTPC up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.97%, Infosys down by 1.31%, HDFC down by 1.14%, SBI down by 1.04% and ICICI Bank down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that the latest amendment to the Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 comes as a major relief to the steel industry.

The rating agency noted that the amendment allows a deemed transfer of all statutory clearances for iron ore mines to the new lessees for a period of two years post licence expiry on 31 March 2020. Obtaining such mandatory clearances, which includes environmental, wildlife and forest clearances, typically takes 18-24 months post allocation of mines, and hence the two-year extension has been allowed, which would have otherwise postponed the commencement of mining operations by the new lessees, resulting in a short supply domestically.

As per the report, the anticipated supply disruption of iron ore, the primary raw material for the steel sector, post March 2020, shall now be substantially contained as the development ensures a smooth transition from the present leaseholders to the new ones, which may now take one to three months to commence operations. It also said that supply over one to three can be met through the stock available at the mines as on 31 March 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12317.60, down by 44.70 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 12278.75 and 12350.30. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 4.41%, Tata Motors up by 2.17%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.85%, Titan up by 1.24% and Zee Entertainment up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.92%, Wipro down by 3.60%, Infosys down by 1.34%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.11% and BPCL down by 1.07% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 108.59 points or 0.45% to 23,916.58, Taiwan Weighted dropped 87.93 points or 0.72% to 12,091.88, Straits Times trembled 13.75 points or 0.42% to 3,256.79, Jakarta Composite lost 34.54 points or 0.55% to 6,290.87, KOSPI fell 7.90 points or 0.35% to 2,230.98, Shanghai Composite declined 10.90 points or 0.35% to 3,095.92 and Hang Seng decreased 171.78 points or 0.59% to 28,713.36.

European markets were trading mixed; UK’s FTSE 100 gained 9.47 points or 0.12% to 7,631.82, while France’s CAC fell 0.88 points or 0.01% to 6,040.01 and Germany’s DAX was down by 13.45 points or 0.10% to 13,443.04.