Indian bourses trade marginally higher in afternoon deals

In an extremely choppy session, the local barometer gauges were trading marginally higher in afternoon session, as Oil & Gas, Realty and Healthcare shares witnessed buying despite weak trend in other Asian markets. Traders took some support with private report indicated that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's first full year Budget is expected to provide short-term stimulants to boost consumer demand, and such measures will get a positive response from markets. However, gains remain capped as investors remained wary with Nobel laureate and economist Abhijit Banerjee’s statement that the country could be passing through a phase of recession, and there is ‘nothing in the data’ that suggests otherwise. He added that the priority of the government should be on refinancing the banking sector, which is in ‘doldrums’. Meanwhile, India’s crude steel output increased marginally by 1.8 per cent to 111.2 million tonnes (MT) in 2019. The country’s crude steel production was at 109.3 MT in 2018. On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower on deepening worries over the expanding outbreak of a new virus in China.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41224.69, up by 69.57 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 41101.51 and 41333.25. There were 12 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.12%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.81%, Realty up by 0.67%, Healthcare up by 0.63%, Bankex up by 0.39% and Auto was up by 0.14%, while Telecom down by 2.68%, Metal down by 1.79%, Power down by 0.84%, TECK down by 0.66% and Capital Goods was down by 0.58% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.87%, HDFC up by 2.65%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.88%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.55% and HDFC Bank was up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.20%, Tata Steel down by 1.88%, Power Grid down by 1.37%, HCL Tech. down by 1.11% and NTPC was down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the power ministry has asked states to nudge their power regulators to reduce electricity retail tariff for prepaid consumers. It said prepayment metres will help discoms reduce associated expenses incurred on meter reading, billing and collection. Starting from April, 2019, the government has planned to replace all existing electricity meters in the country with smart prepaid meters, in a bid to cut transmission and distribution losses.

A power ministry order stated that states may request the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) to consider reduction in power retail tariff to consumers for power purchased through prepayment metres. The order also stated that necessary changes in the relevant regulations or orders or mechanism to reduce cost of power in case of advance payments or prepayments by any entity or consumers, should be implemented within six months of issuance of this letter (on January 16, 2020).

The ministry explained in the order that in case of prepayment, the carrying costs will come down, leading to reduced requirement of working capital for discoms. It also said the prepayment will eliminate associated costs involved in meter reading, billing and collection and, thus, the electricity tariff per unit should come down. The government had earlier placed on record that the move towards smart meters is a pro-poor step as consumers need not pay the whole month’s bill in one go, instead they can pay as per their requirements.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12136.50, up by 17.50 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 12095.35 and 12163.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 2.67%, Sun Pharma up by 2.65%, BPCL up by 2.20%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.91% and Dr. Reddys Lab was up by 1.84%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 3.19%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.39%, JSW Steel down by 1.94%, Tata Steel down by 1.90% and Coal India was down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 127.80 points or 0.55% to 23,215.71, Straits Times trembled 71.35 points or 2.2% to 3,168.67, KOSPI fell 69.41 points or 3.09% to 2,176.72 and Jakarta Composite was down by 30.83 points or 0.5% to 6,102.38.