Markets pare gains in afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed their gains and were trading flat with positive bias in afternoon session, tracking weak cues from other Asian markets. Traders were worried with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report that the contraction in the Indian economy due to the pandemic-led disruptions may disappear next year, but it can cause some irreversible damage to the economy. Although a rebound in 2021 is expected in line with the growth rates of the Indian economy in recent years, the contraction registered in 2020 is likely to translate into a permanent income loss. However, downfall remained limited with ICRA’s report that India's current account will swing to a surplus of $30 billion or 1.2 percent of GDP in FY21, due to slowdown in imports during the pandemic, making it clear that it will be a temporary phenomenon. Traders were seen in selling position for telecom, power, and utilities stocks, while buying was witnessed in realty, energy and consumer durables stocks.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower amid concerns about surge in COVID-19 cases and fresh lockdown measures implemented in London and other parts of Europe. Back home, Infosys hits fresh record high, market cap nears Rs 4.5-trillion mark. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,030.80, touched on September 21, 2020.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37773.69, up by 39.61 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 37660.37 and 38140.07. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.54%, while Small cap index was down by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.65%, Energy up by 0.62%, Consumer Durables up by 0.22%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.11% and FMCG was up by 0.01%, while Telecom down by 6.42%, Power down by 2.09%, Utilities down by 1.79%, PSU down by 1.38% and Metal was down by 1.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.38%, HCL Tech up by 1.30%, HDFC Bank up by 1.23%, Reliance Industries up by 1.03% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 7.40%, Tata Steel down by 3.79%, Indusind Bank down by 3.53%, NTPC down by 3.19% and TCS was down by 2.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile; with an aim to protect the interest of depositors, the Parliament has passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Bill, which replaces an ordinance that was promulgated on June 26, was passed by a voice vote in Rajya Sabha.

The amendment had got approval from Lok Sabha on September 16. The bill, which comes in the backdrop of the PMC Bank scam, seeks to strengthen cooperative banks by increasing their professionalism, enabling access to capital, improving governance and ensuring sound banking through the RBI.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendments have been brought to completely protect the interest of depositors. She clarifies this amendment is only for cooperative societies engaged in banking activities. She said during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic many cooperative banks have come under stress and their finances are being closely monitored by the regulator RBI. Justifying the need for the amendments, she said the government was able to quickly resolve the troubled Yes Bank as it was governed by commercial bank rules, but the resolution to the PMC Bank crisis is yet to be found.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11156.45, up by 2.80 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 11125.35 and 11259.55. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Bank up by 1.53%, Infosys up by 1.52%, HCL Tech up by 1.41%, Reliance Industries up by 1.17% and Hero MotoCorp was up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 6.89%, Zee Entertainment down by 5.00%, Bharti Infratel down by 3.58%, Tata Steel down by 3.45% and NTPC was down by 3.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Hang Seng decreased 9.25 points or 0.04% to 23,707.60, Jakarta Composite lost 29.61 points or 0.6% to 4,904.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 61.63 points or 0.49% to 12,583.88,Straits Times trembled 1.83 points or 0.07% to 2,461.46 and Nikkei 225 was down by 13.81 points or 0.06% to 23,346.49.

On the flip side; Shanghai Composite gained 1.71 points or 0.05% to 3,276.01 and KOSPI was up by 0.65 points or 0.03% to 2,333.24.