Benchmarks trade flat in afternoon deals

In a volatile trading session, Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat in afternoon session with Sensex losing 13 points, while Nifty was up by 8 points. Selling pressure in frontline blue chip stocks such as Indusind Bank, ONGC and Axis Bank restricted the markets to go up. Traders were taking some solace after the Ministry of Corporate Affairs extended the duration of several schemes till December 31, 2020 in view of the continued disruption caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in certain parts of the country and to provide greater Ease of Doing Business. However, market participant were worried as the World Bank said the coronavirus pandemic is expected to lead to the slowest growth in more than 50 years in East Asia and the Pacific as well as China, while up to 38 million people are set to be pushed back into poverty. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deferred this week's scheduled Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting a day before it was to start with the government not having finalised the three independent members of the six-member panel that sets policy interest rates.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher amid developments on a new US coronavirus relief bill. Back home, in scrip specific developments, Vedanta jumped on getting in-principle nod for delisting from BSE, NSE and Hexaware Technologies gained on becoming Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37968.78, down by 12.85 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 37860.43 and 38235.94. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.06%, while Small cap index down by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.13%, Energy up by 0.91%, IT up by 0.82%, Consumer Durables up by 0.75% and TECK was up by 0.34%, while Telecom down by 2.52%, Bankex down by 1.32%, PSU down by 1.08%, Utilities down by 0.79% and FMCG was down by 0.78% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.71%, Titan Company up by 1.87%, Tata Steel up by 1.40%, Reliance Industries up by 1.26% and Ultratech Cement was up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.66%, ONGC down by 2.64%, Axis Bank down by 2.48%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.22% and ITC was down by 2.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, outgoing Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief RS Sharma has said that the telecom sector, backed by strong demand for services and its ability to adapt swiftly to changes even amid Covid-19 disruptions, has a bright future ahead. He has full confidence in the professionalism of telecom operators and believes that competition is the name of the game and competitive pricing will continue in a free market economy.

Sharma said while every sector has its share of ups and downs and variations, the telecom industry has steered through the disruptive period during the pandemic, managing not only the spike in demand but also changes in the pattern of traffic, as network loads shifted from enterprise premises to homes. He also said that competitive pricing will continue in a free market economy. He pointed out that free-market economy has also brought major benefits like greater efficiencies, better services, and cost-effective measures.

He further said ‘I believe that the market takes care of itself. If there is a free play in the market, we should believe in the free market system, and unless there is a market failure, one should not intervene’. Speaking in favor of light-touch regulation, he said unless there is a market failure, one should not regulate unnecessarily.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11235.70, up by 8.15 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 11192.85 and 11305.40. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.11%, Hindalco up by 4.11%, TCS up by 2.80%, Titan Co up by 2.14% and Tata Steel was up by 1.55%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.45%, ONGC down by 2.37%, Axis Bank down by 2.37%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.25% and Grasim Industries was down by 2.07% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Straits Times advanced 13.32 points or 0.54% to 2,496.33, Nikkei 225 surged 27.48 points or 0.12% to 23,539.10. KOSPI rose 19.81 points or 0.86% to 2,327.89, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 4.97 points or 0.04% to 12,467.73 and Shanghai Composite was up by 17.10 points or 0.53% to 3,234.63.

On the flip side; Hang Seng decreased 150.34 points or 0.64% to 23,325.71 and Jakarta Composite was down by 2.24 points or 0.05% to 4,904.31.