Indices keep head above water in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices managed to keep their head above water in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Consumer Durables, Metal and IT sector while selling was witnessed in Utilities, Bankex and Oil & Gas sector stocks. Traders found support after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend by six months the enhanced borrowing facility provided to banks to meet liquidity shortage till March 31, 2021 amid the ongoing economic woes created by the coronavirus pandemic. On the sectoral front, telecom sector remained in focus, as 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.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed after Wall Street recovered some of this month's losses as investors looked ahead to a debate between President Donald Trump and his challenger in the November election, Joe Biden. European markets were trading lower.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38013.98, up by 32.35 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 37831.35 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 declined 0.19%, while Small cap index was down by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.35%, Metal up by 1.09%, IT up by 1.08%, Energy up by 0.92% and Basic Materials was up by 0.65%, while Telecom down by 2.25%, PSU down by 1.55%, Utilities down by 1.43%, Bankex down by 1.29% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.89% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 3.27%, TCS up by 3.01%, Titan Company up by 2.44%, Tata Steel up by 1.55% and Reliance Industries up by 1.41%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.76%, Indusind Bank down by 3.57%, Axis Bank down by 2.73%, Power Grid down by 2.59% and Bajaj Auto down by 2.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to provide greater ease of doing business, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the duration of several schemes till December 31 in view of the continued disruption caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in certain parts of the country.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had introduced a new scheme known as the Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020, valid from April 01, 2020 to September 30, 2020 to enable companies to make good their previous defaults. This Scheme has now been extended till December 31, 2020.

The Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013 and the time for conducting EGMs through Video Conference or Other Audio Visual Means also stand extended till December 31, 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11242.50, up by 14.95 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 11181.00 and 11305.40. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.83%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.72%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.43%, TCS up by 3.04% and Titan Company up by 2.65%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.62%, Indusind Bank down by 3.49%, Power Grid down by 2.71%, Axis Bank down by 2.70% and UPL down by 2.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed, 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, Shanghai Composite gained 6.83 points or 0.21% to 3,224.36, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 4.97 points or 0.04% to 12,467.73. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 7.99 points or 0.32% to 2,475.02, Jakarta Composite lost 27.45 points or 0.56% to 4,879.10, and Hang Seng was down by 200.52 points or 0.85% to 23,275.53.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 40.78 points or 0.69% to 5,887.15, France’s CAC decreased 13.74 points or 0.28% to 4,829.53 and Germany’s DAX was down by 66.88 points or 0.52% to 12,803.99.