Markets remain subdued in afternoon trade

Indian bourses continued to trade in red terrain in afternoon session with Sensex and Nifty trading down by 237 and 79 points respectively. Stocks from utilities, power and PSU counters were trading lower, while consumer durables, capital goods and telecom counters were supporting the markets. Sentiments remain fragile with International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest 'World Economic Outlook' report, stating that the India’s Gross domestic product (GDP), severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is projected to contract by a massive 10.3 percent in 2020. Traders were also concerned as total of 10 companies rated by S&P Global Ratings including seven confidential issuers defaulted in Asia last year, up from three corporate defaults in 2018. Meanwhile, the total number of rated issuers in Asia increased to 911 in 2019 from 831 in 2018.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as on an impasse over US stimulus as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House struggled to reach an agreement on a broad relief package. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, Karnataka Bank surged on reporting 13% rise in Q2 consolidated net profit and Bajaj Finance gained on entering into partnership with IDFC First, Vivo.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40388.05, down by 237.46 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 40279.55 and 40623.19. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.07%, while Small cap index was down by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.29%, Capital Goods up by 0.21%, Telecom up by 0.14%, Realty up by 0.07% and FMCG was up by 0.06%, while Utilities down by 1.86%, Power down by 1.76%, PSU down by 1.54%, Oil & Gas down by 1.54% and Bankex was down by 1.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.92%, Tata Steel up by 1.03%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.93%, Nestle up by 0.84% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 0.78%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 4.47%, ONGC down by 2.68%, Power Grid down by 2.12%, ICICI Bank down by 1.49% and Infosys was down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency -- Crisil in its latest report has said that securitisation transactions dived 80 percent to just over Rs 20,000 crore in April-September period of the ongoing fiscal year (H1FY21), largely because of the coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic and the loan moratoriums. It said half of the transactions (over Rs 10,000 crore) happened in September alone, which points to a rebound in transactions as the economic activity increased.

The agency noted that securitisation refers to an activity where a financier transfers future receivables on a loan or a bunch of loans to others which helps with immediate liquidity requirements. Besides, it said overall volume continues to be well below the levels seen in the past few years, when securitisation had become one of the preferred fund-raising tools for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) after the IL&FS crisis, pointing out that the first half of the last three fiscal years saw volumes of Rs 96,000 crore, Rs 68,000 crore and Rs 37,000 crore.

According to the report, disbursements by non-banks had declined sharply in the first half as business activity hard-braked. It said that also reduced the need for non-banks to access the securitisation market to churn assets. It said investors also preferred to wait on the sidelines, assessing the impact of moratorium on collection efficiency and credit behaviour, and awaiting clarity on improvement in borrower cash flows and economic activity.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11855.00, down by 79.50 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 11822.15 and 11919.80. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.00%, Britannia Industries up by 1.05%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.92%, Tata Steel up by 0.79% and Titan Company was up by 0.73%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 5.56%, NTPC down by 4.48%, Coal India down by 3.25%, Tata Motors down by 3.24% and ONGC was down by 2.82% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times trembled 15.98 points or 0.62% to 2,551.67, Hang Seng decreased 5.75 points or 0.02% to 24,643.93, KOSPI fell 22.67 points or 0.94% to 2,380.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 27.82 points or 0.21% to 12,919.31 and Shanghai Composite was down by 22.20 points or 0.66% to 3,337.55.

On the flip side; Jakarta Composite soared 28.80 points or 0.56% to 5,161.37 and Nikkei 225 was up by 24.95 points or 0.11% to 23,626.73.