Markets trade with marginal losses in morning deals

In a volatile trade, Indian equity benchmarks erased their initial gains and were now trading with marginal losses in morning deals, as investors awaited directional cues from domestic as well as global markets. Traders turned anxious with the central bank’s statement that Indian states are racking up more debt to fund the prospect of wider budget deficits as they step up spending to fight the virus pandemic. Some concern also came with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that there were visible signs of revival in the economy but the GDP growth may be in the negative zone or near zero in the current fiscal (FY21). She also said the economy saw a contraction in the April-June quarter, but demand has picked up in the festival season. Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the Commerce and Industry Ministry is working with states and local bodies to make it easier for businesses to get licences, permissions and approvals. He also said that the government is looking at addressing problems of quality so that domestic products can be recognised for high quality.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as coronavirus infections grew at an alarming pace in the United States and Europe, while uncertainty over next week's U.S. elections added to a 'risk off' tone. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to chemical sector remained in focus with ratings agency ICRA’s report that with most basic chemical and petrochemical players having a diverse range of end-user industries, the impact of coronavirus disease (covid-19) slowdown is likely to be moderated.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40424.63, down by 97.47 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 40390.43 and 40664.35. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.21%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 6.69%, Auto up by 1.30%, TECK up by 1.20%, Power up by 0.70% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.56%, while Bankex down by 1.19%, Realty down by 0.74%, FMCG down by 0.41%, PSU down by 0.23% and Energy down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 8.81%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.14%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.86%, Tata Steel up by 1.31% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.01%, HDFC down by 1.84%, ICICI Bank down by 1.23%, HDFC Bank down by 1.03% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with pick-up in demand and manufacturing, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that she expects India to become one of the fastest-growing economies by FY22. However, she expects a near-zero percent growth in the third and fourth quarters of FY21 with steady and sustainable growth.

She highlighted that the government’s top priority is to generate employment and asset creation by way of big infrastructure push and public spending. With a surge in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by 13 percent during April-August this year compared to the same period last year, the government expects to fund the big infrastructure projects through public spending as part of top priority for employment and asset creation.

She also highlighted that India has near 100 percent FDI allowed via automatic route for 95 percent of the sectors, lowest corporate tax for manufacturing at 15 percent, and has also simplified labour and agriculture laws to attract investments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11877.95, down by 11.45 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 11858.30 and 11929.40. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 8.65%, Tata Motors up by 4.05%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.20%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.27% and UPL up by 2.18%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.08%, HDFC down by 2.02%, ICICI Bank down by 1.37%, Indusind Bank down by 1.08% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 103.75 points or 0.44% to 23,382.05, Taiwan Weighted dropped 73.87 points or 0.57% to 12,801.14, Hang Seng decreased 71.88 points or 0.29% to 24,715.31, Jakarta Composite lost 15.82 points or 0.31% to 5,128.23 and Straits Times trembled 12.01 points or 0.48% to 2,500.86.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 3.65 points or 0.16% to 2,334.49 and Shanghai Composite gained 5.28 points or 0.16% to 3,259.60.