Sensex, Nifty trade near neutral lines

Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat with a negative bias in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading near their neutral lines. Domestic sentiments were negative even after positive cues from other Asian markets. However, downside remain capped, as India's manufacturing sector activity improved for the third straight month in October with companies raising output to the greatest extent in 13 years amid robust sales growth. The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 56.8 in September to 58.9 in October, and pointed to the strongest improvement in the health of the sector in over a decade.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in October, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from Caixin revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.6. That's up from 53.0 in September and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Individually, October survey data pointed to a marked improvement in business conditions across China's manufacturing sector, with firms recording sharper rises in both output and total new work.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39581.46, down by 32.61 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 39334.92 and 39880.46. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.33%, while Small cap index was down by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.11%, Telecom up by 3.06%, Bankex up by 2.70%, Power up by 1.22% and Capital Goods up by 0.97%, while Energy down by 4.33%, Oil & Gas down by 1.75%, IT down by 0.72%, Healthcare down by 0.57% and Consumer Durables down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 6.41%, ICICI Bank up by 5.11%, Bharti Airtel up by 4.46%, SBI up by 2.64% and Axis Bank up by 2.55%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 5.23%, HCL Tech down by 2.27%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.58%, Asian Paints down by 1.49% and TCS down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost domestic manufacturing, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that the government will introduce the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for more sectors. Kumar also highlighted the government’s efforts to push electric mobility or e-mobility in the country. He said ‘85 per cent of vehicles on the street are two- and three-wheelers and we want to shift them to electric mobility going forward. We have finalised standard of charging for two- and three-wheelers’.

On opportunities and facilities for investors, Kumar said ‘We will, while attracting FDI, also repose our faith and trust in those who have already invested in India. And we want to recognise them by giving much better logistics, much better infrastructure’. For this reason, he said ‘we have brought out what is called PLI scheme which will be valid for about 9-10 sectors very soon’.

The government has already introduced the PLI scheme for pharmaceutical, medical devices, mobile phones and electronic manufacturing companies. It is now considering to extend the scheme to other sectors as well. However, the Niti Aayog vice-chairman did not specify which sectors might be made eligible for the incentives. He added ‘the objective of the PLI scheme is to incentivise investors in this country to put up globally comparable capacity in scale and competitiveness’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11621.85, down by 20.55 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 11557.40 and 11697.35. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 6.45%, ICICI Bank up by 5.03%, Bharti Airtel up by 4.38%, SBI up by 2.75% and Axis Bank up by 2.54%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 5.17%, HCL Tech down by 2.19%, Divis Lab down by 2.02%, Britannia down by 1.88% and Eicher Motors down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 325.23 points or 1.42% to 23,302.36, Hang Seng increased 212.44 points or 0.88% to 24,319.86, KOSPI rose 26.21 points or 1.16% to 2,293.36 and Straits Times advanced 15.98 points or 0.66% to 2,439.82. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 1.62 points or 0.05% to 3,222.91, Jakarta Composite lost 15.31 points or 0.3% to 5,112.92 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 18.30 points or 0.15% to 12,528.04.