Bourses turn positive in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased all of their initial losses and entered into green terrain in morning session, on account of buying in Energy, Realty and Healthcare stocks. The sentiments turned optimistic with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that perishable goods are putting upward pressure on inflation and the government is working on both short and medium-term measures for controlling price rise. Some support also came with Auto industry body SIAM stating that the stimulus measures announced by the government would help in accelerating economic activity in many critical sectors. It appreciates the proactive role being played by the government for supporting a quick and sustainable revival of the economy. However, gains remain capped as the retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inched up to 7.61 per cent in October, driven by rising food prices.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as the recent surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S. and Europe led to concerns about the economic impact of new restrictions and lockdowns. Japan too has recorded a surge in coronavirus cases nationwide, prompting the government to extend the restriction on spectator numbers at large events by another three months, instead of until the end of November as decided earlier. Back home, on the sectoral front, shipping sector remained in focus as Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government will focus on creating a port grid in the country besides development of waterways and coastal shipping. He also said that 1,400 kilometres of waterways have been fully developed and an additional 1,000 kilometres of waterways are being developed on a priority basis.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 43468.14, up by 110.95 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 43053.37 and 43522.25. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.23%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.05%, Realty up by 0.94%, Healthcare up by 0.88%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.74% and Auto up by 0.58%, while PSU down by 0.82%, Telecom down by 0.80%, Capital Goods down by 0.60%, Utilities down by 0.40% and Bankex down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.92%, Reliance Industries up by 2.53%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.30%, Asian Paints up by 1.13% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.13%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.28%, Indusind Bank down by 1.27%, SBI down by 1.26% and ONGC down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said it will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for an aggregate amount of Rs 10,000 crore each on November 19. RBI said that the decision was taken after a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions.

On November 19, the RBI will purchase three government securities of different maturity dates aggregating to Rs 10,000 crore and will also sell two securities maturing at different dates aggregating to the same amount. This will be done using the multiple price auction method.

The RBI said it reserves the right to decide on the quantum of purchase/ sale of individual securities. The result of the auctions will be announced on the same day. Simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under OMOs, popularly known as Operation Twist, involves purchasing government securities of longer maturities and selling equal amount of such securities of shorter maturities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12713.30, up by 22.50 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 12607.70 and 12735.95. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 4.95%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.01%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.56%, Reliance Industries up by 2.51% and Divis Lab up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.45%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.40%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.49%, SBI down by 1.41% and Indian Oil Corporation down by 1.35% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 166.00 points or 0.65% to 25,354.88, Hang Seng decreased 144.17 points or 0.55% to 26,025.21, Jakarta Composite lost 26.71 points or 0.49% to 5,431.89, Shanghai Composite declined 24.93 points or 0.75% to 3,313.75 and Straits Times trembled 13.44 points or 0.5% to 2,698.46.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 14.42 points or 0.11% to 13,236.20 and KOSPI rose 14.62 points or 0.59% to 2,490.24.