Local equities extend losses in late afternoon session

Local equities extended their losses in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty falling above 400 and 100 points, respectively. Banking, IT and TECK counters were on the priority list of the sellers. Sentiments remained down-beat even after gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection for November stood at Rs 1.04 lakh crore, 1.4 percent higher than the sum collected in the same month last year. Traders took note of report that the Reserve Bank of India monetary policy committee is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets on Friday, after data showing the economy contracting less than expected and persistently high inflation. On the sectoral front, insurance sector remained in focus, as General Insurance Council (GIC) showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) in the general insurance sector slipped marginally to Rs 509.07 crore in FY 2019-20 from the previous year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after the previous strong run-up, with profit-taking playing against vaccine prospects and renewed hopes for a fresh US stimulus. European markets were trading mostly in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 44225.42, down by 430.02 points or 0.96% after trading in a range of 44200.28 and 44729.64. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.85%, Oil & Gas up by 1.33%, Metal up by 1.10%, Consumer Durables up by 1.03% and Utilities was up by 0.99%, while Bankex down by 2.02%, IT down by 0.59%, TECK down by 0.51%, Healthcare down by 0.44% and FMCG was down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 3.19%, Asian Paints up by 2.61%, Titan Company up by 2.11%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.87% and Tata Steel up by 1.63%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.13%, ICICI Bank down by 2.48%, HDFC Bank down by 2.42%, HDFC down by 2.05% and Nestle down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting agriculture development as the top priority for Government of India, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the Government is fully committed towards the welfare of farmers.

The Minister proposed to constitute an expert committee to put forth the issues of farmers so as to resolve them with mutual consent but the representative of the Farmers Union suggested that all the representatives will attend further round of discussions with the Government to resolve the matter amicably.

Meanwhile, Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways & Commerce and Som Prakash, Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce and Industries interacted with the representatives of Farmers Organizations of Punjab. The Ministers again explained the benefits of Farm Reform Acts to the representatives of the Farmers’ Unions. Various issues related to Farm Reform Acts were discussed at length and talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12997.55, down by 111.50 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 12983.55 and 13128.50. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 6.23%, ONGC up by 3.00%, Asian Paints up by 2.68%, Indian Oil up by 2.62% and Adani Ports up by 2.52%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.29%, ICICI Bank down by 2.49%, HDFC Bank down by 2.46%, Shree Cement down by 2.35% and HDFC down by 1.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 103.47 points or 0.75% to 13,989.14, Jakarta Composite soared 89.25 points or 1.56% to 5,813.99, KOSPI rose 41.65 points or 1.58% to 2,675.90 and Nikkei 225 was up by 13.44 points or 0.05% to 26,800.98. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 2.56 points or 0.07% to 3,449.38, Straits Times trembled 5.57 points or 0.2% to 2,808.55 and Hang Seng was up by 35.10 points or 0.13% to 26,532.58.

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC decreased 16.22 points or 0.29% to 5,565.42 and Germany’s DAX decreased 77.04 points or 0.58% to 13,305.26. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 1.45 points or 0.02% to 6,386.18.