Key indices trim some of losses

Weak trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning deals, but benchmarks managed to cut some of their losses. Negative cues from other Asian markets impacted sentiments over the Street. However, traders got some relief, after the Finance Ministry highlighted the economic reforms for growth and development of the country. It said that from January 2021, taxpayers up to the turnover of Rs 5 crore will have the option of filing a quarterly Goods and Service Tax Returns (GSTR) under QRMP Scheme i.e. Quarterly Returns Monthly Payment Scheme.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, after Hong Kong's manufacturing output declined at a faster pace in the third quarter. The provisional results of the Census and Statistics Department showed that manufacturing output fell 7.4 percent year-on-year, following a 5.1 percent decrease a quarter ago. Meanwhile, producer price inflation accelerated to 3.8 percent from 1.3 percent in the previous quarter. On a quarterly basis, manufacturing output was down 2.5 percent in the third quarter.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46012.61, down by 240.85 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 45841.67 and 46287.39. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.30%, while Small cap index was down by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.91%, Telecom up by 0.04%, Basic Materials up by 0.01% and Auto up by 0.01%, while FMCG down by 1.20%, Realty down by 1.01%, PSU down by 0.97%, Oil & Gas down by 0.92% and Bankex down by 0.85% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.98%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.76%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.63%, HDFC up by 0.80% and HCL Tech up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.08%, ICICI Bank down by 1.81%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.65%, SBI down by 1.62% and Power Grid down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 6.93 per cent in November on the back of softer food prices, though it remained above the comfort level of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The CPI stood at 7.61 per cent in October. The RBI, which mainly factors in retail inflation while arriving at key policy rates, has been mandated by the government to keep inflation at 4 per cent (+, - 2 per cent).

The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that the Rural CPI (General) in November stood at 7.20 per cent as against 7.75 per cent in October. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 6.73 per cent in November as against 7.33 per cent in October. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 160.7, 156.9 and 158.9, respectively, in November 2020.

Inflation in the food basket was 9.43 per cent in November, down from 11.07 per cent in the previous month. The data indicated that the Rural Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) stood at 9.57 per cent in November as compared to 11.12 per cent in October. The Urban CFPI stood at 9.10 per cent in November as against 10.86 per cent in October. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CFPI stood at 164.8, 167.8 and 165.9, respectively, in November 2020.

Vegetables inflation for November came in at 15.63 percent, oils and fat at 17.86 percent, meat and fish at 16.67 percent, and pulses and products at 17.91 percent. Egg prices climbed 20.26 per cent on-year in November. Besides, inflation in transport and communication came in at 11.06 percent and that in recreation and amusement came in at 4.57 percent.

The Price data are collected from representative and selected 1114 urban markets and 1181 villages covering all States/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster. During the month of November 2020, NSO collected prices from 98.8% villages and 98.6% urban markets while the market-wise prices reported therein were 87.0% for rural and 91.1% for urban.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13491.50, down by 66.65 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 13447.05 and 13548.65. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.38%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.03%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.02%, Shree Cement up by 1.94% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.09%, ICICI Bank down by 1.99%, Tata Motors down by 1.83%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.66% and SBI down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 110.72 points or 0.41% to 26,621.72, Jakarta Composite lost 31.49 points or 0.52% to 5,981.03, Straits Times trembled 10.93 points or 0.38% to 2,847.21, Shanghai Composite declined 15.10 points or 0.45% to 3,354.02, KOSPI fell 23.94 points or 0.87% to 2,738.26, Taiwan Weighted dropped 140.54 points or 0.99% to 14,070.51 and Hang Seng decreased 217.53 points or 0.82% to 26,171.99.