Local equities trade deep in red

Local equities traded deep in red in late afternoon session, breaching their crucial below 46500 (Sensex) and 13600 (Nifty) levels. Traders were cautious even after Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur stated that India has the potential to achieve double-digit growth through a healthy dose of digital services and manufacturing base expansion which will be driven by demand from the rural sector, youth and the aspirational middle class. On the sectoral front, banking stocks remained in focus as the RBI data showed that bank credit grew by 5.73 percent to Rs 105.04 lakh crore while deposits increased by 11.34 percent to Rs 145.92 lakh crore in the fortnight ended December 4. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as concerns about a spike in domestic coronavirus infections overshadowed investor optimism over new U.S. and Japanese stimulus packages. European markets were trading lower as investors monitored a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus that has shut down much of the U.K.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46446.91, down by 513.78 points or 1.09% after trading in a range of 46312.20 and 47055.69. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.06%, while Small cap index was down by 2.04%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT was up by 0.14%, while PSU down by 4.21%, Oil & Gas down by 3.77%, Utilities down by 3.39%, Metal down by 3.39% and Power was down by 2.96% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 0.81%, HCL Tech up by 0.71%, Infosys up by 0.56% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.02%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 6.47%, Indusind Bank down by 5.52%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 4.49%, SBI down by 4.40% and NTPC down by 4.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional Estimate of Net Payroll’ data report has showed that India created 1154896 new jobs in the month of October 2020 as against revised figure of 1419161 in September 2020.

As per the report, the maximum jobs were created in the age bracket of 22-25 and in this bracket the top sectors which have created more fresh jobs include Expert Services; Trading-Commercial Establishments; Establishment Engaged in Manufacture, Marketing Servicing; Engineers- Engineering Contractors; Building & Construction Industry; Financing Establishment and Hospitals. In the similar age bracket, Maharashtra was the first among the States to create maximum payroll, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Delhi.

According to the data report, 6630 new jobs were created in less than 18 age group category, while 264093 jobs in 18-21 age group category. Further, 22-25 age, 26-28 age, 29-35 age and more than 35 age group category witnessed 315167, 158431, 218857 and 191718 new payrolls, respectively in October 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13596.20, down by 164.35 points or 1.19% after trading in a range of 13548.75 and 13777.50. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 0.98%, Infosys up by 0.77%, HCL Tech up by 0.76%, Nestle up by 0.74% and Reliance Industries up by 0.09%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 6.57%, Indian Oil down by 5.43%, GAIL India down by 5.28%, Indusind Bank down by 5.21% and Tata Motors down by 4.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 135.00 points or 0.95% to 14,384.96, Jakarta Composite soared 61.30 points or 1% to 6,165.62, Shanghai Composite gained 25.67 points or 0.76% to 3,420.57 and KOSPI was up by 6.47 points or 0.23% to 2,778.65. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 0.10 points or 0% to 2,848.88, Nikkei 225 slipped 48.97 points or 0.18% to 26,714.42 and Hang Seng was down by 191.92 points or 0.72% to 26,306.68.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 63.90 points or 0.98% to 6,465.28, France’s CAC decreased 111.76 points or 2.02% to 5,416.08 and Germany’s DAX was down by 255.55 points or 1.87% to 13,374.96.