Sensex, Nifty trim gains

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains in late morning session, however managing to trade higher with notable gains. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain in green terrain. Traders were seen taking a note of reports that businesses with monthly turnover of over Rs 50 lakh will have to mandatorily pay at least 1 per cent of their GST liability in cash, the finance ministry said as it moved to curb evasion by fake invoicing. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified certain changes to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Rules, bringing in stringent conditions for getting GST registration as well as for businesses to settle tax liability using input tax credit.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after Singapore's industrial production rebounded strongly in November driven by biomedical manufacturing. The data from the Economic Development Board showed that industrial output climbed 17.9 percent on a yearly basis, in contrast to a 0.8 percent fall in October. Production was forecast to grow 15.4 percent. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, industrial production grew 14 percent from the same period last year. On a monthly basis, industrial production advanced 7.2 percent, reversing a 19 percent decline in the previous month. This was also faster than the expected 5 percent increase.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46656.79, up by 212.61 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 46539.02 and 46912.22. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.06%, Oil & Gas up by 1.56%, Bankex up by 1.53%, PSU up by 1.42% and Telecom up by 1.17%, while IT down by 1.17%, TECK down by 0.88%, FMCG down by 0.38%, Capital Goods down by 0.18% and Consumer discretionary down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 3.85%, Axis Bank up by 3.00%, ICICI Bank up by 1.87%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.85% and SBI up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.96%, Nestle down by 1.72%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.17%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.10% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to support the ongoing revival in economic activities, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has asked banks to take proactive measures to strengthen their resilience and lending capacity by raising capital. During a two-day meeting with heads of banks, including the private sector lenders, the governor emphasised on the need to remain vigilant and make provisions against bad loans proactively.

With specific reference to the financial sector, he highlighted the measures taken by the central bank since the onset of the pandemic to stabilise the economy and ensure financial stability. With regard to the banking sector, he reiterated the need for banks to remain vigilant and take proactive measures to strengthen their resilience and lending capacity by raising capital and making provisions proactively.

He also discussed credit flow to different sectors, including stressed segments and MSMEs. Other issues which came up for discussion included progress in the implementation of resolution framework for Covid-related stressed assets; progress in making the identified districts in states/UTs 100 per cent digitally enabled; strengthening and enhancing the capacity and efficiency of IT infrastructure and systems; and improving grievance redress mechanisms.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13664.25, up by 63.15 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 13626.90 and 13739.15. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.91%, Tata Motors up by 3.69%, Axis Bank up by 2.88%, SBI Life Insurance up by 2.73% and Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.61%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.94%, Nestle down by 1.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.24%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.14% and Wipro down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 106.47 points or 0.4% to 26,631.26, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 56.20 points or 0.4% to 14,279.29, Hang Seng increased 43.46 points or 0.16% to 26,386.56, KOSPI rose 42.39 points or 1.54% to 2,802.21 and Straits Times advanced 8.64 points or 0.3% to 2,842.04. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 7.11 points or 0.21% to 3,375.21.