Markets erase gain to turn negative

Local equity benchmarks erased all the profits to turn negative in afternoon session, both Sensex and Nifty were trading below 47,800 and 14,000 marks, respectively. Traders were worried with report that total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 107.04 lakh crore at end-September 2020 from Rs 101.3 lakh crore at end-June 2020. This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 5.6 per cent in Q2 FY21. Public debt accounted for 91.1 per cent of total outstanding liabilities at end-September 2020. The weighted average yield on primary issuances of dated securities showed further moderation to 5.80 per cent in Q2 of FY21 from 5.85 per cent in Q1 FY21. However, downside remain capped with reports that after being severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the country's exports growth is expected to rebound in 2021 on the back of recovery in economic activities and demand worldwide.

On the global front; Asian markets were trading mostly higher and were set to end a tumultuous 2020 at record highs, after growing investor hopes for a global economic recovery. Back home, in scrip specific developments, Tejas Networks hits upper circuit on $13 million order win and Ansal Properties touches roof on entering into agreement to sell entire stake in Ansal IT City and Parks.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 47722.83, down by 23.39 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 47602.12 and 47865.56. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.74%, Consumer Durables up by 0.71%, Capital Goods up by 0.63%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.47% and Industrials was up by 0.43%’ while IT down by 0.56%, Basic Materials down by 0.53%, TECK down by 0.51%, Utilities down by 0.41% and Bankex was down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.72%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.86%, ICICI Bank up by 0.86%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.47% and Dr. Reddys Lab was up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.41%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.26%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.14%, Axis Bank down by 1.14% and TCS was down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, commerce ministry has said that an import monitoring system (IMS) is being developed for several sectors, including aluminium, copper, footwear, furniture, sports goods, and gym equipment. The system would help gather advanced information on imports of these products and make it available to the stakeholders, including government and domestic industries. The system is already in place for steel and coal.

For trade facilitation, it said about a 1.3 lakh Certificate of Origin has been issued through an electronic platform. During April 1 and December 30, the directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR) has initiated 43 anti-dumping, four countervailing duty, and one safeguard investigations to support domestic manufacturers. Average time taken to initiate an anti-dumping investigation has been brought down from 43 days in 2018-19 to 33 days in 2019-20 and the average time for completing an investigation has been brought down to 234 days in 2019-20, from 281 days during 2018-19 and more than 400 days in previous years.

Further, it said that till date, a total of 40 projects have been approved under the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), out of which eight projects have been completed. Till date, a total of 40 projects have been approved under the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), out of which eight projects have been completed. The scheme helps involve states in promoting export activities in the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13966.90, down by 15.05 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 13936.45 and 14010.15. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 1.74%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.93%, ICICI Bank up by 0.77%, Tata Motors up by 0.54% and Eicher Motors was up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 1.97%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.61%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.25%, Grasim Industries down by 1.21% and TCS was down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Hang Seng increased 84.02 points or 0.31% to 27,231.13, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 44.83 points or 0.31% to 14,732.53 and Shanghai Composite was up by 53.70 points or 1.57% to 3,468.15. On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 25.41 points or 0.89% to 2,843.81.