Benchmarks trade lower in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks traded lower near neutral line in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Realty and Consumer Durables sector while selling was witnessed in IT, Telecom and FMGC sector stocks. Some pessimism came 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. However, losses were limited, as RBI data showed that bank credit grew 6.05 percent to Rs 105.49 lakh crore, while deposits rose 11.33 percent to Rs 144.82 lakh crore during December 5-18, 2020. Sector wise, airline industry remained in focus, as aviation regulator -- Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that the coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till January 31. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.

On the global front, Asian markets mostly were trading in green, the last trading day of 2020. Some of the regional markets were closed for New Year's Eve, including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. European markets were trading lower on the final trading day of a rollercoaster year that will leave the region’s main benchmark short of recouping all its losses from the pandemic.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 47711.43, down by 34.79 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 47602.12 and 47896.97. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.77%, Metal up by 1.11%, Consumer Durables up by 1.07%, Capital Goods up by 0.75% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.73%, while IT down by 0.45%, TECK down by 0.42%, Telecom down by 0.42%, FMCG down by 0.33% and Utilities was down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 2.21%, ICICI Bank up by 1.53%, Sun Pharma up by 1.15%, Titan Company up by 0.99% and HDFC Bank up by 0.71%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.16%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.05%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.95%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.88% and ITC down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report ‘Developments in India’s Balance of Payments during the Second Quarter (July-September) of 2020-21’ has showed that India’s current account surplus moderated to $15.5 billion (2.4 per cent of GDP) in Q2 of 2020-21 from  $19.2 billion (3.8 per cent of GDP) in Q1 of 2020-21; a deficit of $ 7.6 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) was recorded a year ago (i.e. Q2 of 2019-20).

According to the RBI, the narrowing of the current account surplus in Q2 of 2020-21 was on account of a rise in the merchandise trade deficit to $ 14.8 billion from $ 10.8 billion in the preceding quarter. Besides, it said that net services receipts increased both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis, primarily on the back of higher net earnings from computer services.

The report further noted that private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, declined on a y-o-y basis but improved sequentially by 12 per cent to $20.4 billion in Q2 2020-21. Besides, net outgo from the primary income account, primarily reflecting net overseas investment income payments, increased to $9.3 billion from $8.8 billion a year ago.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13962.40, down by 19.55 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 13936.45 and 14024.85. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 1.98%, ICICI Bank up by 1.37%, Tata Steel up by 1.37%, Hindalco up by 1.07% and JSW Steel up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.01%, TCS down by 1.18%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.16%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.07% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets mostly were trading in green, Hang Seng increased 84.02 points or 0.31% to 27,231.13, Shanghai Composite gained 58.62 points or 1.72% to 3,473.07 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 44.83 points or 0.31% to 14,732.53. On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 25.41 points or 0.89% to 2,843.81.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 99.20 points or 1.51% to 6,456.62 and France’s CAC was down by 26.89 points or 0.48% to 5,572.52.