Key indices trade flat with negative bias

Indian equity benchmarks erased gains and were trading flat with negative bias in morning deals, on account of profit-booking at record highs ahead of weekly expiry of index derivative contracts. Some concern came with private report stated that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India have seen an average 11 per cent decline in business volume due to lockdowns in 2021, compared to 46 per cent during the 2020 nationwide lockdown. However, losses remain capped as traders found some support as the Rajya Sabha passed the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to encourage the start-up ecosystem and further boost ease of doing business, amid uproar by the opposition on Pegasus snooping row and other issues. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as jitters about the fast spread of the coronavirus’s delta variant dented enthusiasm about strong corporate profits.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54308.08, down by 61.69 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 54230.89 and 54576.64. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.60%, while Small cap index was down by 1.25%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.37%, TECK up by 1.09% and IT up by 1.03%, while Realty down by 2.13%, PSU down by 1.55%, Metal down by 1.32%, Basic Materials down by 1.10% and Utilities down by 1.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.00%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.13%, HCL Technologies up by 2.09%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.33% and TCS up by 0.82%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.65%, Indusind Bank down by 2.49%, Tata Steel down by 1.74%, Titan Company down by 1.49% and ICICI Bank down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha has passed the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill amid opposition uproar. The Bill proposes that even if a bank is temporarily unable to fulfil its obligations due to restrictions such as moratorium, depositors can access their deposits to the extent of the deposit insurance cover through interim payments by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). For this, the Bill seeks to insert a new Section in the DICGC Act, 1961.

The bill also seeks to amend Section 15 of the DICGC Act to enable the Corporation to increase the ceiling on the amount of premium, with the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Besides, it will also provide that the DICGC may defer or vary the receipt of repayments due to it from the insured bank and to empower the Corporation to charge penal interest in case of delay in repayment by the banks to the Corporation.

Though the RBI and the central government keep monitoring the health of all banks, there have been numerous recent cases of banks, especially cooperative banks, being unable to fulfil their obligations towards depositors due to the imposition of moratorium by the RBI. Recently, the Union Cabinet had cleared amendments to the DICGC Act.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16234.45, down by 24.35 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 16210.30 and 16294.65. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.57%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.96%, HCL Technologies up by 2.29%, Wipro up by 2.20% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.00%. On the flip side, SBI down by 2.69%, Indusind Bank down by 2.57%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.42%, Tata Steel down by 1.81% and ONGC down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 120.51 points or 0.44% to 27,704.59, Jakarta Composite soared 43.38 points or 0.7% to 6,202.42, Shanghai Composite gained 3.30 points or 0.09% to 3,480.52 and KOSPI rose 1.68 points or 0.05% to 3,282.06. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 7.99 points or 0.25% to 3,174.91, Hang Seng decreased 16.93 points or 0.06% to 26,409.62 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 23.80 points or 0.14% to 17,600.09.