Sensex, Nifty remain lower in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained lower in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red terrain. Negative cues from other Asian markets impacted domestic sentiments. Traders got cautious, as India, speaking on behalf of the BASIC group, warned that lack of a serious approach to climate finance will jeopardise the enhanced mitigation and adaptation ambition as well as net zero pledges of parties. Domestic sentiments also remained negative with Rating agency Crisil’s latest report stated that higher diesel prices will shave off the overall profitability of transporters despite an improvement in freight rates since last month following the withdrawal of the monsoons, consumption recovery and higher infrastructure activity.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,033.7 billion yen in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. That missed forecasts for a surplus of 1,060.1 billion yen and was down from 1,665.6 billion yen in August. Imports jumped 41.6 percent on year to 7.137 trillion yen, while exports gained an annual 16.1 percent to 6.907 trillion yen for a trade deficit of 229.9 billion yen.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60459.04, down by 86.57 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 60321.81 and 60670.47. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.95%, while Small cap index was up by 0.77%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.39%, Auto up by 1.38%, Capital Goods up by 0.92%, Realty up by 0.71% and Power up by 0.58%, while FMCG down by 0.32%, Consumer Durables down by 0.24%, Telecom down by 0.15%, Metal down by 0.15% and Bankex down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.38%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.20%, SBI up by 1.16%, Indusind Bank up by 0.98% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.76%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.39%, HDFC down by 1.39%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.20%, Power Grid down by 1.11% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Competition Commission of India (CCI) chief Ashok Kumar Gupta has said that the CCI will identify measures to enhance competition in the country's pharmaceutical sector for ensuring affordability of drugs after analysing findings of its market study, which is likely to be concluded within a month.

Gupta stated that the CCI, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition across sectors, initiated the pharmaceutical sector study after observing demand-side issues, such as lack of effective consumer choice. He said after analysing the findings of the study, CCI plan to come out with observations on various aspects in the sector that can improve market outcomes. He said currently, it appears that, when it comes to medicines, competition is primarily on the basis of brands and not prices.

CCI chief further said that the study will identify measures to increase competition for ensuring affordability of drugs. He noted that market studies were initiated in the pharmaceutical and telecom sectors, given their significance in the ‘new COVID-19-induced socio-economic milieu’. He said the watchdog has been supplementing enforcement actions by commissioning market studies to have a better understanding about market structures and competition issues.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18051.05, down by 17.50 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 18015.30 and 18112.60. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.55%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.26%, Divi's Lab up by 1.19%, Grasim Industries up by 1.16% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Britannia down by 2.22%, HDFC down by 1.43%, HDFC Bank down by 1.39%, Power Grid down by 1.19% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 17.85 points or 0.07% to 24,745.92, Nikkei 225 slipped 197.00 points or 0.67% to 29,310.05, KOSPI fell 4.53 points or 0.15% to 2,955.67, Shanghai Composite declined 0.73 points or 0.02% to 3,497.90 and Straits Times trembled 9.52 points or 0.29% to 3,254.38. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 18.28 points or 0.28% to 6,650.58 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 122.21 points or 0.7% to 17,537.51.