Benchmarks trade lower in morning deals

Domestic benchmark indices were trading with losses of around half percent in morning deals, due to selling pressure at Realty, Banking and IT counters. Traders remained cautious amid reports of foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 579.27 crore, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Besides, admitting that credit growth is ‘very low’ given the size and growth rate of the economy, the Reserve Bank said for both the numbers to match, ‘the very very wide output gap’ has to close. However, losses remain capped as some support came with Pradeep Multani, President of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s statement that the accommodative policy stance at this juncture would not only pave the way for a double digit GDP growth in the current year 2021-22, but will also help in creating a strong, sustainable and vibrant economy going forward. He also said that it is inspiring to note that the RBI has retained the projection for GDP growth at 9.5 per cent for 2021-22 despite the prevailing uncertainty caused by a new variant of Coronavirus.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as worries about the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant ebbed, while investors were cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data due on Friday. Back home, on the sectoral front, Power stocks remained in action as Union power minister R K Singh approved 23 new inter-state transmission system projects worth Rs 15,893 crore. The new inter-state transmission system (ISTS) projects comprise 13 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 14,766 crore to be developed under Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) and 10 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 1,127 crore to be developed under Regulated Tariff Mechanism (RTM). 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58362.38, down by 287.30 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 58360.61 and 58889.96. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.34%, Energy up by 1.01%, Oil & Gas up by 0.39%, Capital Goods up by 0.32% and Metal up by 0.16%, while Realty down by 1.04%, Bankex down by 1.00%, IT down by 0.76%, Consumer Durables down by 0.63% and Auto down by 0.52% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.29%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 0.54%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.48%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.25% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.17%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.64%, Titan Company down by 1.56%, TCS down by 1.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.35% and HCL Technologies down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Rural) for another three years to provide financial assistance for the construction of the remaining 155.75 lakh houses under the scheme. The scheme has been extended beyond March 2021, and till March 31, 2024. The total target is to construct 2.95 crore 'pucca' houses.

The total financial implication for construction of the remaining 155.75 lakh houses is Rs 2,17,257 crore, with a central share of Rs 1,25,106 crore and a state share of Rs 73,475 crores for achieving cumulative targets of 2.95 crore houses in rural areas.

The continuation of the scheme till March 2024 will ensure that the remaining 155.75 lakh households within the overall target of 2.95 crore houses would be provided assistance for construction of pucca houses with basic amenities to achieve the objective of 'housing for all' in rural areas. As of November 29 this year, 1.65 crore PMAY-G houses have been constructed out of the total target of 2.95 crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17385.30, down by 84.45 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 17382.65 and 17543.25. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 1.59%, Reliance Industries up by 1.22%, BPCL up by 1.20%, Coal India up by 0.89% and Sun Pharma up by 0.59%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.70%, Titan Co down by 1.64%, TCS down by 1.58%, HCL Technologies down by 1.38% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 213.15 points or 0.89% to 24,210.02, Shanghai Composite gained 37.47 points or 1.03% to 3,675.04, KOSPI rose 10.04 points or 0.33% to 3,011.84 and Straits Times advanced 8.91 points or 0.28% to 3,138.68, Jakarta Composite soared 7.65 points or 0.12% to 6,611.45 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 5.88 points or 0.03% to 17,838.30.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 89.52 points or 0.31% to 28,771.10