Bourses turn green in noon deals

Local equity benchmarks erased all the losses to turn positive in afternoon session, both Sensex and Nifty were trading above 58,700 and 17,450 marks, respectively. Buying in frontline stocks such as Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries were aiding sentiment, while selling in Titan Company, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank kept the gains in the markets in check. Traders took some solace 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. However, upside remain capped with private report that the India's retail inflation likely to accelerate last month towards the upper limit of the central bank's target range as fruit and vegetable prices climbed.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as investors waited for U.S. inflation data that might influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on when to roll back economic stimulus. Back home, in scrip specific development, Vodafone Idea zoomed after report that the company will repay interest to bondholders on time. Bondholders of Vodafone Idea will receive their interest in time on the due date of December 13 as the company has managed to raise funds for the repayment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58711.71, up by 62.03 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 58340.85 and 58889.96. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.41%, Telecom up by 1.34%, Capital Goods up by 1.21%, Oil & Gas up by 0.92%, Industrials was up by 0.85%, while Bankex down by 0.45%, Consumer Durables down by 0.40%, Realty down by 0.34%, IT down by 0.09% and Healthcare was down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.08%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.92%, Reliance Industries up by 1.56%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.18% and ITC was up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 1.69%, HDFC Bank down by 1.58%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.06%, Nestle down by 1.02% and NTPC was down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with a view to providing operational flexibility to banks, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said banks will be allowed to infuse capital in their overseas branches as well as repatriate profits without seeking its prior approval, subject to fulfilling of certain regulatory capital requirements. At present, banks incorporated in India can infuse capital in their overseas branches and subsidiaries, retain profits in these centres and repatriate/ transfer the profits with prior approval of the RBI.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in view of the subsequent significant developments in the global standards on classification, measurement and valuation of investments, the linkages with the capital adequacy framework as well as progress in the domestic financial markets, there is a need to review and update these norms.

In view of the imminent discontinuance of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), Das said any widely accepted interbank rate or Alternative Reference Rate (ARR) applicable to the currency of borrowing may be used as a benchmark, post discontinuation. Currently, the benchmark rate for Foreign Currency (FCY) External Commercial Borrowings (ECB)/Trade Credit (TC) is specified as six-month LIBOR rate or any other six-month interbank interest rate applicable to the currency of borrowing.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17486.05, up by 16.30 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 17379.60 and 17543.25. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.16%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.82%, Reliance Industries up by 1.63%, UPL up by 1.42% and Adani Ports was up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 1.79%, HDFC Bank down by 1.58%, Divi's Lab down by 1.35%, Nestle down by 1.10% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 81.70 points or 0.46% to 17,914.12, KOSPI rose 27.12 points or 0.9% to 3,028.92, Jakarta Composite soared 6.72 points or 0.1% to 6,610.52, Shanghai Composite gained 43.50 points or 1.2% to 3,681.07, Hang Seng increased 216.60 points or 0.9% to 24,213.47 and Straits Times was up by 8.96 points or 0.29% to 3,138.73. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was down by 135.15 points or 0.47% to 28,725.47.