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 sentiments on the street. Some concerns came with a private report stating that gender pay gap has deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with women being left behind on pay raises and bonuses. Traders paid no heed towards reports that chief financial officers (CFOs) of companies have shown higher confidence in the financial and macroeconomic conditions.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, even after Malaysia's industrial production grew in October. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that industrial production rose 5.5 percent year-on-year in October, following a 2.5 percent increase in September. The growth in production was mainly driven by a rise in production of manufacturing industry and electricity.

Back home, steel sector was in focus, as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has appealed to steel industry stakeholders for assessing manufacturing costs and exploring possibilities of offering relief to small industries that use the commodity for producing components and other engineering products.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58617.44, down by 189.69 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 58495.12 and 58850.24. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.85%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.22%, Industrials up by 1.04%, Power up by 0.88%, Capital Goods up by 0.81% and Healthcare up by 0.52%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.05%, Energy down by 0.41%, Bankex down by 0.27%, FMCG down by 0.21% and TECK down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 3.08%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.53%, Sun Pharma up by 1.06%, Tata Steel up by 0.38% and TCS up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 2.80%, HDFC down by 1.18%, Nestle down by 1.12%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.05% and Axis Bank down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has appealed to steel industry stakeholders for assessing manufacturing costs and exploring possibilities of offering relief to small industries that use the commodity for producing components and other engineering products.

Goyal said that special care of MSMEs needs to be taken for easier and cost effective supply of steel. He said steel makers showed intent to support small and medium enterprises and exporters. They assured the small enterprises and exporters about finding affordable solutions to address their challenges especially in the wake of the pandemic.

The issue was discussed in a meeting held involving representatives of steel industry and actual industry. The meeting was convened to address the issues raised by small industries and exporters about steel input prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17467.60, down by 49.25 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 17433.45 and 17534.35. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.06%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.28%, Grasim Industries up by 1.76%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.34% and Sun Pharma up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 2.95%, Divi's Lab down by 1.29%, HDFC down by 1.13%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.11% and Nestle down by 1.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng decreased 122.01 points or 0.5% to 24,132.85, Shanghai Composite declined 11.92 points or 0.32% to 3,661.12, KOSPI fell 21.79 points or 0.72% to 3,007.78, Straits Times trembled 7.69 points or 0.24% to 3,134.76, Jakarta Composite lost 31.77 points or 0.48% to 6,612.16, Taiwan Weighted dropped 78.83 points or 0.44% to 17,835.29 and Nikkei 225 slipped 151.57 points or 0.53% to 28,573.90.