Selling continues over Dalal Street in early noon deals

A continued selling kept Indian equity benchmarks lower in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty declining around 0.30% each, amid mixed cues from other Asian markets. Heavy selling at IT, TECK and Metal counters dampened domestic sentiments. Traders paid no heed towards reports that listed companies mobilised nearly Rs 63,300 crore from the capital market in April to fund their business expansion plans, with debt emerging as the most preferred route for fundraising. Meanwhile, in efforts to further deepen financial inclusion in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a Financial Inclusion Dashboard ‘Antardrishti’.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Singapore's retail sales growth eased further in April. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that retail sales climbed 3.6 percent year-over-year in April, slower than the 4.5 percent gain in March. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 4.2 percent yearly in April after a 4.0 percent increase in the preceding month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62579.36, down by 208.11 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 62554.21 and 62851.55. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.88%, Realty up by 0.75%, Industrials up by 0.24%, Bankex up by 0.16% and Capital Goods up by 0.14%, while IT down by 2.05%, TECK down by 1.84%, Metal down by 0.76%, Energy down by 0.46% and Oil & Gas down by 0.44% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.09%, Axis Bank up by 1.54%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.50%, Tata Motors up by 1.33% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.82%, Infosys down by 2.11%, HCL Technologies down by 1.98%, TCS down by 1.97% and Wipro down by 1.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-appointed panel has recommended hosts of customer-centric initiatives for banks, including online settlement of claims by heirs of deceased account holders, flexibility for submission of life certificates by pensioners and a centralised KYC database. It has also suggested that the operations of accounts should not be stopped pending periodic Know Your Customer (KYC) updates.

The report of the Committee for Review of Customer Service Standards in RBI Regulated Entities (REs) has further recommended that there should be a time limit for the return of property documents to borrowers after the closure of the loan account, failing which a penalty should be imposed on the lender. In case of loss of property documents, the RE should not only be obligated to assist in obtaining certified registered copies of documents at their cost but also compensate the customer adequately, keeping in view the time taken to arrange the alternate copies of the documents.

It suggested the REs may adopt a nuanced approach for risk categorisation of the customers. For example, salary earners with inflows and outflows consistent with the customer's profile need not necessarily be categorised as high risk, even though they may be 'high net worth' individuals''. Similarly, students can also be categorised as low-risk. It said till the recommendation for a common complaint portal is put in place, the REs should have a system to enable the complainant to track the progress in the processing of the complaint. The pensioners, it said, should be able to submit Life Certificate (LC) at any branch of the bank in which they maintain their pension account. Moreover, they should be allowed to submit LC in any month of their choice to avoid the rush in a particular month, and subsequent LCs can be submitted in the same month at annual intervals.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18537.20, down by 56.65 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 18531.60 and 18618.05. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.00%, Axis Bank up by 1.53%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.43%, Grasim Industries up by 1.38% and Tata Motors up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.80%, Infosys down by 2.09%, HCL Technologies down by 2.03%, TCS down by 1.94% and Wipro down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 289.35 points or 0.89% to 32,506.78, Taiwan Weighted added 47.23 points or 0.28% to 16,761.66 and Jakarta Composite gained 10.92 points or 0.16% to 6,644.36, while Straits Times fell 7.78 points or 0.24% to 3,181.23, Shanghai Composite weakened 42.82 points or 1.32% to 3,189.62 and Hang Seng declined 47.23 points or 0.25% to 19,061.27.