Bears dominate Dalal Street

Bears were dominating the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty witnessing pressure, amid negative cues from other Asian markets along with heavy selling at Bankex and Realty counters. Traders were cautious, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monthly bulletin said that a shift by state governments to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) will be fiscally unsustainable and a major step backwards. Besides, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in its report has said that banking issues like reluctance to process forex received through alternate channels and high processing fees are hindering the growth of e-commerce exports from India, and there is a need to bring mindset change to unlock the sector's potential.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 930.477 billion yen in August. That was well shy of expectations for a shortfall of 659.1 billion yen following the upwardly revised 66.3 billion yen deficit in July (originally -78.7 billion yen). Exports were down 0.8 percent on year at 7.994 trillion yen, beating forecasts for a decline of 1.7 percent following the 0.3 percent drop in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66959.77, down by 637.07 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 66887.99 and 67294.16. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.12%, while Small cap index was down by 0.33%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.62%, Power up by 0.55%, PSU up by 0.38% and Consumer Durables up by 0.21%, while Bankex down by 1.03%, Realty down by 0.67%, Telecom down by 0.63%, Healthcare down by 0.55% and Metal down by 0.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation of India up by 2.00%, NTPC up by 1.18%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.11%, Tata Motors up by 0.69% and Axis Bank up by 0.63%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.88%, Reliance Industries down by 1.61%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.41%, JSW Steel down by 1.32% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) observed that Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cannot be used as a ‘tool for recovery’. The Principal Bench of the NCLT was hearing the plea for initiating insolvency against Orris Infrastructure over an alleged default of Rs 3.60 lakh. 

The NCLT bench observed that the purchaser of the Office space/Retail Unit has already received full and final payment from Orris Infrastructure in lieu of the assured returns towards the allotted unit, as per the agreement. The amount has been paid in excess of the default amount and counsel for the applicant has also acknowledged the receipt of the demand draft from the realty firm, which was developing a commercial building complex, known as Floreal Tower, at Sector 83, Gurgaon (Haryana). The applicants entered into an agreement on April 24, 2010, and the Space Buyers agreement was signed with Orris Infrastructure.

It was mutually agreed between the parties that the realty firm would pay monthly assured returns to the applicants up to the first 36 months after the completion of the building or till the date the office space is put on lease, whichever is earlier. The construction of the building for the Floreal Tower Project was completed by December 2013 and thereafter occupation certificate was received on August 16, 2017. Therefore, the 3-year period for the purpose of paying assured return in terms of the occupation certificate ends on August 16, 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19955.20, down by 178.10 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 19927.60 and 20050.65. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation of India up by 2.25%, Coal India up by 1.71%, NTPC up by 1.31%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.13% and Axis Bank up by 0.80%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 3.98%, Britannia own by 1.70%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.67%, Reliance Industries down by 1.64% and JSW Steel down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 218.81 points or 0.66% to 33,023.78, Taiwan Weighted lost 101.57 points or 0.61% to 16,534.75, Hang Seng declined 69.56 points or 0.39% to 17,927.61, Shanghai Composite weakened 13.49 points or 0.43% to 3,111.47 and Straits Times fell 4.01 points or 0.12% to 3,236.74, while KOSPI increased 0.53 points or 0.02% to 2,559.74 and Jakarta Composite gained 51.14 points or 0.73% to 7,031.46.