Sensex, Nifty turn negative

Erasing all of their gains, Indian equity benchmarks turned negative in early afternoon deals, on the back of weak cues from other Asian markets along with heavy selling at Realty and Telecom counters. Sentiments were pessimistic amid a private report stating that investments by Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC)funds have declined to $3.4 billion for October. By value, the bets were 3 per cent lower than $3.5 billion in the year-ago period, and 19 per cent lower than $4.2 billion in September. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Hong Kong's consumer price inflation accelerated for the second straight month in October to the highest level in just over a year. The data released by the Census and Statistics Department showed that the consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 2.7 percent year-over-year in October, following a 2.0 percent rise in September. Further, this was the highest inflation rate since September 2022, when prices had risen 4.4 percent.

Back home, on the sectoral front, media and entertainment sector stocks were in watch, as Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur has said that India’s growth from 10th to the 5th largest media and entertainment economy has been phenomenal and given the talent and volume of film and media content produced in the country, India will soon become the 3rd largest Media and Entertainment Industry in the world.
 
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65777.81, down by 152.96 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 65664.85 and 66057.32. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.04%, while Small cap index was down by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.04%, Healthcare up by 0.34%, Consumer Durables up by 0.30%, TECK up by 0.08% and Capital Goods up by 0.07%, while Realty down by 1.58%, Telecom down by 0.88%, Basic Materials down by 0.80%, Bankex down by 0.79% and Metal down by 0.72% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 1.20%, Titan up by 0.89%, NTPC up by 0.64%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.59% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.07%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.40%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.37%, ICICI Bank down by 0.99% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that prolonged regulatory approval processes in the UK impact India's exports of medical devices to the British market. To promote exports of these devices, it said India should negotiate a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) to expedite the entry of these equipment into the UK market, particularly for devices with CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) licence or Quality Council of India's Indian Certification of Medical Devices (ICMED) certification. It said the MRA would reduce regulatory compliance and audit requirements, potentially enhancing India's exports. The suggestion assumes significance as both the countries are negotiating a free trade agreement and this sector is an important part of that.

GTRI said the existing zero import duties on medical devices in the UK imply no direct tariffrelated advantages for India under the FTA. This means, India's medical devices industry does not gain tariff concessions, which are a typical benefit in such trade agreements. It also said even with zero tariffs in the UK, India's medical device exports to the UK are limited due to prolonged regulatory approval processes in the UK. It added that British regulations permit products to be labelled as 'Made in UK' even if they are merely marketed there, not manufactured.

It also said this is allowed under the current UK Medical Device Regulations, where a product can be labelled with a 'Legal Manufacturer' from the UK, even if the actual production does not occur there. PostFTA, this may create a risk of increased imports due to duty cuts and lax product specific rules of origin, potentially impacting India's growing medical device sector. It also said that India might consider duty reductions in the proposed trade pact only on products where India's exports are high and it has a competitive export advantage, assessed at the tariff line level. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19741.70, down by 41.70 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 19703.85 and 19825.55. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 3.03%, Cipla up by 1.20%, Power Grid up by 1.15%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.05% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.13%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.64%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.43%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.31% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 43.19 points or 0.24% to 17,690.70, Taiwan Weighted lost 106.44 points or 0.61% to 17,310.26, Jakarta Composite plunged 45.75 points or 0.66% to 6,916.04 and Shanghai Composite weakened 24.32 points or 0.79% to 3,043.61, while Straits Times rose 18.46 points or 0.6% to 3,114.80, KOSPI increased 1.28 points or 0.05% to 2,511.70 and Nikkei 225 surged 97.69 points or 0.29% to 33,451.83.