Sensex, Nifty hover near neutral lines

Indian equity benchmarks continued to linger near their neutral lines in early afternoon deals, amid heavy selling at healthcare and Consumer Durables counters. However, positive cues from other Asian markets spurred some relief over the Dalal Street. Some support came after Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that India’s exports to Nordic region has grown over 39% from 2018-19 to 2022-23 and that exports to Finland & Norway-grown by over 100% & 80% respectively. Besides, highlighting the fact the region has come close to India in recent years, the Minister pointed out that Indian Cuisine, Bollywood, Yoga, Ayurveda and Textiles are extremely popular in Nordic-Baltic region.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after Singapore's consumer price inflation accelerated for the second straight month in October to the highest level in five months amid higher private transport costs along with the rise in core inflation. The data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry revealed that the consumer price index climbed 4.7 percent year-over-year in October, faster than the 4.1 percent rise in September.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66075.82, up by 52.58 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 65989.74 and 66235.24. 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 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.95%, Telecom up by 0.74%, Basic Materials up by 0.34%, Auto up by 0.31% and Bankex up by 0.28%, while Healthcare down by 1.05%, Consumer Durables down by 0.24%, Power down by 0.21%, IT down by 0.21% and Utilities down by 0.20% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.32%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.76%, Tata Steel up by 0.75%, HDFC Bank up by 0.53% and Axis Bank up by 0.44%.

On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.29%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.86%, TCS down by 0.78%, Sun Pharma down by 0.71% and Power Grid Corp down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, stating that some Non-Banking Finance Company-Microfinance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs) are making wider net interest margins, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has asked entities to be ‘judicious’ in using the flexibility on the interest rates they charge from borrowers. He said the microlending segment serves marginalised clientele and has emerged as an important financial conduit to foster financial inclusion.

RBI Governor said though the interest rates are deregulated, certain NBFC-MFIs appear to be enjoying relatively higher net interest margins. It is indeed for microfinance lenders themselves to ensure that the flexibility provided to them in setting interest rates is used judiciously. 

It can be noted that following the crisis in the microfinance segment in Andhra Pradesh that had also led to the creation of the NBFC-MFI segment, the RBI had capped the maximum interest which lenders can charge at 24 per cent. The rate regime was deregulated it in 2021, making it possible for entities to charge as much as they want. Das acknowledged that such entities have to bear in mind the affordability and the repayment capacity of the borrowers while setting their interest rates.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19807.80, down by 4.05 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 19791.15 and 19875.15. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.51%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.71%, Eicher Motors up by 1.75%, Indusind Bank up by 1.34% and Tata Steel up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 6.91%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.36%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.28%, Divi's Lab down by 1.26% and Apollo Hospital down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite rose 89.63 points or 1.3% to 6,996.58, Hang Seng advanced 75.38 points or 0.43% to 17,809.98, Shanghai Composite added 17.04 points or 0.56% to 3,060.65 and KOSPI was up by 3.26 points or 0.13% to 2,514.96. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted lost 15.71 points or 0.09% to 17,294.55 and Straits Times was down by 7.25 points or 0.23% to 3,107.67.