Sensex, Nifty remain near neutral lines in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained near their neutral lines in early afternoon deals, amid negative cues from other Asian markets along with selling at FMCG and Realty counters. Traders got cautious, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India will impose restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the national interest to ensure safeguards due to its location in a highly sensitive neighbourhood. However, downside remained capped, as the latest HSBC ‘flash’ PMI survey compiled by S&P Global has showed that India's private sector economy continued to showcase robust growth in October. The survey noted that a quicker upturn in new work intakes encouraged companies to scale up business activity and recruit additional workers. The uptick in growth momentum was accompanied by an intensification of price pressures.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Japan's private sector fell into the contraction zone for the first time in four months in October. The Purchasing Managers' survey compiled by S&P Global showed that the au Jibun Bank flash composite output index posted 49.4 compared to 52.0 in the previous month. A score below 50 suggests contraction. Both manufacturing and services shrank in October due to a muted economy and subdued new order inflows.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80087.49, up by 5.51 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 79813.02 and 80259.82. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.07%, while Small cap index was down by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.86%, Bankex up by 0.67%, Utilities up by 0.59%, Power up by 0.52% and Healthcare up by 0.48%, while FMCG down by 2.43%, Realty down by 0.81%, IT down by 0.53%, Consumer discretionary down by 0.51% and Auto down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.64%, HDFC Bank up by 1.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.32%, Axis Bank up by 1.18% and Power Grid up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 6.77%, Nestle down by 3.98%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.48%, Asian Paints down by 1.09% and ITC down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has imposed anti-dumping duty on five Chinese goods, including glass mirror and cellophane transparent film, for five years to guard domestic players from cheap imports from the neighbouring country. These duties were imposed as these products -- isopropyl alcohol, sulphur black, cellophane transparent film, thermoplastic polyurethane, unframed glass mirror -- were exported to India from China at below normal prices. 

The government has imposed the $82 per tonne and $217 per tonne duty on different Chinese firms on isopropyl alcohol, which has medical and industrial uses. It is also used as an antiseptic for skin and instrumentation, and hand sanitiser. On imports of sulphur black, whose total imports in 2023-24 was $4.3 million, a duty of up to $389 per tonne has been imposed. It is used for dyeing textile, paper and leather. Similarly, import of thermoplastic polyurethane, which has applications in automotive, medical and electronics industries, will now attract anti-dumping duty in the range of $0.93 per kg to $1.58 per kg.

The anti-dumping duty of cellophane transparent film, used as a packing material, has been kept at $1.34 per kg. In 2023-24, the total imports of the product stood at about $60 million. On unframed glass mirrors, the anti-dumping duty of $234 per tonne has been imposed. These duties are imposed after recommendations for the same were made by the commerce ministry's investigation arm the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24413.25, down by 22.25 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 24341.20 and 24480.65. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.56%, Shriram Finance up by 1.44%, Grasim Industries up by 1.38%, HDFC Bank up by 1.34% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 6.75%, SBI Life Insurance down by 4.67%, Nestle down by 4.05%, Hindalco down by 3.99% and Bajaj Auto down by 2.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 247.31 points or 1.19% to 20,512.84, Jakarta Composite plunged 35.2 points or 0.45% to 7,752.37, Shanghai Composite weakened 22.54 points or 0.68% to 3,280.26, KOSPI dropped 18.59 points or 0.72% to 2,581.03 and Taiwan Weighted lost 142.24 points or 0.61% to 23,192.52, while Straits Times rose 10.14 points or 0.28% to 3,610.92 and Nikkei 225 surged 38.43 points or 0.1% to 38,143.29.