Indices continue to witness weakness in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices continued to witness weakness and were trading lower with cut of over 0.35 percent in late morning deals owing to selling by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, the session was also proving weak for broader indices with Mid cap index and Small cap index falling in the range of 0.40-0.45%. Sentiments were weak after the HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, which measures the combined performance of India’s manufacturing and service sectors, fell to 61.9 in September from 63.2 in August. Further, depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 43 paise to 88.72 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market. The Indian rupee dropped to an all-time low, with pressure intensifying after the U.S. raised visa fees.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, in the stock specific development, Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services surged after the company entered into an agreement with Mastercard Asia/Pacific (Mastercard).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81843.26, down by 316.71 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 81782.56 and 82307.50. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.43%, while Small cap index down by 0.44%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.85% and Metal up by 0.07%, while FMCG down by 1.09%, Consumer Durables down by 0.94%, TECK down by 0.80%, Realty down by 0.74% and IT down by 0.70% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.83%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.79%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.92%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.61% and SBI up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.93%, Trent down by 1.86%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.79%, Asian Paints down by 1.50% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to safeguard domestic players from cheap inbound shipments, the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty for five years on imports of cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel from China. In its final findings, the DGTR has concluded that the product has been exported to India at a price below the normal value, resulting in dumping. The recommended duty on certain Chinese firms is $223.82 per tonne, while on a few others $414.92 per tonne. 

Meanwhile, the final decision to impose anti-dumping duty on cheap imports is taken by finance ministry. Countries conduct anti-dumping probes to determine whether the domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. Besides, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a countermeasure.

The anti-dumping is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters. India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25099.15, down by 103.20 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 25084.65 and 25250.85. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 2.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.75%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.74%, Eicher Motors up by 1.48% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.95%, Trent down by 1.93%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.89%, Nestle down by 1.54% and Asian Paints down by 1.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 370.66 points or 1.41% to 26,251.26, Jakarta Composite gained 41.5 points or 0.51% to 8,081.54, KOSPI increased 17.43 points or 0.5% to 3,486.08 and Straits Times rose 9.96 points or 0.23% to 4,307.33. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 45.5 points or 1.2% to 3,783.08 and Hang Seng declined 236.14 points or 0.9% to 26,108.00.