Sensex gains 160 points as crude oil eases, Nifty up 44 points; Yes Bank top loser, ICICI Bank emerges as biggest gainer

The Sensex spurted 160.01 points or 0.04 percent at 40,399.89 while the Nifty was 44.45 pointss or 0.37 percent at 11,901.25 at 10.25 AM. In early trade, the Sensex on Wednesday climbed 74 points backed by gains in a select private bank, financial and metal stocks amid easing global crude prices.

#CNBCTV18Market | Market opens with minor gains; YES BANK drags Nifty Bank

For more updates follow: https://t.co/qudMYFjPAX pic.twitter.com/oqsyEsiSa8

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 11, 2019

The appreciating rupee and mixed leads from other Asian markets too influenced sentiment, traders said, according to a PTI report. The 30-share index was trading 74.04 points or 0.18 percent higher at 40,313.92 in morning trade. The broader Nifty was trading 29.50 points or 0.25 percent up at 11,886.30. In the Sensex kitty, ICICI Bank emerged as the biggest gainer with 0.88 percent rise, followed by M&M, ITC, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Tata Steel, NTPC, L&T, and HDFC.

#CNBCTV18Market | YES BANK top index loser in the opening hour of trade pic.twitter.com/qVvj5RXxET

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 11, 2019

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On the other hand, Yes Bank continued to bleed with a steep 7.62 percent fall at Rs 46.70, among the losers. Other laggards include SBI, HUL, PowerGrid, Reliance, Bharti Airtel, Vedanta and HeroMotoCorp, declining up to 0.94 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4428589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Stock brokers. Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] In the previous session, the 30-share gauge closed 247.55 points or 0.61 percent lower at 40,239.88. On similar lines, the 50-scrip NSE Nifty fell 80.70 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 11,856.80. On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital market, offloading Rs 366.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 338.40 crore, data available with stock exchange showed. Market sentiment turned positive after global crude prices eased further, traders said. The Indian rupee appreciated by 12 paise to 70.80 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as positive opening in domestic equities and easing crude oil prices strengthened investor sentiments.

#Rupee opens higher Vs yesterday's close pic.twitter.com/Yp6uRNMyxq

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 11, 2019

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 70.87, then gathered momentum and touched a high of 70.80 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 12 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, rupee had settled for the day at 70.92 against the US dollar. The domestic unit, however, could not hold on to the gains and was trading at 70.83 against the dollar at 0933 hrs. Forex traders said investors were optimistic about the US-China trade talks. According to a media report, US and Chinese officials are working on a deal to postpone tariffs set to hit Chinese imports from December 15. Domestic bourses opened on a positive note on Wednesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 70.18 points higher at 40,310.06 and Nifty higher by 13.50 points at 11,870.30. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.10 percent to 97.50. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 366.79 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data. Asian shares drift as tariff deadline looms Asian stocks drifted on Wednesday as Sino-US trade talks showed little progress ahead of a weekend deadline for the imposition of additional US tariffs, and the pound wobbled as opinion polls pointed to a tight British election on Thursday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan drifted 0.1 percent higher, as markets in the region wavered either side of flat. Japan’s Nikkei traded 0.2 percent lower, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by the same margin, according to Reuters. Shanghai blue chips added 0.1 percent. US stock futures were 0.1 percent lower. Faced with often conflicting reports, investors have begun to suspect that even if US tariffs due to take effect on Sunday are delayed, it could take until 2020 before Washington and Beijing can agree a preliminary deal to wind back their trade war. “Every day we get a little bit of a nudge one way or the other,” said Rob Carnell, Asia-Pacific chief economist at ING in Singapore. “You just don’t know who to believe, whether these comments have any basis in reality or whether they’re a negotiating tactic.” In the absence of harder news on the trade front, investors’ focus was locked on the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and its outlook for the economy due at 2000 GMT, as well as Britain’s election. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady, with investors interested in whether the central bank changes its view of the economy and its 2 percent growth forecast for next year. US inflation data due at 1330 GMT, expected to hold steady, may further reduce chances for rate cuts next year should it surprise on the upside. The biggest mover of the morning among currencies was the British pound, which shed 0.3 percent to hit $1.3128 after a closely watched YouGov poll showed the ruling Conservatives tracking toward a much slimmer majority than forecast a fortnight ago. The pound recouped some losses during the day, but still sat well under the eight-month high struck overnight, when investors were more confident of a Conservative victory and expected it could end uncertainty over Britain’s exit from the European Union. YouGov’s research director, however, said the results showed a hung parliament was possible. “Granted, this still portrays a Tory (Conservative) majority but given what is already priced … the actual outcome has resulted in some of the heat coming out of a fairly frothy market,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Melbourne brokerage Pepperstone. Trade stalemate While China and the United States have still to settle differences on trade, officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States signed a fresh overhaul of the quarter-century-old North American trade pact. A Wall Street Journal report that said U.S. and Chinese officials were preparing for a delay to the 15 December round of tariffs knocked bonds but did not shift stocks since it suggested no resolution to the trade conflict. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump would make a decision soon on whether to enforce or suspend the tariffs. Overnight the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq dropped by a little less. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes, which moves inversely to price, last stood a little higher at 1.8329 percent. --With agency inputs