Sensex sheds early gains, Nifty regains 11,900-mark amid positive global cues; Yes Bank, ONGC among top losers

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices swung between gains and losses in the early trade on Monday after starting on a positive note. Though the equity benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 100 points in early trade led by gains in index heavyweights RIL and ICICI Bank amid positive cues from global markets, it slipped into red later while the broader Nifty regained 11,900-mark.

#CNBCTV18Market | Market turns volatile in trade as it gives up opening gains; Sensex & Nifty Bank slip more than 200 points each from highs pic.twitter.com/3bAbKGHNrI

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) November 18, 2019

The Sensex failed to maintain the upward trend and was trading 20.91 points or 0.05 percent lower at 40,335.78 at around 10.30 am after hitting a high of 40,542.40 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty was trading 5 points or 0.04 percent higher at 11,900.45 after rising 17.80 points, or 0.15 percent, to 11,913.25 in the morning trade. Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Bharti Airtel, SBI, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and L&T, rising up to 3.09 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4444277” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] On the other hand, Yes Bank, M&M, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, HUL and Bajaj Auto fell up to 1.46 percent. Except for Nifty auto, FMCG and IT, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty PSU bank nudging up by 1.04 percent, reported ANI. The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the path for steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA to take over bankrupt Essar Steel, and the judgment comes as a big reprieve for banks which are struggling with bad loans worth $140 billion. “The Essar Steel verdict is very positive for the banking sector. Also, the banking sector results have been marginally better than expected,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. The government is coming up with positive measures to help the economy and ailing sectors like telecom, boosting investor confidence, he added. The finance minister said on Friday the government was discussing the issue around telecom companies, but no final call had been taken yet. This comes after India’s two top mobile carriers warned last week that their ability to operate and make profits would depend on relief from the government. On Friday, the Sensex ended 70.21 points, or 0.17 percent, higher at 40,356.69. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 23.35 points, or 0.20 percent, to end at 11,895.45. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,008.37 crore in the capital market in the previous session, while domestic institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 537.74 crore, data available with stock exchange showed. Meanwhile, Asian shares ticked higher on Monday after Beijing surprised markets by trimming a key interest rate for the first time since 2015, stirring speculation that further stimulus was on the way for the world’s second-largest economy, reported Reuters. China’s central bank cut rates on seven-day reverse repurchase agreements by five basis points to 2.50 percent, a move that nudged the yuan higher while lowering bond yields. The news helped Shanghai blue chips recoup early losses to rise 0.8 percent, though the initial reaction was cautious overall. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan moved 0.3 percent higher. Japan’s Nikkei firmed 0.3 percent, and was just short of its recent 13-month top. The Indian rupee appreciated by 19 paise to 71.59 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday tracking gains in domestic equity market and weakening of the American currency vis-a-vis other currencies overseas. Forex traders said market participants were enthused after the US and China negotiators held ‘constructive’ call on trade deal. At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 71.67, then gained further ground and touched a high of 71.59, registering a rise of 19 paise over its previous close. Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.05 percent to $63.33 per barrel. — With inputs from agencies