Sensex trims initial gains to trade flat - Livemint

Among the sectoral indices, the BSE consumer durables index was the top gainer, up 4.9%, followed by the Bankex and healthcare indices which were up 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint

Mumbai: After opening higher, India’s equity markets slipped slightly on Monday as investors booked profits ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) bi-monthly monetary policy due on Tuesday.

Many bank economists and treasurers say a reduction in interest rates is unlikely at the policy announcement expected at 11am on 2 December. A Mint poll of 10 economists and treasurers showed that no one is expecting an immediate cut; instead, they expect governor Raghuram Rajan to wait until there is more clarity on the inflation trajectory as well as global commodity prices and US monetary policy.

At 9.43am, the benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex was trading lower by 0.02%, or 5.7 points, at 28,688.29 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s broader barometer 50-share Nifty was trading down 0.09%, or 8.05 points, at 8,596.30 points.

Among the sectoral indices, the BSE consumer durables index was the top gainer, up 4.9%, followed by the Bankex and healthcare indices which were up 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. The auto and FMCG indices were up 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. The BSE IT and Teck indices were up 0.2% each. The oil and gas and realty indices were the top sectoral losers, down 0.4% each, followed by metal and power indices, which were down 0.3% each.

United Spirits Ltd fell 2.1% to Rs.2,674.90 after its minority shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting rejected 9 of 12 resolutions. The vote against nine related-party transactions between the company and entities controlled by Vijay Mallya ’s UB Group came as an unexpected show of defiance against continued ties between United Spirits and its Indian promoter. Shareholders also rejected a Rs.1,337.4 crore loan repayment agreement between United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd and the company—which some analysts had criticized as being too generous to the UB Group’s holding company. United Breweries Holdings Ltd fell 2.3% to Rs.21.45.

Vakrangee Ltd was trading at Rs.143 on BSE, up 2.8% from its previous close, after the company said its board will meet on 4 December to consider applying for a payments bank licence in the capacity of a corporate business correspondent.

Since the beginning of this year, the Sensex has gained 35.78%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $15.88 billion from local equity markets.

Asian markets were trading mixed after China’s manufacturing sector stagnated in November, with an HSBC index falling from 50.4 in October to a six-month low of 50.0 in November. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average up 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.8% and China’s Shanghai Composite was trading up 0.8%.

US markets ended mixed in a holiday-shortened session on Friday as energy shares got slammed a day after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) did nothing to alleviate a global supply glut, reports MarketWatch. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.1%, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat. Opec decided to maintain its current production ceiling of 30 million barrels a day.

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