Sensex settles in green, Nifty holds above 8,100; Airtel top gainer

The benchmark indices pared initial losses to settle the day higher with banking stocks being the biggest drag after the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly ordered banks to deposit their extra cash with it, although overall sentiment was upbeat as Asian shares advanced.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 26,350, up 34 points, while the broader Nity50 closed at 8,126, up 13 points.

Broader markets outperformed the headline indices. BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1%, and the BSE Small-Cap index added 0.6%. 

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,660 shares rose and 931 shares declined, while 174 remained unchanged. 

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Income Tax Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha today. The Bill proposes proposed 30% tax, 10% penalty and 33% surcharge on undisclosed income.

Sectors and stocks

BSE Telecom index was the top sectoral gainer and advanced 4%, led by gains in Bharti Airtel which finished 5% higher after the telecom major said Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV through its wholly owned subsidiary has completed the acquisition of Econet Wireless' entire 4.2% stake in Airtel Nigeria.

Other sectoral gainers included BSE Realty (1.91%), BSE Power (1.74%) and BSE Utilities (1.41%). 

Metal and mining stocks such as Jindal Steel, Vedanta,  JSW Steel, and Hindustan Zinc rallied up to nearly 7% as copper prices rose in global commodity markets. 

Shares of liquor companies were in focus with stock price of five companies GM Breweries, Pioneer Distilleries, Ravi Kumar Distilleries, Empee Distilleries and Globus Spirits have locked in upper circuit of 20% each on BSE.

The trading volumes on these counter more than doubled with only buyers seeing on the counters.

Banking stocks hogged the limelight with all but two stocks on the BSE Bankex finishing in red. SBI and ICICI Bank were the top losers on the Sensex. The fall in the bank stocks came after RBI's diktat to banks on Saturday to maintain an incremental cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement on deposits with retrospective effect.

Oil prices tumble

Major oil producers are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 30 November 2016 to discuss production cuts to shore up prices, but Iran and Iraq have reportedly failed to agree to a reduction, raising jitters about the Vienna meeting's outcome. 

Brent crude futures fell 2 percent at one point, but regained ground to trade down 35 cents, or 0.74%, at $46.89 per barrel. 

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also retraced early loses and was trading down 38 cents, or 0.78%, at $45.70 a barrel.

Global markets

European markets were trading lower amid continued political uncertainty in Italy and doubts over the outcome of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.82%.

Most Asian stocks rose with China’s Shanghai Composite adding 0.46%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gaining 0.47%, while Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend to lose 0.13%. 

US stock futures slipped 0.2% after their stellar performance this month on hopes President-elect Trump's policy of fiscal spending, deregulation and protection of domestic industries will boost US inflation and benefit Corporate America.

(With inputs from Reuters)