Sensex Finishes Flat Ahead Of The Fed Outcome

Indian share markets continued to trade just above the dotted line during the afternoon session as investors kept track of the two-day monetary policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which is due to announce its decision today.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 52 points, while the NSE Nifty finished up by 11 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap and the S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 0.1% and 0.5% respectively. Gains were largely seen in realty stocks, capital goods stocks and energy stocks. Metal stocks and FMCG stocks witnessed selling pressure.

Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng gained 0.09%, while the Shanghai Composite & the Nikkei 225 fell 0.73% and 0.08% respectively. European markets are higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 0.99% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.61% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.34%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 64.31 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 45.81 at the time of writing.

In news from economy, in order to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is examining the request to ease non-performing assets (NPAs) classification limit beyond existing 90 days.

At present, an account turns into a NPA or a bad loan if it is not serviced for 90 days. In case of small businesses and SMEs payments usually come late and if they miss 90-day period, they fall in the NPA category and their credit line is cut.

Reportedly, Indian banks are sitting on unrecognized stressed loans worth Rs 7.7 trillion in corporate and SME sectors and expect about 35% of them to slip into the NPA category in the next 12-18 months. There is a likelihood of Rs 2.6 trillion of corporate and SME loans, which are 3.2% of total bank credit to be recognized as stressed loans by 2019. Stressed loans include restructured assets that carry the risk of turning into NPAs.