Sensex Finishes Flat; Power Stocks Rally

Indian share markets continued to trade range bound in the afternoon session as investors turned cautious ahead of a slew of corporate results. The sentiments also remained dull due to mixed international markets.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 17 points, while the NSE Nifty finished down 2 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap and the S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. Gains were largely seen in power stocks and metal stocks.

National Aluminium Company Ltd share price plunged 7.8% after it was reported that the government will open the first divestment account today with up to 10% stake sale in Nalco and may mop up over Rs 6 billion.

Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.07%, while the Hang Seng & the Shanghai Composite fell 0.41% and 0.81% respectively. Meanwhile, European markets too are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.28% while the CAC 40 gains 0.25%. The FTSE 100 is even.

The rupee was trading at Rs 64.54 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 53.00 at the time of writing.

According to a leading financial daily, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India’s annual growth estimate for 2017 by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2%, mainly owing to temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions from recent currency note withdrawal and exchange initiative.

However, the IMF, in its World Economic Outlook, also estimated that Indian economy would grow at 7.7% in 2018-19. The report also stated that the country’s medium-term growth prospects are favorable, with growth expected to increase to about 8% due to implementation of key reforms, loosening of supply-side bottlenecks and appropriate fiscal and monetary policies.

Adding further, it said that in the recent years, Indian economy has grown at a strong pace due to the implementation of critical structural reforms, favorable terms of trade and lower external vulnerabilities.