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Benchmarks trade deep underwater in late afternoon session
Sep-24-2020

Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in deep underwater in late afternoon session, following weak European markets cues. Traders remain concerned with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) data showing that foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows into India contracted by 60 per cent to $6.56 billion (Rs 49,820 crore) during April-June 2020.Traders took note of FICCI President’s statement that the economy can be revived only by boosting consumer sentiments, which are weak and need measures like discount vouchers from the government to spur the pending. On the sectoral front, insurance stocks remained in focus with a private report that non-life insurers have witnessed 3.6 per cent growth in premiums in the first five months of FY21, a signal that the second quarter (Q2) will be better for the industry than Q1 when firms saw a drop in premiums.

On the global front, All Asian markets are trading lower, as investors were bombarded by a perfect storm of problems including rising virus infections, new lockdowns, a slowing economic recovery, stalled US stimulus talks and election uncertainty. European markets were trading lower.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36833.69, down by 834.73 points or 2.22% after trading in a range of 36796.49 and 37304.26. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.69%, while Small cap index was down by 2.00%.

The losing sectoral indices on the BSE were IT down by 3.73%, TECK down by 3.37%, Auto down by 3.15%, Metal down by 2.57% and Bankex was down by 2.39%, while there were no gainers on sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.91% and Nestle up by 0.19%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 6.01%, TCS down by 5.38%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.87%, Indusind Bank down by 4.22% and Tata Steel down by 4.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim of enhancing the cyber security posture of the Urban Co-operative banking sector against evolving IT and cyber threat environment, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published the ‘Technology Vision for Cyber Security’ for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) - 2020-2023.

The Technology Vision Document for Cyber Security for UCBs has been formalised based on inputs from various stakeholders. It envisages to achieve its objective through a five-pillared strategic approach GUARD, viz., - Governance Oversight, Utile Technology Investment, Appropriate Regulation and Supervision, Robust Collaboration and Developing necessary IT, cyber security skills set.

The cyber security landscape will continue to evolve with wider adoption of digital banking channels, thus necessitating the UCBs to manage the associated risks effectively. Active collaboration within UCBs and their stakeholders would be necessary for sharing and coordinating various measures taken on cyber security aspects. The implementation of the approach outlined in Technology Vision document will strengthen the cyber resilience of the Urban Co-operative Banks.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10900.20, down by 231.65 points or 2.08% after trading in a range of 10880.40 and 11015.30. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.91%, Britannia up by 0.50% and Nestle up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 5.97%, TCS down by 5.52%, Tata Motors down by 4.95%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.89% and Indusind Bank down by 4.25% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower, Straits Times trembled 26.52 points or 1.07% to 2,454.62, Shanghai Composite declined 56.53 points or 1.72% to 3,223.18, KOSPI fell 60.54 points or 2.59% to 2,272.70, Jakarta Composite lost 75.20 points or 1.53% to 4,842.76, Nikkei 225 slipped 258.67 points or 1.11% to 23,087.82, Taiwan Weighted dropped 319.50 points or 2.54% to 12,264.38 and Hang Seng was down by 431.44 points or 1.82% to 23,311.07.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 41.21 points or 0.7% to 5,858.05, France’s CAC decreased 26.60 points or 0.55% to 4,775.66 and Germany’s DAX was down by 51.50 points or 0.41% to 12,591.47.

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