Stock markets stay flat amid highly volatile session
Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty started the trade on a weaker note on Thursday but later quoted flat in a highly volatile trade amid mixed global cues.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 138.36 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 84,328.15 in the morning trade. The broader NSE Nifty slipped 38.50 points or 0.15 per cent, to 25,837.30.
But, later both the benchmark indices were oscillating between highs and lows.
Among the Sensex firms, Tata Motors' commercial vehicles business, Eternal, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharat Electronics Ltd were the laggards.
On the other hand, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Trent, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were the gainers.
"The market needs more triggers to take it to new record highs. With the outcome of the Bihar polls largely discounted by the market, there are no political triggers that can push the market significantly higher. The reverse might happen if the actual poll results turn out to be different from the exit polls," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
Vijayakumar noted that the important economic factors that have to be watched for is a possible India-US trade deal removing the penal tariffs and reducing the reciprocal tariffs. The decline in October retail inflation in India to 0.25 per cent indicates the possibility of a rate cut from the MPC in December. But the monetary policy transmission turning weak has become a challenge for the RBI.
"In the near-term the market is likely to consolidate and then respond to triggers when they happen. Positive triggers happening simultaneously can lead to short-covering pushing the market sharply up. But sustained uptrend would be challenging given the FII selling and elevated valuations, he added.
Broader Asian equities were trading on a mixed note. Shanghai's SSE Composite Index and Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark were trading in a positive zone while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi were quoting in red territory.
The US markets finished higher in overnight deals on Wednesday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.13 per cent to USD 62.63 per barrel.
Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,750.03 crore for the third straight session on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers of stocks worth Rs 5,127.12 crore, according to exchange data.
On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex rallied 595.19 points to settle at 84,466.51. The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 180.85 points to close at 25,875.80.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
