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Erasing all initial gains, Indian equity markets turned negative in afternoon session with both Sensex and Nifty were trading below 60,000 and 17,900 marks, respectively. Selling in Telecom, Consumer Durables and Auto stocks dampened sentiments in the markets. Auto stocks came under pressure as automobile dealers' body Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has termed the current festive season as the worst in terms of business in a decade for its retail partners across the country. However, downfall remain capped as monthly survey said that India's services sector activity expanded at the strongest pace in ten-and-a-half years in October, driven by a substantial upturn in business activity amid favourable demand conditions. The IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index accelerated to 58.4 last month from 55.2 in September, above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for a third straight month. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red amid warning about China’s growth outlook and as traders braced for the Federal Reserve policy decision. Back home, in scrip specific developments, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Bata India, Eicher Motors and State Bank of India will be in buzz as these companies are going to declare their quarterly results today.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59984.85, down by 44.21 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 59920.94 and 60361.82. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.15%, while Small cap index was down by 0.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 2.25%, Realty up by 1.63%, Metal up by 1.28%, Industrials up by 1.02% and Basic Materials was up by 0.66%, while Telecom down by 0.75%, Consumer Durables down by 0.73%, Auto down by 0.53%, FMCG down by 0.52% and Bankex was down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 4.26%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.81%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.53%, Tata Steel up by 1.21% and HCL Tech was up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.53%, Indusind Bank down by 1.54%, Titan Company down by 1.32%, ICICI Bank down by 1.24% and Bharti Airtel was down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, asserting that banks are repository of public resources, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M K Jain has said that lenders need to design appropriate governance standards and implement internal controls to be worthy of the public trust. He emphasized that corporate governance is the cornerstone for any enterprise and it assumes a distinctly different undertone and importance for banks.

RBI Deputy Governor said it is well known that banks are special in terms of services they render and the segments they touch, and they act as catalysts in growth of the economy. He said most importantly, banks enjoy the privilege of mobilising uncollateralised public deposits. He pointed out that the negative externalities of banks and NBFCs are also much higher due to their interconnectedness and that's why globally, banks are regulated and supervised very closely.

Stressing that governance reforms have been an area of continued focus for the RBI, Jain said that various regulatory measures, including the mandatory listing of private sector banks, composition of the board and guidance on fit and proper criteria, have all been driven to improve the corporate governance and internal controls in the banks. He said various prudential supervisory initiatives have been taken by the RBI in recent years for bringing about the unified and more holistic approach to supervision and improving skill and capacity of supervisory staff.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17883.95, down by 5.00 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 17867.65 and 17988.75. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 4.34%, UPL up by 3.55%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.14%, Hindalco up by 2.11% and Tech Mahindra was up by 1.80%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.64%, Indusind Bank down by 1.54%, Divi's Lab down by 1.35%, ICICI Bank down by 1.29% and Titan Company was down by 1.20% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite declined 8.47 points or 0.24% to 3,497.16, Hang Seng decreased 121.71 points or 0.48% to 24,977.96, Straits Times trembled 10.10 points or 0.31% to 3,222.27 and KOSPI was down by 37.78 points or 1.25% to 2,975.71.

On the flip side; Jakarta Composite soared 34.95 points or 0.54% to 6,528.23 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 56.19 points or 0.33% to 17,122.16.

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