Markets trade flat in afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat in afternoon session as the gains in oil and gas, IT and tech stocks were offset by the losses in realty, FMCG and auto stocks. Sentiments got a hit as WPI inflation rose to a five-month high of 6.01 per cent in May. Further, weak global cues owing to the growing concerns over the crisis in Iraq, depreciation in rupee value and FIIs outflow also added to the pessimistic sentiments. However, investors were seen piling up position in IT and teck stocks as recent downfall in rupee value against the dollar have improved the outlook of these sectors. Oil and gas was the top gaining index on the BSE up by around 0.88% whereas realty index was the top loser, trading down by 0.62%. The broader markets were outperforming the benchmarks with quite a margin and both small cap and mid cap indices were trading up by over 0.55%.

Ricoh India has tanked around 20% to Rs 173 after the failure of delisting offer announced by Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte, the promoter of the company. Further, Fulford (India) was locked in down circuit of 5% at Rs 1,584 after Dashtag, the promoter of the company said it may consider other strategic alternatives in relation to its ownership of shares in the company, if the delisting offer not be successful. On the other hand, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals has gained around 2.33% to Rs 65.95 on the back of bargain hunting after recent steep slide.

On global front, Asian equity indices were trading in red with Hang Seng down by 0.44% and Straits Times down by 0.54% as escalating tensions in Iraq and a gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia sapped investors' appetite for risk. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 7,600 and 25,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2,586 stocks traded, 1,511 stocks advanced, while 956 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25,180.62 down by 9.86 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 25,251.79 and 25,139.23. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.51%, while Small cap index up by 0.99%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil and Gas up by 0.88%, Teck up by 0.74%, IT up by 0.68%, Infrastructure Index up by 0.32% and Consumer Durables up by 0.18%. On the flip side, Realty down by 0.62%, FMCG down by 0.36%, Auto down by 0.35%, Metal down by 0.30% and Bankex down by 0.02% were the losing indices on BSE.    

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.13%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.44%, Axis Bank up by 1.28%, Gail India up by 1.27% and SSLT up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Hindalco Inds down by 1.74%, M&M down by 1.47%, HDFC down by 1.44%, Tata Power down by 1.42% and Tata Steel down by 1.23% were the top losers on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Steel Ministry’s latest report highlighted that Indian steel industry is likely to face raw material supply crunch in future. As per the report, concerns like environmental constraints, mining caps, inadequate infrastructure to move iron ore, and the strain on overall reserves could impact the raw material supply to domestic steel players.

Steel Ministry, in its report titled ‘Long-Term Perspectives for the Indian Steel Industry’ has projected that India’s iron ore demand will increase to 346 mt by 2025-26, assuming an 8 per cent growth in GDP. Thus, there is a need to relook at the policy framework to enable the domestic steel industry to capitalise domestic resources and turn it into a competitive advantage. The report further added that merchant iron ore mining industry will go for value addition and consume much of the iron ore themselves, which will complicate the supply line further and hit producers  particularly those having no captive mines and depend on small merchant markets.

Steel Industry’s report further noted that mega steel projects need to be set up in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha to take the country's production capacity of the metal to 300 million tonnes (MT) by 2025-26. Further, the country will have to work towards greater exploration, raising mining capacities and developing infrastructure, or else brace up for significant exports to achieve this ambitious capacity addition target, which can generate 3.15 lakh of direct employment. Currently, India's crude capacity for steel production is 96 MT per annum.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7,534.90 up by 1.35 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 7,553.50 and 7,516.25. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 declining on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were HCL Tech up by 2.95%, ONGC up by 2.06%, Asian Paints up by 1.82%, Cairn up by 1.66% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.65%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.99%, DLF down by 1.97%, Tata Power down by 1.75%, HDFC down by 1.40% and McDowell down by 1.40% were the major losers on the index.

Asian equity indices were trading in red; Hang Seng down by 0.44% to 23,199.83, Straits Times down by 0.54% to 3,272.48, Jakarta Stock Index down by 0.08% to 4,881.62 and Shanghai Composite down by 0.78% to 2,069.46. While, Nikkei up by 0.19% to 14,961.23 and Taiwan Weighted up by 0.41% to 9,240.60