Markets trade lackluster in absence of positive trigger

Local equity markets after slipping into negative territory continued to trade lackluster in absence of buying activity which led Sensex and Nifty oscillate around 28,150 and 8,400 levels respectively in a narrow range. Meanwhile, broader indices showing a degree of outperformance were up with gains in the range of 0.60%-0.75%. Nevertheless, investors drew some solace after global rating agency Fitch Ratings’ report which highlighted that India's economic growth was expected to pick up to 5.6% in the current fiscal on account of structural reforms being rolled-out by the government.

On the global front, Asian shares turned mixed on Wednesday after Japanese stock market shed early gains as investors booked profits after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delayed a tax hike and said he would call a snap election to seek a fresh mandate for his economic policies. Meanwhile, European stock futures were indicating a positive start of European markets in the wake of Tuesday's surprisingly strong German economic sentiment data.

Closer home, despite the subdued trend, most of the sectoral indices on BSE were holding into positive territory, nevertheless stocks from Realty, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Capital Goods counters were the prominent gainers of the session.  Meanwhile, Sugar stocks rose for the fourth consecutive session after reports suggested that the Prime Minister’s Office will discuss sugar sector revival on Wednesday, which will include providing subsidy for sugar exports and also discuss incentives for increasing ethanol production. On the flip side, much of the drubbing was witnessed by stocks from Oil & Gas, IT and Bankex counters. Additionally, Pharma shares were trading soft in trade after reports suggested that the probe initiated by the US legislature against Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's over the steep increase of their drug prices in the US market was set to intensify. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1122:848; while 40 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28150.75, down by 12.54 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 28132.22 and 28294.01. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.64%, while Small cap index up by 0.72%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.13%, FMCG up by 1.10%, Capital Goods up by 0.73%, INFRA up by 0.37% and Metal up by 0.35% while, Oil & Gas down by 0.35%, IT down by 0.25%, Bankex down by 0.22%, PSU down by 0.22% and Power down by 0.08% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 2.64%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.68%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.34% and ITC up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.01%, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.47%, Tata Motors down by 1.22%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.21% and ONGC down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Coal Ministry is likely to issue draft rules for e-auction for 74 coal blocks, the rules will be put up for public consultation as well as stakeholder consultation too, it is being done to be fair to all the parties involved. The draft rules are expected to provide clarity on compensation and will pave way for a cap on tariffs levied.

Earlier, the government as per its plan to allocate coal blocks through auction by February next has asked the allottees of 74 mines to provide information about their fields by November 25. These 74 mines are part of those 204 coal blocks whose allocation to various companies since 1993 was quashed by the Supreme Court on the ground that they were done in an illegal manner.

The coal block allottees have been asked to provide details on environment clearance, production and land status. They have to submit copies of geological report and environment clearance and forest clearance, production details, status of land (mine and infrastructure) acquisition and details of capital investment. For determination of the valuation, the government would use data like year-wise and cumulative production till March 2014 and for FY15; cost of land acquired for mine and infrastructure; cost incurred on rehabilitation and re-settlement; details of operating costs including outsourcing costs etc.

The government had recently set up a high-level inter-ministerial committee to ensure the smooth allocation of 204 cancelled coal blocks and is planning to build a consensus on the modalities for coal block auctions. It will also consult stakeholders including industry associations like FICCI, CII, Assocham and coal and power producers' associations on ways to undertake coal block auctions.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8420.85, down by 5.05 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 8412.30 and 8455.65. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.64%, DLF up by 2.27%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.74% and BPCL up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.02%, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.63%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.41%, Asian Paints down by 1.27% and Tata Motors down by 1.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI were trading up by 6.49 points or 0.36% to 1,824.87; Straits Times edged higher by 20.67 points or 0.62% to 3,334.40; Jakarta Composite advanced by 27.1 points or 0.53% to 5,129.57 and Taiwan Weighted gained by 104.17 points or 1.18% to 8,963.24. On the flip side, Hang Seng declined by 119.44 points or 0.51% to 23,409.73; Nikkei 225 slid by 55.31 points or 0.32% to 17,288.75; Shanghai Composite lost 5.44 points or 0.22% to 2,450.93 and KOSPI Index shed 0.14 points or 0.01% to 1,966.87