Markets make a flat but positive start of the F&O series expiry session

Indian markets after a flat but positive start of the F&O expiry session are showing slight choppiness with major indices moving in and out of red in early morning deals. Though, the global cues were mostly positive but traders are making cautious bet ahead of the series expiry later in the day. Also, there was cautiousness with the OPEC’s crucial meet scheduled today, which can decide on whether the group members will go for a production cut or not, impacting the global crude prices. Back on domestic front, the markets were getting some support with global credit rating agency Moody's report that FDI in country have increased significantly in the current fiscal and the trend will continue in the coming quarters of fiscal 2015 and beyond. There was some buzz in the power and oil & gas sector stocks after Power minister Piyush Goyal and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan moved to speed up an action plan to prevent stranded gas-fired generation stations from turning into bad investments. The plan is expected to increase generation by 15%. The broader markets were showing a better trend and both the mid cap and small cap indices were up by around half a percent in early trade.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28383.33, down by 2.86 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 28352.36 and 28432.45. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.36%, while Small cap index gained 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.50%, Power up by 0.30%, INFRA up by 0.22%, TECK up by 0.20%, PSU up by 0.07%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.40%, Realty down by 0.38%, Metal down by 0.32%, Capital Goods down by 0.20%, FMCG down by 0.15% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.39%, Infosys up by 1.09%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.81%, Hindalco up by 0.80% and NTPC up by 0.78%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.70%, ITC down by 1.16%, Sesa Sterlite down by 0.96%, Tata Motors down by 0.76% and Tata Steel down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to administer and manage sick public sector units (PSUs) that can be revived, a government panel has recommended formation of a joint venture company funded by seed equity from Maharatna and other cash-rich central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

The committee, headed by NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury, had submitted its report in October 2014 including analysis of sick CPSEs and recommendations for formation of a company to revive sick state run enterprises. Besides, the Panel’s report also included identifying sources from which funds may be raised for the proposed entity as equity capital and to recommend organisational structure of the proposed entity and its interface with the Ministries.

Till October 31, 2014, the government has approved the revival of 48 CPSEs and closure of 4 CPSEs on the basis of recommendations of the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE). The move envisages total fund/non-fund based assistance of Rs 41,139 crore including cash assistance of Rs 11,135 crore and non-cash assistance of Rs 30,004 crore.

Earlier in November, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had stressed that the government may privatise some loss making public sector units (PSUs). India has 79 loss making PSUs, of which 49 are sick enterprise.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8473.55, down by 2.20 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 8465.90 and 8489.25. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.97%, PNB up by 1.15%, Infosys up by 0.92%, Power Grid up by 0.90% and Asian Paints up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.00%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.26%, ITC down by 1.21%, Sesa Sterlite down by 0.87% and DLF down by 0.79% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were showing a mixed trend, KOSPI Index gained 4.39 points or 0.22% to 1,985.23, Jakarta Composite was up by 7.09 points or 0.14% to 5,140.12, Shanghai Composite added 11.45 points or 0.44% to 2,615.79 and Taiwan Weighted was higher by 61.07 points or 0.67% to 9,183.46. On the other hand Nikkei 225 declined by 141.73 points or 0.82% to 17,241.85, Hang Seng lost 116.7 points or 0.48% to 23,995.28, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 8.92 points or 0.48% to 1,833.25 and Straits Times has lost 2.2 points or 0.07% to 3,347.46.