Markets pare early gains; trade slightly in green

Indian equity benchmarks pared most of the early gains, hovering near the lowest point of the day in afternoon session as fresh selling emerged in frontline blue chip stocks amid firm global cues. Most of the sectoral indices were trading in red with infra and metal as the top losing indices. Though losses remained capped and benchmarks continued to trade in positive territory as heavy buying witnessed in FMCG stocks provided much needed support to the major indices. FMCG stocks were on buyer's radar with shares of cigarette companies such as ITC, Godfrey Phillips India and VST Industries were trading higher by up to 5% on reports that Health Ministry proposal to ban sale of loose cigarettes is likely to be put on hold. Besides, a firming trend in other Asian markets also supported the trading sentiments. Sector wise, realty companies have gained between 1% to 3% boosted by government's decision to lower built-up area and minimum capital requirements. In scrip specific movement, shares of SpiceJet were trading over 3.5% lower to Rs 19 on media reports stating that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has said that it is revoking its credit line to SpiceJet and the airline will have to pay for its services every time a plane takes off or lands.

On global front, most of the Asian markets were trading in green with Shanghai Composite up by 2.81% and Nikkei 225 up by 0.87% amid fresh signs of resilience in the US economy. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 8,600 and 28,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2,560 stocks traded, 1,226 stocks advanced, while 1,219 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28478.10, up by 35.39 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 28448.95 and 28808.78. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green and red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.02%, while Small cap index up by 0.21%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.37% and Oil & Gas up by 0.06%. On the other hand, INFRA down by 0.86%, Metal down by 0.82%, Consumer Durables down by 0.65%, PSU down by 0.49% and Power down by 0.41% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 4.41%, Cipla up by 2.56%, ICICI Bank up by 0.86%, ONGC up by 0.63% and Sesa Sterlite up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Tata Power down by 1.60%, Hindalco down by 1.60%, Coal India down by 1.46%, Axis Bank down by 1.24% and BHEL down by 1.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ahead of the US President Barack Obama's visit as chief guest on the Republic Day, the government has set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to fast-track investment proposals from US in India. As per the  government, the Committee will closely monitor and coordinate the process to ensure that investments from US are put on fast-track in various sectors and opportunities of investment and technology transfer are fully utilised.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) statement highlighted that the committee will identify the bottlenecks faced by the US investors in the country and address them in consultation with all other agencies and state governments concerned. It will take action to promote an attractive business environment and ease of business for companies to invest in all sectors particularly manufacturing.

The government also hoped that through the formation of this committee practices that promote investment in manufacturing, special emphasis on green, advanced and smart technologies by US companies in India will be encouraged which will increase competitiveness and making Indian manufacturing a significant player in the global supply chain. The committee will be headed by DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant and will comprise officials from various ministries such as finance, environment, power, road, railways, IT and defence.  

The US accounts for around 12% of India’s total exports. Exports to the US stood at $39.14 billion in 2013-14 while imports were $22.50 billion during the period.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8533.15, down by 4.50 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 8526.40 and 8626.95. There were 9 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 4.35%, Cipla up by 1.20%, Lupin up by 0.91%, ONGC up by 0.75% and ICICI Bank up by 0.73%. On the flip side, Tata Power down by 1.77%, Jindal Steel & Power down by 1.76%, Hindalco down by 1.72%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.69% and Axis Bank down by 1.40% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green, Jakarta Composite up by 9.8 points or 0.19% to 5,175.84, Straits Times up by 10.36 points or 0.31% to 3,313.75, KOSPI Index up by 16.7 points or 0.85% to 1,986.61, Taiwan Weighted up by 49.85 points or 0.54% to 9,225.11, Shanghai Composite up by 78.14 points or 2.81% to 2,857.66, Nikkei 225 up by 153.6 points or 0.87% to 17,874.03 and Hang Seng up by 228.67 points or 0.98% to 23,657.29. While, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down 5.29 points or 0.3% to 1,752.86.