Markets manage to hold in green after hitting record highs in early deals; tobacco stocks hog limelight

Local barometer gauges were just about managing to keep their head above water after hitting record high in early deals due to profit-booking by funds and retail investors amidst firm global cues. However, slender gains of bourses were led by shares of index heavyweight, ITC which rallied on expectations that a Health Ministry proposal to ban the sale of loose cigarettes is likely to be put on hold following objections by some MPs, including some Union ministers, and farmers associations against taking drastic regulatory steps.  Meanwhile, other tobacco companies such as Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries also saw strong buying interest on reports that the government may not ban the sale of loose cigarettes, which account for 65 to 70% of total cigarette sales in India. Though up with slender gains, both Sensex and Nifty were trading shy off the crucial 28,500 and 8550 levels respectively. Meanwhile, broader indices accumulated decent gains. Both Midcap and Smallcap index were up with gains in the range of 0.20%-0.35%.

On the global front, Asian stocks rose on Thursday amid fresh signs of resilience in the US economy, while the euro wallowed near two-year lows before a much-anticipated European Central Bank meeting that could open the door to more stimulus.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE concluded in the favour of green, while stocks from FMCG, Capital Goods and Oil & Goods counters outperformed. On the flip side, stocks from Infra, Metal and Consumer Durables counters were the top losers. Meanwhile, shares of PSU declined on profit booking after government announced that it would put on block 5% stake in steel major Steel Authority of India (SAIL) on Friday to mop up about Rs 1,700 crore.  The overall market breadth on BSE was fairly divided as there were 1302 stocks advancing against 1301 declining ones, while 113 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28499.22, up by 56.51 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 28448.95 and 28808.78. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.20%, while Small cap index up by 0.34%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.96%, Capital Goods up by 0.24%, Oil & Gas up by 0.08% and Auto up by 0.07% while, INFRA down by 1.00%, Metal down by 0.54%, Consumer Durables down by 0.44%, TECK down by 0.30% and PSU down by 0.26% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 5.14%, Cipla up by 2.52%, Sesa Sterlite up by 1.15%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.97% and ONGC up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.04%, BHEL down by 1.78%, Hindalco down by 1.69%, Tata Power down by 1.60% and Coal India down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor HR Khan has asserted that some new concerns had emerged recently on e-commerce transactions and the central bank will soon issue few more guidelines to address these issues.  

Earlier, in August, the RBI found that US-based taxi aggregator firm, Uber was flouting payments norms by following practice that falls short on the two-step user authentication norms as laid out by RBI.

Indian e-commerce industry has been growing at brisk pace over the recent years and has become one of most attractive sectors in India. Online travel dominates the e-commerce market but in the future, e-tailing is expected to drive the industry growth. Online travel constitutes 71% of the e-commerce market in India, followed by e-tailing at 16%. Travel has grown at a CAGR of 32% over 2009-13. Heavy discount on online sales is a direct reflection of the industry's competitive intensity. The e-commerce market in the country is expected to grow by 37% to reach $20 billion by 2015 on the back of growing internet population and increased online shoppers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8539.45, up by 1.80 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 8526.40 and 8626.95. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 5.07%, Lupin up by 1.23%, Sesa Sterlite up by 1.13%, Cipla up by 1.11% and BPCL up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.30%, Hindalco down by 1.80%, BHEL down by 1.74%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.57% and Tata Power down by 1.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; with Straits Times advancing by 9.21 points or 0.28% to 3,312.60; Jakarta Composite gaining by 13.22 points or 0.26% to 5,179.26; KOSPI Index adding by 16.7 points or 0.85% to 1,986.61; Taiwan Weighted edging higher by 49.85 points or 0.54% to 9,225.11; Shanghai rising by 105.01 points or 3.78% to 2,884.53; Nikkei 225 surging by 166.78 points or 0.94% to 17,887.21; Hang Seng firming up by 326.78 points or 1.39% to 23,755.40, while FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down by 7.31 points or 0.42% to 1,750.84 was the lone loser amongst Asian pack.