Markets slip into negative territory on caution ahead of US jobs data

Local equity markets into the red in the afternoon session on Friday due to lack of directional cues from the global markets. Besides, prevailing cautiousness ahead of US jobs data to be published later during the day also weighed on the sentiment. Languishing at day’s low, both Sensex and Nifty were trading above psychologically crucial 28,550 and 8,550 levels respectively. Meanwhile, broader indices also outperforming larger counterparts, were trading with gains in the range of 0.40%-0.80%.

On the global front, Asian shares drifted while the dollar marked time on Friday ahead of the key U.S. jobs report later in the session that could help it retake ground lost to the euro overnight.  The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show that employers added 230,000 new jobs last month, and the unemployment rate is seen remaining unchanged at 5.8%.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices were holding into positive territory despite the lackluster trend of bourses, however stocks from Information Technology, Oil & Gas and TECK counters were the prominent losers of the session. Shares of IT majors have declined on caution ahead of the key US jobs report while, an appreciating rupee has casted its shadow on the technology stocks.

On the flip side, stocks from Realty, Capital Goods and Consumer Durable counters were the notable gainers of the session. Meanwhile, stocks of index heavyweight, ITC also limited bourses’ losses as these stocks gained for yet another session after media reports suggests that the government was reconsidering a proposal to ban sale of loose cigarettes. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1458:1178; while 105 shares remained unchanged. The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28558.85, down by 3.97 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 28530.60 and 28651.75. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.47%, while Small cap index up by 0.83%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.18%, FMCG up by 0.91%, Capital Goods up by 0.83%, Metal up by 0.68% and Consumer Durables up by 0.57% while, IT down by 1.39%, TECK down by 0.96%, Oil & Gas down by 0.44% and PSU down by 0.22% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sesa Sterlite up by 2.47%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.65%, ITC up by 1.63%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.20% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.05%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.73%, Infosys down by 1.51%, Wipro down by 1.36%, ONGC down by 1.25% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's domestic air traffic grew by 16.3% y-o-y in the month of October, higher than 10% growth in China, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) stated. The IATA highlighted that the significant growth in reported month reflected market stimulation by local carriers, though this was a considerable slowdown compared to September growth of 26.4%. From the beginning of the year, domestic carriers have been offering low fares through a series of discounted ticket schemes to stimulate demand. On global front, IATA stated that global domestic travel demand rose by 5.8% in October compared to the same month last year.

Domestic airlines flew 59.25 lakh passengers in October this year as compared to 50.08 lakh passengers during the same period in 2013. During January-October 2014, the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines was 550.68 lakh as against 507.03 lakh in the year-ago period. Domestic air traffic is expected to enhance in coming months as aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for domestic carriers has become 11.22% cheaper since October and is expected to see more price cuts in the next three months. Domestic carriers are likely to cut fare prices as ATF accounts for over 50% of domestic carriers' operating costs.

The civil aviation industry in India has ushered in a new era of expansion driven by factors such as low-cost carriers (LCC), modern airports, foreign direct investments (FDI) in domestic airlines, cutting edge information technology (IT) interventions and a growing emphasis on regional connectivity. Indian civil aviation industry is amongst the top 10 in the world with a size of around $16 billion. India has a vision of becoming the third largest aviation market by 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8568.35, up by 3.95 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 8556.85 and 8588.35. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were DLF up by 3.73%, Sesa Sterlite up by 2.68%, Ambuja Cement up by 2.56%, ACC up by 1.88% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.81%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 1.74%, TCS down by 1.72%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.58%, Infosys down by 1.45% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian stocks were trading mostly higher; with KOSPI Index trading higher by 0.01 points or 0% to 1,986.62; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advancing by 6.25 points or 0.36% to 1,751.94; Jakarta Composite rising by 9.56 points or 0.18% to 5,186.72;  Straits Times gaining by 13.07 points or 0.4% to 3,317.89; Shanghai Composite adding by 32.37 points or 1.12% to 2,931.83; Nikkei 225 firming up 33.24 points or 0.19% to 17,920.45; Hang Seng strengthening by 272.48 points or 1.14% to 24,105.04 . While, Taiwan Weighted down by 18.54 points or 0.2% to 9,206.57 was the only loser on the index.