Benchmarks continue to hold their head above water

After getting a cautious but positive start, benchmarks continued to hold their head above water in absence of any positive trigger at home front, with investors preferring to keep their commitments restricted due to absence of global cues in view of closure of most of the markets on account of ‘Christmas’. Sentiments remained up-beat with the report that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to grow at a rate of 6.4 per cent on the back of pick-up in investment cycle in 2015.  Some support also came with a report that the government is pushing ministries to ensure mechanism for faster clearances. The Prime Minister's Office has shot off letters to the ministries and departments concerned, asking them to expedite implementation of tasks identified as being their responsibility. However, selling by foreign funds continued to weigh on market sentiment. Foreign institutional investors sold Indian equities worth Rs 2,808.27 crore on December 24, 2014.

On global front, Asian stocks rose as investors indulged in some selective buying, on the back of recent fairly encouraging economic data out of the US. However, buying interest is subdued in most of the markets in the region following a holiday on Wall Street overnight for Christmas. Back home, Indian rupee strengthened by four paise to 63.47 against the dollar in early trade on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks with BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices up 0.3-0.4% each. On the sectoral front, stocks from Infrastructure, Capital Goods and Banking counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from FMCG, Oil & Gas and Auto counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of Alphageo (India) have surged after the company has been awarded Rs 10.42 crore contract from the state-owned oil exploration and production firm Oil India. On the other hand, shares in commercial vehicles maker VST Tillers Tractors have declined as the company’s management decided to restrict the production to 4 days a week both at Bangalore and Hosur plant.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2154 stocks traded, 1155 stocks advanced, while 912 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27217.98 up by 9.37 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 27370.63 and 27097.85. 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 gained 0.30%

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Infrastructure up by 0.63%, Capital Goods up by 0.58%, Bankex up by 0.50%, PSU up by 0.44% and Power up by 0.43% while, FMCG down by 0.76%, Oil & Gas down by 0.32%, Auto down by 0.17% and Realty down by 0.01% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sesa Sterlite up by 1.00%, Axis Bank up by 0.86%, SBI up by 0.85%, Sun Pharma up by 0.73% and Coal India up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.43%, GAIL India down by 1.17%, ITC down by 0.97%, Wipro down by 0.91% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s peak power deficit for the month of November declined to 3.7% from 4.4% in October mainly on account of weaker demand. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) reported that country’s total peak power demand was 1,37,620 MW last month, of which 1,32,530 MW was met, leaving a peak power deficit at 5,090 MW.

Region wise, north-eastern region comprising Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland were the worst affected, recording a peak deficit of 15.8%. The total demand of Northeastern region during November 2014 was 2,525 MW as against the supply of 2,125 MW. On the other hand, the eastern part of India comprising states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand was least affected as the demand of the region was 16,111 MW against a supply of 15,870 MW, registering a power deficit on 1.5% in the reported month. Northern region reported a shortage of 1,525 MW or 3.8%, while western region of the country recorded a peak power deficit of 1.9% or 831 MW during the reported month.  Peak power deficit during April-November period this year stood at 7,006 MW or 4.7%. 

In India, electricity is produced through coal, crude oil, water and natural gas. Coal-fired plants account for around 59% of India's total installed electricity capacity. Acute coal shortage in the country has become primary reason for power deficit in the country. Presently, the Coal India (CIL) is the only producer of domestic coal accounting for around 80 % of the domestic production. CIL is currently facing various mining issues which are impacting its coal production.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8182.50 up by 8.40 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 8234.55 and 8147.95. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 1.47%, Bank of Baroda up by 1.20%, PNB up by 1.16%, SBI up by 0.93% and Sun Pharma up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.33%, NMDC down by 1.31%, ITC down by 0.90%, BPCL down by 0.69% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.69% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading in the green; KOSPI Index rose 0.15%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.64%, Taiwan Weighted gained 0.37%, Nikkei 225 added 0.06%, Shanghai Composite was up by 1.24% and Straits Times up down by 0.09%.