Benchmarks trim losses; trade continues in red

Indian equity markets trimmed losses but continued its weak trade in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters taking cues from global counterparts. The sentiments were on pessimistic note as investors continue to view the slide in crude as a symptom of slower global growth. Foreign investors sold index futures worth $443.13 million and cash shares worth 15.71 billion rupees yesterday added some more pessimism on the street. Traders were seen piling positions in Oil & Gas, FMCG and Auto stocks while selling was witnessed in Metal, Bankex and Capital Goods sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Cox & Kings was trading in green after the company allotted warrants to promoters at a premium to the closing price.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,150 and 27,000 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1152:1493 while 108 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26974.75, down by 12.71 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 26776.12 and 27051.60. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.14%, while Small cap index down by 0.13%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.17%, FMCG up by 0.32%, Auto up by 0.19%, Consumer Durables up by 0.04% while, Metal down by 1.05%, Bankex down by 0.47%, Capital Goods down by 0.37%, IT down by 0.31%, Realty down by 0.30% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.87%, Reliance Industries up by 2.10%, NTPC up by 1.86%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.28% and ONGC up by 1.17%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.87%, BHEL down by 2.87%, GAIL India down by 2.79%, Hindalco down by 1.89% and Tata Steel down by 1.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, car manufacturers in India, which just got an ugly shock with withdrawal of excise duty exemptions, may have something to hinge on in the new fiscal year since the centre is examining the possibility of extending incentives for export of cars to all markets, including large ones such as the European Union (EU) in view of dwindling exports for the industry.

The Heavy Industry Ministry has proposed to the Commerce Ministry to include car exports in the ‘focus product’ scheme so that shipments to major markets could be incentivized. Under the Focus Product scheme, an incentive of up to 5% of the export value is for exports of specific products to all markets. Under the present Foreign Trade Policy, an incentive of 2 per cent of export value is given to cars shipped from India to markets where the country has an insignificant presence, such as Bangladesh, Kenya, Kuwait, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore and Ukraine. China and Japan too were included.

Notably, India’s car exports declined 8.3% to 2.68 lakh units in the April-September 2014-15 period, according to data from the Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM).

However, this is not for the first time that Heavy Ministry was proposing something of this sort. The Ministry in the ‘Make in India’ workshop as well, pitched for inclusion of cars in the Focus Product scheme, where it argued that such a sop would encourage manufacturing in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8118.75, down by 8.60 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 8065.45 and 8151.20. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.91%, Asian Paints up by 2.41%, Reliance Industries up by 2.13%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.08% and NTPC up by 1.98%. On the flip side, BHEL down by 3.07%, ICICI Bank down by 2.89%, GAIL India down by 2.82%, PNB down by 2.70% and Cairn India down by 2.63% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI Index increased 1.38 points or 0.07% to 1,883.83, Nikkei 225 increased 2.14 points or 0.01% to 16,885.33, Straits Times increased 18.88 points or 0.58% to 3,300.83, Shanghai Composite increased 22.51 points or 0.67% to 3,373.95, Taiwan Weighted increased 31.75 points or 0.35% to 9,080.09, Jakarta Composite increased 34.64 points or 0.67% to 5,203.70 and Hang Seng increased 195.85 points or 0.83% to 23,681.26.

On the other hand, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 1.74 points or 0.1% to 1,714.84.

The European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 23.42 points or 0.57% to 4,106.92, Germany’s DAX increased 44.76 points or 0.47% to 9,514.42 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 35.09 points or 0.55% to 6,401.60.