Markets trade flat with positive bias in range-bound session of trade

In the extremely range-bound session of trade, Indian equity benchmarks altering between positive and negative territory, were now trading flat with bit of positive bias as investors remained cautious ahead of key economic data - industrial production (IIP) numbers for December and retail inflation for January - to be released later in the day. However, the broader markets outperformed equity benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining about a percent each. Expectations of faster economic reforms by the government and optimism over the forthcoming Budget buoyed trading sentiments. Some support also came in with a private study of MasterCard consumer confidence index, which has said that India is the second most optimistic nation among the Asia Pacific Region after Myanmar, scoring 91.6 in the index which is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic and 100 as the most optimistic.  However, weak trend in Asian stocks coupled with depreciation in rupee value against the dollar have weighed on the sentiment. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors continued to remain sellers in Indian shares with net sale of Rs 371.27 crore on February 11, 2015.

On global front, Asian stocks dipped as markets erred on the side of caution over the ongoing Greek debt negotiations amid conflicting headlines on progress in the talks. Further, Oil prices fell as much as 3 percent after U.S. stockpiles hit record highs, and analysts and traders said the market could shed more of a two-week rebound that was spurred by expectations of lower output. Back home, extending losses for the fourth straight session, Indian rupee fell by 17 paise to 62.42 against the dollar in early trade as the American currency strengthened overseas amid persistent foreign capital outflows.

Back on street, stocks from Realty, Auto and Consumer Durables counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Banking, FMCG and Oil & Gas counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of Mahindra CIE Automotive rose after the company reported 775% jump in its net profit to Rs 13.16 crore in December quarter as compared to Rs.1.50 crore a year ago. On the flip side, shares of Natco Pharma have slipped after reporting a 52% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 14.34 crore for the quarter ended December 2014.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2247 stocks traded, 1348 stocks advanced, while 793 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28545.39, up by 11.42 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 28456.71 and 28685.88. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.88%, while Small cap index gained 1.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.52%, Auto up by 1.15%, Consumer Durables up by 1.08%, Power up by 0.85% and IT up by 0.75% while, Bankex down by 0.37%, FMCG down by 0.35%, Oil & Gas down by 0.21% and Metal down by 0.08% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 2.24%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.11%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.86%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.68% and Wipro up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.32%, ITC down by 1.16%, SBI down by 0.87%, Sesa Sterlite down by 0.79% and Coal India down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Global credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service, in its latest report “Global Macro Outlook 2015-16: Lower oil price fails to spur global growth' has said that the lower oil prices is expected to alleviate India's high inflation and spur economic growth. Moody’s said it would not revise its forecasts for the the Group of 20 which includes the leading industrialized and developing nations, citing a variety of offsets to the expected windfalls but it said that the United States and India' are among the main beneficiaries (among G20 nations) from cheaper oil, as consumers and companies spend part of the gains in real income. Moody's forecasts GDP growth of less than 1 percent in 2015 in the eurozone and Japan.

According to the rating agency, the lower oil prices which are expected to be sustained would in principle provide a significant boost to global growth but will weigh on net oil exporters’ growth. Moody's has raised its 2015 US GDP growth forecast to 3.2% - from 3% in the last quarterly report in November 2014 - and expects growth to remain strong at 2.8% in 2016. Cheaper energy should add to US companies' already strong profits and promote business investment, the report says. The lower oil price reinforces other positive economic factors in the US, including low unemployment and the potential for real wage increases.

Moody's global growth outlook is based on the assumption that oil prices will average $55 a barrel (Brent) in 2015, rising to $65 on average in 2016. The report assumes that oil prices will stay near current levels in 2015 because demand and supply conditions are unlikely to change markedly in the near future.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8628.10, up by 0.70 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 8615.35 and 8681.40. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 3.73%, Hindalco up by 2.07%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.05%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.85% and Wipro up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.71%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, ITC down by 1.27%, Sesa Sterlite down by 1.13% and Cairn India down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the red; Straits Times declined 0.75%, Jakarta Composite slipped 0.19%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 0.71%, KOSPI Index decreased 0.33% and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.15%. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted rose 0.12%, Hang Seng increased 0.59% and Nikkei 225 was up by 1.81%.