Benchmarks trim losses; trade continues in red

Indian equity markets trimmed losses but continued trading in red in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. Traders were seen piling positions in Metal, IT and TECK stocks, while selling was witnessed in Bankex, FMCG and Infra sector stocks. Hectic buying activity was witnessed in jewellery stocks like PC Jewellers, Gitanjali Gems and Thangamayil Jewellery as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to resume lending against gold to jewellers. In scrip specific development, Bharti Infratel was trading in green after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed foreign institutional investors to invest up to 49 percent of the paid up capital under portfolio investment scheme. On the global front, the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,850 and 29,300 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1158:1582 while 98 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29211.55, down by 108.71 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 29165.12 and 29469.86. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.46%, while Small cap index down by 0.12%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.13%, IT up by 0.83%, TECK up by 0.58%, Consumer Durables up by 0.35%, Capital Goods up by 0.16% while, Bankex down by 1.77%, FMCG down by 1.48%, INFRA down by 0.93%, Power down by 0.91%, PSU down by 0.71% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.76%, Infosys up by 1.65%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.48%, HDFC up by 1.47% and TCS up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Tata Power down by 2.44%, ICICI Bank down by 2.40%, SBI down by 2.13%, Axis Bank down by 2.09% and ITC down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari pitching for greater transparency and faster decision making at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has said that the government is planning to revamp the roads body.

NHAI which became operational in February 1995 and is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of national highways, witnessed its last restructuring in 2009 to enhance its institutional capacity. It was done to make it a multi-disciplinary professional body with quality financial management and contract management expertise.

The minister also emphasised on the need for reducing project costs and said, “We want to reduce the cost of the project and if we want to do that then we have to reduce the cost of material used for the project. Adding further, he slammed the cement industry for indulging in “cartelization” and said that it was pushing up costs for roads and highway projects. He also said that he will be approaching Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of “cartelization” by the cement industry.

The government had targeted awarding 8,000 km of road projects during the current financial year, majority of which will be built on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) basis and so far it has been able to award 7,000 km of projects.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8831.45, down by 37.65 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 8809.60 and 8902.90. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Jindal Steel & Power up by 15.38%, Tata Steel up by 1.77%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.59%, BPCL up by 1.54% and Infosys up by 1.46%. On the flip side, Bank of Baroda down by 3.03%, Tata Power down by 2.55%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.43%, ICICI Bank down by 2.42% and PNB down by 2.32% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were closed mostly while Japanese markets remained open for the day. Nikkei 225 increased 65.62 points or 0.36% to 18,264.79.

The European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 22.46 points or 0.2% to 10,938.54, France’s CAC decreased 4.2 points or 0.09% to 4,794.83 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 14.31 points or 0.21% to 6,883.77.