Markets turn red in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading cautiously in early noon deals with key gauges entering into red terrain as sentiments turned down-beat on report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 748.13 crore on March 10, 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Meanwhile, investors are trading with caution and are unwilling to take fresh positions ahead of the proceedings in the Parliament particularly with respect to the passage of key bills such as Land Acquisition Bill in Rajya Sabha. Marketmen also remained on sidelines ahead of data on industrial production for January and consumer price index for February scheduled to be announced on Thursday.

Global cues too remained sluggish with most of the Asian equity benchmarks were trading in the red at this point of time on worries about an earlier US interest rate hike that led the dollar to a record high against the euro. The US markets suffered sharp sell-off in last session on concerns about the outlook for interest rates and strength in dollar, which jumped to a twelve-year high versus the euro.

Back home, the rupee fell by six paise to a fresh two-month low of 62.82 against the US dollar in today’s trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to rise in the Greenback's value against other global currencies. On the sectoral front, software, technology and fast moving consumer goods witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while metal, realty and public sector undertaking remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. The broader indices too were reeling under pressure, while the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 1,041 shares on the gaining side against 1,346 shares on the losing side while 99 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28660.32, down by 49.55 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 28626.96 and 28815.95. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.43%, while Small cap index down by 0.21%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.41%, TECK up by 0.39%, FMCG up by 0.32% while, Metal down by 1.52%, Realty down by 1.26%, PSU down by 0.70%, Auto down by 0.51%, Bankex down by 0.49% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.44%, Infosys up by 1.04%, HDFC up by 0.91%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.90% and NTPC up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.51%, Sesa Sterlite down by 1.85%, Cipla down by 1.82%, Tata Steel down by 1.54% and Tata Motors down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in its effort to bring a balance between domestic and foreign carriers, the government is planning to revise the existing ‘5/20’ rules for Indian carriers to operate international flights. The civil aviation ministry wants the criteria to fly abroad be based on technical and financial parameters rather than the number of years of operation or the number of aircraft.

As per the existing norms, a domestic carrier wishing to fly abroad must possess a valid permit of operation, lease or purchase at least 20 aircraft and have at least five years experience in the domestic skies. The ministry may also consider taking away unused bilateral rights with existing airlines and give them to other carriers, including the new entrants who may be allowed to fly abroad.

In 2014, Indian carriers utilised 32 percent of the traffic rights on international routes against total entitlements available, while the utilisation by foreign airlines stood at 62 percent during the same period. On lucrative European routes, Indian carriers used less than 10 per cent of the capacity allocated to them, leaving most of the market share to foreign airlines. In the Asia-Pacific region, foreign carriers have a 55 per cent share, while on India-US routes, domestic airlines hardly fly, despite the unlimited rights they have.

The Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma has said that the “Operation of more airlines on international routes can address the imbalance in utilisation of bilateral traffic rights in various markets where the Indian carriers are not matching up to the capacity deployment of foreign carriers.” The report of a committee, chaired by a former civil aviation secretary, is being considered for the proposed changes in aviation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8696.15, down by 15.90 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 8686.35 and 8747.05. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech. up by 1.63% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.42% and Infosys up by 1.03% and NTPC up by 1.00% and HDFC up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.69%, DLF down by 3.69%, Sesa Sterlite down by 2.02%, Bank Of Baroda down by 1.97% and Cairn India down by 1.97% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the red; Hang Seng decreased 118.35 points or 0.5% to 23,778.63, Jakarta Composite declined 47.83 points or 0.88% to 5,415.10, Straits Times dropped 19.87 points or 0.58% to 3,378.39, Taiwan Weighted slipped 13.35 points or 0.14% to 9,523.18, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dippes 8.1 points or 0.45% to 1,781.63, Shanghai Composite shed 4.62 points or 0.14% to 3,281.45 and KOSPI Index was down by 3.94 points or 0.2% to 1,980.83. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 107.16 points or 0.57% to 18,772.27.