Benchmarks add losses; Nifty slips below 8750 mark

Indian bourses adding losses, continued to trade in red in the late morning session, with the Sensex losing over 100 points and Nifty falling below the 8750 level, weighed down by poor key macro-economic data. On the macro-economic front, retail inflation rose to 5.37 percent in February, the third consecutive month of uptick, while the industrial output grew by modest 2.6 percent in January, diminishing hopes of another rate cut by the Reserve Bank. However, losses remained capped as State Bank of India (SBI) in the latest report said that India’s current account deficit (CAD) is expected to come down to $ 25 billion, or 1.2 percent of GDP, in the current financial year, though it has cautioned that it could widen next fiscal on the back of pick up in the Indian economy. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 733 crore on March 12, 2015. Meanwhile, shares of companies having insurance subsidiaries were trading higher on the bourses after the Upper house of parliament passes insurance bill that proposes increase in insurance FDI limit to 49%.

On global front, Asian stock markets mostly rose after weak U.S. retail sales alleviated jitters about the Federal Reserve's timetable for raising interest rates. Further, Oil prices steadied after an overnight sell-off following estimates showing another big supply build at the delivery point for the U.S. crude contract. Back home, Indian rupee edged higher by seven paise to 62.43 against the Greenback in early trade on fresh selling of the US dollar by exporters and banks.

Back on street, all sectoral indices on the BSE were in the red with BSE Metal index emerging as the top loser down nearly 1% followed by Capital Goods, Realty, Banking and Auto indices among others. In scrip specific development, shares of JSW Steel have declined as its crude steel production dips 2% in February 2015. On the other hand, shares of Natco Pharma have rallied the company received the approval for the generic anti-hepatitis C medicine sofosbuvir tablets of 400 mg from the Drugs Controller General-India (DCGI).

The market breadth on BSE was negative, out of 2310 stocks traded, 1001 stocks advanced, while 1213 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28798.52, down by 131.89 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 28773.26 and 29183.76. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.07%, while Small cap index up by 0.22%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 0.82%, Capital Goods down by 0.74%, Realty down by 0.73%, Bankex down by 0.71% and Auto down by 0.65%, while there were the no gainers on the sectoral index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.31%, NTPC up by 0.34%, ICICI Bank up by 0.24% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.13%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.99%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.95%, Sun Pharma down by 1.85%, GAIL India down by 1.27% and BHEL down by 1.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has pitched for a ratings upgrade from the global rating agency Fitch on the back of improved prospects of growth due to recent reform measures as well as lower oil prices. The Finance Ministry officials in their meeting with Fitch representatives said that country’s fiscal consolidation programme is on track and also highlighted various initiatives announced in the Budget 2015-16, which are expected to boost investment and growth. The team also reiterated the Centre’s commitment to contain the fiscal deficit within the Budget estimate and also check the current account deficit (CAD) within manageable levels.

Although, all the global rating agencies Fitch, S&P and Moody's have assigned lowest investment grade rating to India, Fitch had praised the government's continued focus on implementation of structural reforms after the first full year budget was presented by the new government. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian after chairing a meeting with Fitch officials said that India is on the path of fiscal consolidation and Budget has paved the way for increased investment.

In their meeting, the senior Finance Ministry officials also highlighted the declining inflation as a big positive for the economy. The current rating for India is ‘BBB (minus)’ with a stable outlook, which is the last investment grade. Fitch is expected to come out with a detailed report on India in a few days.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8738.85, down by 37.15 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 8724.35 and 8849.75. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 1.31%, PNB up by 1.23%, IDFC up by 0.53%, ICICI Bank up by 0.43% and Lupin up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Jindal Steel & Power down by 2.62%, Axis Bank down by 1.86%, Sun Pharma down by 1.85%, GAIL India down by 1.54% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the green; Shanghai Composite increased 0.54%, KOSPI Index gained 0.85%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 0.01%, Hang Seng added 0.34% and Nikkei 225 was up by 1.52%. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 0.24%, Straits Times shed 0.23% and Taiwan Weighted down by 0.03%.