Benchmarks continue weak trade; Capital Goods, PSU drag

Indian equity markets continue their weak trade in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. Traders were seen piling positions in Auto, FMCG and Consumer Durables stocks while selling was witnessed in Capita Goods, PSU and Power sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Tata Motors was trading in green after the company’s board approved the issue of equity shares in the ratio of 6:109 on rights basis. Deccan Gold Mines was trading firm after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed investment up to 24% by NRIs. Non Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) can now invest up to 24% of the paid up capital of the company under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). The market may remain volatile this week as traders roll over positions in the Futures & Options (F&O) segment from the near month i.e. March 2015 series to next month i.e. April 2015 series. The near month March 2015 derivatives contracts expire on Thursday i.e. March 26, 2015.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green while the European markets were trading mostly on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,550 and 28,200 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 900:1530 while 106 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28148.26, down by 13.46 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 28092.92 and 28249.60. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.32%, while Small cap index down by 0.59%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.23%, FMCG up by 0.21%, Consumer Durables up by 0.07%, Bankex up by 0.06%, Realty up by 0.02% while, Capital Goods down by 1.42%, PSU down by 1.20%, Power down by 1.18%, Metal down by 0.86%, Oil & Gas down by 0.60% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 1.81%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.47%, Sun Pharma up by 1.16%, Axis Bank up by 1.01% and Tata Motors up by 0.96%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.44%, GAIL India down by 2.38%, Coal India down by 1.81%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.79% and TCS down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government received commitments of Rs 109,000 crore from telecom operators at the end of 110th round of bidding on Tuesday, which was the 18th day of radio frequency spectrum e-auctions. This is higher compared to commitments worth Rs 105,000 crore received on the 17th day of the auction. With this, over 89% of spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders. The auction will continue as about some amount of spectrum is yet to be sold.

Robust bidding was witnessed in 900 MHz and 800 MHz band, with majority of service areas being sold at a premium over reserve price. However, DoT has barred from publishing final results without Supreme Court’s consent. A hearing in the apex court in this regard is scheduled for March 26.

In the 800 MHz, telecom players bid for Uttar Pradesh (West) circle, which was lying idle since the beginning of the auctions. The intensity was most in the Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and North East circles. In the 900 MHz, the intensity was seen most in Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, North East, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (both East and West). Meanwhile, in the 1800 MHz, the intensity was most for Kolkata circle. However, still no bidding was witnessed for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu circles for the 800 MHz.

The biggest ever auction of spectrum in the 800, 900, 1,800, and 2,100 MHz bands had started on March 4. In the current round of auction, the government is selling a total of 380.75 MHz of spectrum in the premium, 900 MHz band, 800 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands, and 5 MHz in the 2,100-MHz band across 17 of the 22 telecom areas of the circles in the country. The government had initially estimated to earn between Rs 80,000 crore and Rs 1 lakh crore from the sale of radio waves. However, this seems to be way above estimates, with the counting still continuing. From the last spectrum auction held in February 2014, the government had raked in Rs 62,162 crore.

Notably, these commitments come over and above the Rs 200,000 crore that India Inc has already bid under the two phases of auctions for award of coal blocks. But the proceeds from this auction will go to the respective state governments over 30 years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8533.20, down by 9.75 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 8517.85 and 8573.75. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 2.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.83%, DLF up by 1.56%, HCL Tech up by 1.55% and Sun Pharma up by 1.36%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.37%, PNB down by 2.60%, GAIL India down by 2.55%, NMDC down by 2.28% and Ambuja Cement down by 1.99% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI Index increased 1.44 points or 0.07% to 2,042.81, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 4.78 points or 0.26% to 1,818.82, Straits Times increased 5.29 points or 0.15% to 3,418.55, Nikkei 225 increased 32.75 points or 0.17% to 19,746.20 and Hang Seng increased 128.63 points or 0.53% to 24,528.23.

On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted decreased 63.83 points or 0.66% to 9,667.83, Jakarta Composite decreased 43.17 points or 0.79% to 5,404.48 and Shanghai Composite decreased 30.68 points or 0.83% to 3,660.73.

The European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 13.37 points or 0.11% to 11,992.32, France’s CAC decreased 11.89 points or 0.23% to 5,076.39 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.62 points or 0.11% to 7,027.30.