Somberness prevails at Dalal Street in absence of positive domestic triggers

Barometer gauges continued somber trade in absence of any fresh positive triggers and as caution ahead of F&O expiry later this week played on the sentiment. Markets after making a weak start went on losing ground and were languishing near day’s low point with losses of around 0.25%. Sentiments were also spooked as survey conducted by economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has showed that business sentiment in the country fell sharply in the March quarter due to concerns over investment climate amid patchy and uneven growth in 2014-15

However, positive global set-up which prevented sharper slide mainly kept both Sensex and Nifty above psychologically crucial 27,550 and 8,350 levels respectively. Meanwhile, the session was also negative for broader indices, which succumbing to selling pressure, were trading with losses in the range of 0.01-0.20%.

On the global front, Asian shares were set for a mostly positive close on the back of gains in Hong Kong and China on expectations of more money inflows from the mainland following Beijing's fresh moves to expedite cross-border investment. However, European markets got off to a positive start after a holiday weekend even as all eyes remained on Greece's ongoing debt drama and poor local election result for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. European shares had a weak finish in thin trade on Monday, with many markets in the region closed. Struggling Greece needs urgent financial aid to repay a loan due next week to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and make sure it can still pay wages and pensions, the government said on Monday.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE were trading into negative territory, nevertheless stocks from Oil & Gas, Capital Goods and Power counters were the top losers of the session. On the flip side, maximum buying was witnessed in Infrastructure, Auto and Technology counters, making them prominent gainers of the session.  The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of declines which thumped advances in the ratio of 1197:1093; while 106 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27572.47, down by 71.41 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 27543.24 and 27675.94. 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 0.12%, while Small cap index down by 0.01%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were INFRA up by 0.54%, TECK up by 0.13%, Auto up by 0.03%, IT up by 0.02% and Metal up by 0.01% while, Oil & Gas down by 0.72%, Capital Goods down by 0.60%, Power down by 0.51%, FMCG down by 0.44% and Realty down by 0.34% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.56%, GAIL India up by 1.55%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.85%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.83% and Vedanta up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.46%, ONGC down by 1.20%, NTPC down by 1.19%, Hindalco down by 1.15% and Tata Motors down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, as an expression of intent to fight the growing menace of black money both abroad and inside the country, the government has directed the Income Tax (IT) department to take steps to unearth domestic black money, while keeping a close watch on ponzi schemes, bogus IPOs and other such illegal means of raising money. The government wants officers to be very alert on sensing any trace of any kind of ponzi schemes and has directed that to be reported to the respective regulatory agencies whether at state level or Reserve Bank level, besides wanting them to take deterrent action or effective action from tax point of view.

Notably, a number of initiatives have been taken to unearth domestic black money, with the latest one being the passage of black Money bill in Lok Sabha. Under the proposed law, there would be a short compliance window within which people with undisclosed income abroad can come clean by paying 30% tax and 30% penalty. A time-frame will be provided as a compliance window.

Further with regards to HSBC black money list, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das asserted that all the assessments which were required to be completed before March 31 have been completed thanks to international cooperation and initiative taken by the government in the recent months.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8352.40, down by 17.85 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 8337.50 and 8378.90. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.61%, GAIL India up by 1.42%, Vedanta up by 0.88%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.79% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.63%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.71%, Cairn India down by 1.67%, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.52%, ONGC down by 1.35% and NTPC down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; with Straits Times trading higher by 0.3 points or 0.01% to 3,461.15; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI trading higher by 5.31 points or 0.3% to 1,772.69; Nikkei 225 trading higher by 23.71 points or 0.12% to 20,437.48; Taiwan Weighted trading higher by 24.24 points or 0.25% to 9,669.41; Jakarta Composite trading higher by 57.71 points or 1.09% to 5,346.07; Shanghai Composite trading higher by 87.65 points or 1.82% to 4,901.45; Hang Seng trading higher by 347.43 points or 1.24% to 28,340.26. On the flip side, KOSPI Index down by 2.6 points or 0.12% to 2,143.50 was the only loser amongst the pack.

European markets were trading mostly higher; with UK’s FTSE 100 trading higher by 2.58 points or 0.04% to 7,034.30; France’s CAC trading higher by 11.79 points or 0.23% to 5,128.96 and Germany’s DAX trading higher by 91.8 points or 0.78% to 11,906.81.