Benchmarks continue to trade in red in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets enlarged their losses in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were under pressure after a survey conducted by economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) 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. Investors maintained a cautious approach ahead of Gross Domestic Product growth data scheduled on Friday. Traders were seen selling in Realty, Oil & Gas and FMCG sectors stocks. In scrip specific development, Nestle India was trading in red as its noodles brand Maggie is under scrutiny. Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan stated that the government will review reports about the presence of higher level of lead and a food additive in Nestle’s Maggi noodles. The markets may remain volatile this week as traders may roll over positions in the Futures & Options (F&O) segment from the near month i.e. May 2015 series to next month i.e. June 2015 series. The near month May 2015 F&O contracts will expire on Thursday i.e. May 28, 2015.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,350 and 27,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1004:1431 while 117 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27490.59, down by 153.29 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 27488.00 and 27675.94. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.39%, while Small cap index down by 0.34%.

The losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 0.93%, Oil & Gas down by 0.89%, FMCG down by 0.84%, Capital Goods down by 0.81% and Power down by 0.59%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 1.75%, Coal India up by 1.15%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.14%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.86% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.38%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.68%, ONGC down by 1.47%, HDFC down by 1.41%, NTPC down by 1.38% and ITC down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the apex business organisation in India has lauded the work of the government after completion of one year in office and sought to silence the critics of the Modi Government who are touting its pro-investment, pro-growth and pro-employment policies as ‘pro-industry’ as if business-friendly policies are against the common man and national interest, saying that restoration of investor confidence and establishment of ‘Brand India’ are the biggest achievements of the Narendra Modi government.

FICCI President Jyotsna Suri said that the focus should now turn to agriculture and water policies. She said the ‘pro-industry’ label on the government was “pure rhetoric” as its policies rested in “transparency and fairness’. Terming the government’s pro-industry label as “pure rhetoric”, Dr. Suri said that without growth it would be impossible to provide jobs to the 23 million young people who descend in the job market every month. Suri, however, said the slowing down of rural and urban demand was a cause for concern, adding that government spending on infrastructure projects must rise significantly to fuel the industrial economy.

Expressing hopes that the government will focus on accomplishing the work-in-progress agenda through continuous policy action and reforms, FICCI said that it is encouraged by the policy direction and tone set by the new government. While the government has laid a strong foundation for sustainable higher growth by laying out a sound roadmap, implementing the same in true spirit remains the key challenge. Private investments need a further push to gain momentum, which can be achieved through timely implementation of GST, clearance of land related hurdles, absolute clarity in tax policies, reduction in interest rates and stimulating consumer demand.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8325.00, down by 45.25 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 8324.10 and 8378.90. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 1.55%, Coal India up by 1.09%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.07%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.82% and Bank of Baroda up by 0.79%.

On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.96%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.77%, Tata Motors down by 1.71%, Ambuja Cement down by 1.68% and ONGC down by 1.64% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 increased 23.71 points or 0.12% to 20,437.48, Taiwan Weighted increased 24.24 points or 0.25% to 9,669.41, Jakarta Composite increased 38.54 points or 0.73% to 5,326.91, Shanghai Composite increased 97.1 points or 2.02% to 4,910.90 and Hang Seng increased 257.03 points or 0.92% to 28,249.86.

On the other hand, KOSPI Index decreased 2.6 points or 0.12% to 2,143.50, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 2.09 points or 0.12% to 1,765.29 and Straits Times decreased 0.08 points or 0% to 3,460.77.

The European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 103.86 points or 0.88% to 11,711.15, France’s CAC decreased 33.45 points or 0.65% to 5,083.72 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 41.92 points or 0.6% to 6,989.80.