Benchmarks trade marginally in red on penultimate day of F&O expiry

Indian equity benchmarks are trading slightly in the red in early deals on penultimate day of F&O expiry. Disappointing quarterly results from companies such as Tata Motors and Tech Mahindra dampened the sentiments. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee has breached the 64 level in early trading after closing at 63.98 per dollar yesterday. However, losses remained capped as some support came with Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian  pinning hopes on adequate food grain stock helping to keep inflation under control even with below-normal monsoon  and pitching for rate cut by the Reserve Bank in its upcoming policy review to boost growth.

On the global front, the US markets suffered sharp sell-off in last session coming of a long weekend, following the release of a batch of largely upbeat US economic data, which led to concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The Asian markets were trading mostly in the red at this point of time, taking cues from the US markets amidst worries of higher interest rates in the world’s largest economy.

Back home, on the sectoral front, banking, public sector undertaking witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while software, auto and technology 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 753 shares on the gaining side against 966 shares on the losing side while 70 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27520.35, down by 11.06 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 27363.72 and 27548.64. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.16%, while Small cap index lost 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.50%, PSU up by 0.50%, Oil & Gas up by 0.39%, Capital Goods up by 0.31% and Consumer Durables up by 0.26% while, IT down by 1.51%, Auto down by 1.31%, TECK down by 1.12%, INFRA down by 0.39% and Realty down by 0.08% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up by 1.58%, Axis Bank up by 1.53%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.21%, Coal India up by 1.15% and Cipla up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 5.09%, Infosys down by 1.67%, GAIL India down by 0.91%, Hindalco down by 0.89% and Vedanta down by 0.87% 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 8324.95, down by 14.40 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 8277.95 and 8333.35. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 1.73%, PNB up by 1.70%, BPCL up by 1.63%, Idea Cellular up by 1.50% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 12.14%, Tata Motors down by 5.28%, Infosys down by 1.74%, Hindalco down by 0.97% and GAIL India down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the red; Hang Seng decreased 162.18 points or 0.57% to 28,087.68, Straits Times declined 38.09 points or 1.1% to 3,421.89, KOSPI Index dropped 32.28 points or 1.51% to 2,111.22, Jakarta Composite shed 30.83 points or 0.58% to 5,290.07 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 12.24 points or 0.69% to 1,751.83.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite increased 7.89 points or 0.16% to 4,918.79, Taiwan Weighted rose 31.76 points or 0.33% to 9,701.17 and Nikkei 225 was up by 43.88 points or 0.21% to 20,481.36.