Indian equities continue to sulk in late afternoon session

 Indian equities continue its weak trade in red in the late afternoon session hovering near the lowest point of the day in absence of buying. The wary investors have started taking cautious approach towards the market after the sharp run up starting from this year. Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Consumer Durables and IT sector while selling was witnessed in Realty, Capital Goods and Bankex sector. DLF from Realty space was seen trading in red pushing the markets down. L&T and BHEL from Capital Goods space were seen trading in red pulling the markets down. PNB, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank from Banking counters were trading in red drifting the markets lower. Industry heavyweight, RIL was seen trading weak in red with cut of around more than two percent exerting pressure on the market. In view of a sharp drop in output from RIL's eastern offshore KG-D6 block, an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to meet later in the day to consider changes in the natural gas allocation policy. However, Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, SAIL and Jindal Steel from Metal counters were seen trading firm giving the much needed support for the market. On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green barring Jakarta Composite while the European markets were trading in green on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 5,450 and 17,900 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was in favor of declines in the ratio of 1075:1682 while 120 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17,893.15 down by 185.35 points or 1.03% after trading as high as 18,198.15 and as low as 17,881.91. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading on a negative note; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.70% while Small cap dropped 0.45%.

On the BSE sectoral space, Metal up 0.73%, Consumer Durables up 0.37%, IT up 0.29%, TECk up 0.25% and FMCG up 0.20% were the only gainers while Realty down 2.35%, Capital Goods down 2.30%, Bankex down 2.11%, Oil & Gas down 1.69% and PSU 0.83% were the major losers in the space.

Sterlite Industries up 1.74%, Coal India up 1.07%, Tata Steel up 0.95%, Bharti Airtel up 0.69% and Tata Power up 0.54% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while HDFC down 4.35%, DLF down 2.90%, L&T down 2.88%, RIL down 2.16% and HDFC Bank down 2.11% were the major losers in the index.

Meanwhile, with elections approaching closer, Congress leaders have pitched for a ‘please all’ budget. Congress leaders in their pre budget meeting with the Finance Minister have asked him to raise income tax slabs, reduce interest rates and earmark more funds for poverty alleviation programmes. Some ministers have also expressed concerns over the economic slowdown and have asked the FM to announce steps to boost growth.

Ministers also demanded that priority be given to industrial growth and the banking sector. It was also suggested that interest rates be reduced to encourage industrial growth. Some members urged Mukherjee to raise income tax exemption limit to provide relief to the salaried class. At present, income tax is levied on income above Rs 1.8 lakh per annum. The ministers also recommended that the budget focus on poverty alleviation programmes by raising allocation for schemes like MNREGA, National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) and Bharat Nirman.

Finance Minister gave a patient hearing to party leaders’ wishlist for the coming Budget, which appeared to be largely a mere repetition. Mukherjee, who is scheduled to present the Budget on March 16 in Parliament, at the outset explained them the current economic situation in India in the context of the world scenario and financial constraints being faced by the government. He also drove home the importance of maintaining the growth rate, emphasizing that it was necessary for social sector spending and to generate employment.

The senior leaders who attended the meeting included Ahmad Patel, political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily, AICC media cell Chairman Janardan Dwivedi, Members of Parliament (MPs) Sanjay Nirupam and Girija Vyas, CWC member Shakeel Ahmed and Minority Affairs Department Chairperson Imran Kidwai. Only about 40 leaders turned up for the meeting although invitations had been sent to all party MPs and office-bearers.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,417.75, lower by 65.55 points or 1.20% after trading as high as 5,521.40 and as low as 5,416.35. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Sterlite Industries up 1.69%, Coal India up 1.22%, Power Grid up 1.02%, Tata Steel up 0.90% and Tata Power up 0.76%.

IDFC down 5.91%, HDFC down 4.43%, DLF down 3.74%, L&T down 3.10% and PNB down 2.94% were the major losers on the index.

In the Asian space, Shanghai Composite surged 1.25%, Hang Seng gained 0.12%, KLSE Composite rose 0.12%, Nikkei 225 climbed 0.54%, Straits Times added 0.14%, Seoul Composite advanced 0.60% and Taiwan Weighted ascended 0.28%. On the flipside only Jakarta Composite plummeted 1.99%.

The European markets were trading in green with, France’s CAC 40 ascended 0.36%, Germany’s DAX added 0.62% and Britain’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.03%.