Benchmarks erase losses; trade continues in green

Indian equity markets erased losses and started trading in green in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. Investors took note of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that the central bank will cut interest rate provided it feels confident that inflation will remain below 6 percent. Traders were seen piling position in Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Bankex stocks, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Metal and Auto sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Balaji Telefilms was trading firm after Star India sold its entire 25.99% stake in the company for an estimated Rs 108 crore. Most of the shares were purchased by the company’s promoters - Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor - and Group CEO Sameer Nair. Shoppers Stop was trading in green after entering into a partnership with e-commerce company Snapdeal. MTNL was trading in green after reports suggested that the Union Cabinet would infuse funds to the tune of Rs 458 crore into the ailing telecom operator as compensation for spectrum.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red, while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,550 and 28,200 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1390:1383 while 116 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28295.50, up by 72.42 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 28163.69 and 28327.40. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.12%, while Small cap index up by 0.17%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.37%, Capital Goods up by 1.32%, Bankex up by 0.68%, Realty up by 0.60% and INFRA up by 0.21%, while FMCG down by 1.08%, Metal down by 0.18%, Auto down by 0.11%, IT down by 0.05%, TECK down by 0.04% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.96%, Lupin up by 1.90%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.75%, BHEL up by 1.18% and SBI up by 1.03%.

On the flip side, ITC down by 1.63%, Coal India down by 1.56%, Reliance Industries down by 0.49%, NTPC down by 0.48% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers Ananth Kumar said Public sector undertakings (PSUs) in pharmaceuticals sector will not to be sold in future; instead a model will be developed for utilizing their assets in order to make them financially sustainable. The Minister said that a Task Force will be set up soon to look into all these aspects and pharma PSUs will get support from government in order to enhance the efficiency and productivity of products.   

Further he said that providing affordable and good quality medicines to masses of the country is important where PSUs play an important role as they are not driven by profit motive but serve public interest. For the sake of health security, Ministry is working with other concerned Departments of the Government of India and the State Governments as Team India.

There are about five PSUs in pharma sector, which includes Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals (KAPL), Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (RDPL), Hindustan Antibiotics (HAL), Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (BCPL) and Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (IDPL). Out of these KAPL and RDPL were making profits, while HAL, BCPL and IDPL were declared sick by Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), hence the government is working on various schemes for their revival.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8588.75, up by 20.80 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 8551.50 and 8599.65. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.01% and ACC up by 2.25% and PNB up by 1.95% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.93% and Idea Cellular up by 1.87%.

On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.07%, Coal India down by 1.72%, ITC down by 1.67%, Asian Paints down by 0.79% and GAIL India down by 0.58% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 138.88 points or 0.57% to 24,375.28, Taiwan Weighted decreased 92.71 points or 1.09% to 8,449.56, Jakarta Composite decreased 34.18 points or 0.7% to 4,816.35, Shanghai Composite decreased 33.03 points or 0.89% to 3,661.54, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 26.1 points or 1.51% to 1,699.46 and KOSPI Index decreased 16.47 points or 0.81% to 2,013.29.

On the other hand, Straits Times increased 1.05 points or 0.03% to 3,192.44 and Nikkei 225 increased 50.38 points or 0.24% to 20,664.44.

The European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC increased 2.7 points or 0.05% to 5,199.43, Germany’s DAX increased 23.18 points or 0.2% to 11,659.48 while, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 21.36 points or 0.32% to 6,731.05.