Benchmarks continue its lackadaisical trade

Indian equity markets continued their lackadaisical trade hovering near the neutral line in the late afternoon session taking cues from global counterparts.  Investors have started eyeing Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) bi-monthly policy review which is scheduled on Tuesday. The poll last week showed that the street expects RBI to cut its key repo rate to a four-year low to help support the domestic economy at a time when consumer inflation is at a record low. Traders were seen piling position in Realty, Consumer Durables and Bankex stocks, while selling was witnessed in Metal, IT and TECK sector stocks. Hectic buying activity was witnessed in sugar stocks like Balrampur Chini Mills, Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar and Dhampur Sugar Mills on reports that Indian Sugar Exim Corporation will export 100,000 tonnes of sugar in 2015-16 at loss to boost local prices. Fertilizer companies like Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC), Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) and Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) were trading in green on reports that the government is planning $83 million debt waiver for fertilizers and chemicals companies. In the scrip specific development, Orient Cement was trading in green after the company commissioned new cement manufacturing unit in Karnataka.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red, while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 7,850 and 25,800 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1335:1207 while 135 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25847.61, down by 15.89 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 25738.54 and 25936.89. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.42%, while Small cap index up by 0.56%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.74%, Consumer Durables up by 1.96%, Bankex up by 0.62%, FMCG up by 0.55% and Power up by 0.29%, while Metal down by 1.57%, IT down by 0.76%, TECK down by 0.69%, Capital Goods down by 0.60% and Auto down by 0.54% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 5.71%, Lupin up by 3.39%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.28%, SBI up by 1.32% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.14%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.69%, Infosys down by 2.66%, Sun Pharma down by 2.51%, Vedanta down by 2.36% and Coal India down by 2.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to scale up inland waterways infrastructure in the country, the government is planning to offer 850 small and medium sized ports along key rivers for development by the private sector including foreign investors which could see investment of nearly Rs 4,000 crore. The government proposes to offer ports along the riverside systems of the Ganga, Brahmani, Brahmaputra, West Coast Canal, Godavari, Krishna and Barak for development. Most of these ports will fall along coal bearing routes making them commercially exploitable. The projects will be offered on the design, built, operate and transfer model.

The government is eyeing huge opportunity in transportation of coal to power plants along these rivers, having set an internal target of over 200 million tonnes. The shift of transportation of coal from railways to river ways will not only be environment friendly but also will bring down overall transportation cost. For 12 power projects along Ganga, coal could be transported through the river and goods can directly be exported to Bangladesh through waterways. Under the upcoming model concession agreement (MCA), the government is likely to offer a contract period of 30 years, making it a worthwhile proposal for private investment.

In order to develop inland transportation network, the government has already firmed up a plan to develop 101 inland waterways in different states that will require an estimated Rs 35,000 crore. Further, work has begun on three multi modal logistics hubs along the Ganga. Moreover, there is also a plan to set up satellite and dry ports to facilitate cargo movement through trains from states that don't have waterways.

Earlier, Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari had said that the inland waterways sector along with international ports will contribute over 1 per cent to the country's GDP in the next few years. Inland waterways in India make up a paltry 3 per cent of the total transport, compared with 47 per cent in China and 35 per cent in Bangladesh.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7870.90, up by 2.40 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 7831.35 and 7893.95. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 5.73%, Idea Cellular up by 4.09%, Lupin up by 3.37%, Adani Ports &Special up by 2.24% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.21%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.61%, Vedanta down by 2.77%, Sun Pharma down by 2.76%, Infosys down by 2.59% and Ultratech Cement down by 2.56% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 235.4 points or 1.32% to 17,645.11, Jakarta Composite decreased 69.24 points or 1.64% to 4,140.20, Straits Times decreased 38.81 points or 1.37% to 2,793.83 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 3.78 points or 0.23% to 1,611.23.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite increased 8.41 points or 0.27% to 3,100.76. Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan markets were closed today on account of national holiday.

The European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 55.88 points or 0.91% to 6,053.13, Germany’s DAX decreased 121.18 points or 1.25% to 9,567.35 and France’s CAC decreased 50.77 points or 1.13% to 4,429.89.