Benchmarks continue weak trade; RIL Q2 earnings eyed

Indian equity markets trimmed losses but continued to trade in red in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were under pressure on report that India’s exports contracted for the 10th straight month by 24.33% in September to $21.84 billion due to steep fall in shipments of petroleum productions, iron ore, and engineering goods. Investors have started eyeing Reliance Industries (RIL) Q2 earnings which is scheduled to be released after the market hours will further provide direction to the market. Traders were seen piling position in Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and Auto stocks, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Metal and FMCG sector stocks. In the scrip specific development, Nestle India was trading firm after 3 labs testing centre cleared its 100% sample stating that they are safe. Karur Vysya Bank was trading in green after the company posted a surge of 57.15% in its net profit at Rs 142.22 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 as compared to Rs 90.50 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green, while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,200 and 27,000 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1211:1330 while 173 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26985.47, down by 24.67 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 26917.12 and 27064.21. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.04%, while Small cap index down by 0.01%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.08%, Oil & Gas up by 1.04%, Auto up by 0.44%, Power up by 0.39% and PSU up by 0.09%, while Realty down by 1.64%, Metal down by 1.08%, FMCG down by 0.40%, Consumer Durables down by 0.22% and Bankex down by 0.15% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.74%, NTPC up by 1.64%, Tata Motors up by 1.48%, ONGC up by 0.86% and Reliance Industries up by 0.75%.

On the flip side, Lupin down by 2.58%, Tata Steel down by 2.17%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.69%, Coal India down by 1.55% and Wipro down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's total trade with the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries in the last ten years has risen more than nine-fold, from $5.2 billion in 2005 to $49.1 billion in 2014, according to the study of the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)'s 'Enhancing India’s Trade Relations with LAC: Focus on Select Countries'.

The study further highlighted that the India’s total exports to LAC have risen from $2.8 billion in 2005 to $15.5 billion in 2014, depicting more than a five-fold rise during the period. Besides, India’s total imports from LAC have also risen significantly to $ 33.6 billion from $ 2.4 billion during the same period. As a result, India’s trade balance with LAC, which stood at a surplus of $0.5 billion in 2005, has turned into a deficit in recent years, amounting to a trade deficit of $18.1 billion in 2014. 

Further, the EXIM Bank's study identified that the potential items for India's exports to select countries in the  LAC region, which broadly include, inter alia, machinery; electrical and electronic equipment; transport vehicles; optical, photographic and medical apparatus; plastics and articles; iron and steel and its articles; rubber and articles; petroleum products; organic chemicals; meat and edible meat offal.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8169.35, down by 10.15 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 8147.65 and 8196.20. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.31%, NTPC up by 1.84%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.78%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.13% and Tata Motors up by 1.10%.

On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 2.66%, Lupin down by 2.64%, Adani Ports &Special down by 2.33%, Bank of Baroda down by 2.14% and Tata Steel down by 2.06% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.9 points or 0.11% to 1,715.15, Taiwan Weighted increased 3.43 points or 0.04% to 8,604.95, Jakarta Composite increased 11.92 points or 0.26% to 4,519.12, Shanghai Composite increased 53.28 points or 1.6% to 3,391.35, Hang Seng increased 179.2 points or 0.78% to 23,067.37 and Nikkei 225 increased 194.9 points or 1.08% to 18,291.80.

On the other hand, KOSPI Index decreased 3.01 points or 0.15% to 2,030.26.

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 42.76 points or 0.67% to 6,381.43, France’s CAC increased 26.25 points or 0.56% to 4,701.54 and Germany’s DAX increased 47.83 points or 0.48% to 10,112.63.