Benchmarks continue lackluster trade in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their lackluster trade hovering near the neutral line in the late afternoon session in absence of any upside triggers. Traders were seen piling position in IT, Power and PSU stocks, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Realty sector stocks. In the scrip specific development, Amtek Auto was trading in green after the company stated that it has appointed Morgan Stanley as advisors to assist in its debt reduction plan. On the other hand, Oberoi Realty was trading in red after the company reported  lower-than-expected 3% year on year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 72.44 crore for the quarter ended September 2015 (Q2FY16), despite of higher other income. On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green, while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,000 and 26,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1419:1118 while 119 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26596.73, up by 37.58 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 26514.48 and 26732.24. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.27%, while Small cap index up by 0.44%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.80%, Power up by 0.79%, PSU up by 0.61%, Metal up by 0.54% and TECK up by 0.53%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.48%, Capital Goods down by 0.33%, Realty down by 0.02% and Bankex down by 0.02% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.41%, Hindalco up by 2.41%, Vedanta up by 1.75%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.28% and TCS up by 1.09%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.28%, Lupin down by 1.14%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.00%, ITC down by 0.95% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in line with global trends, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have hiked non-subsidized or market-priced domestic cooking gas (LPG) by Rs 27.5 per 14.2-kg bottle, which consumers buy after exhausting their quota of subsidised cooking fuel. The increase comes on back of four straight monthly reductions in rates of non-subsidized or market-priced LPG.

Following the hike, non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) now costs Rs 545 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. In Kolkata, it will cost Rs 575 per cylinder, in Mumbai, Rs 555 and in Chennai, the price will be Rs 559.50 a cylinder. Non-subsidised LPG price was last cut on October 1 by Rs 42 to Rs 517.50 in Delhi. Prior to that, rates were cut by Rs 25.50 on September 1, Rs 23.50 on August 1 and by Rs 18 per cylinder to Rs 608.50 on July 1.

Meanwhile, the oil firms have marginally slashed the prices of the Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF). In Delhi, it has been cut by Rs 142.56 per kilolitre, or 0.3 percent, to Rs 43,041.61 per kilolitre. The reduction comes on the back of 5.5 percent or Rs 2,245.92 per kilolitre increase in ATF price on October 1. This price cut will bring marginal relief to the cash-strapped carriers. Jet fuel prices constitute over 40% of an airline’s operating cost. Rates vary from airport to airport depending on the local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT).

State-owned fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first of every month based on average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8047.40, down by 3.40 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 8031.75 and 8100.35. There were 27 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.49%, Hindalco up by 2.47%, Vedanta up by 1.86%, Power Grid up by 1.51% and ACC up by 1.39%.

On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.87%, Tata Motors down by 1.69%, Adani Ports &Special down by 1.30%, Lupin down by 1.28% and GAIL India down by 1.08% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 11.02 points or 0.66% to 1,675.09, KOSPI Index increased 13.16 points or 0.65% to 2,048.40, Jakarta Composite increased 72.54 points or 1.62% to 4,537.50, Taiwan Weighted increased 98.42 points or 1.14% to 8,713.19 and Hang Seng increased 198.39 points or 0.89% to 22,568.43.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite decreased 8.39 points or 0.25% to 3,316.70. Japan’s stock exchange was closed on account of ‘Culture Day’ holiday.

The European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 27.11 points or 0.25% to 10,923.56, France’s CAC decreased 7.47 points or 0.15% to 4,908.74 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 4.38 points or 0.07% to 6,357.42.