Benchmarks wipe off early gains; Nifty holds 7,800 mark

Indian equity indices, trimming most of their early gains, are trading flat in noon deals as traders booked profit at higher levels. However, the frontline gauges managed to trade slightly above their crucial support levels of 25,800 (Sensex) and 7,800 (Nifty). Appreciation in Indian rupee aided sentiments. The rupee gained for a fourth straight session, trading higher at 65.94 per US dollar after India’s trade deficit narrowed down to 8-month low owing to dropping international crude oil prices. Meanwhile, Sugar stocks remained on buyers radar after media reports stated that the government is planning to offer a subsidy of Rs 1,200 crore to farmers.

Global cues remained firm with Asian markets rallying at this point of time as risk appetite returned. China and Taiwan led Asian equity markets higher, while Korean won strengthened and supported the currencies in the region. Back home, on the sectoral front, fast moving consumer goods, metal and realty witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while software, technology and consumer durables remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. The broader indices were trading with traction, while the market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1,299 shares on the gaining side against 1072 shares on the losing side while 161 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25803.81, up by 43.71 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 25754.29 and 25917.01. 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 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.66%, Metal up by 1.07%, Realty up by 0.77%, Healthcare up by 0.64% and Auto up by 0.09%, while IT down by 0.62%, TECK down by 0.51%, Consumer Durables down by 0.45%, Bankex down by 0.40% and Oil & Gas down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 3.86%, Vedanta up by 2.68%, ITC up by 2.57%, GAIL India up by 1.73% and Sun Pharma up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.13%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.61%, Axis Bank down by 1.37%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.09% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian merchandise exports contracting for the eleventh straight month plunged by 17.33 percent in the month of October to $21.35 billion. The significant fall in exports is attributed to weak global demand, amid a tepid global economic recovery. The last time Indian exports registered a positive growth was in November 2014, when shipments had expanded at a rate of 7.27 percent. On the positive side the imports too declined by over 21.15 percent from a year earlier to $31.12 billion, narrowing the trade gap to $9.77 billion in October from $10.48 billion in September and $13.35 billion in the year ago period. The trade deficit for April-October, 2015-16 was estimated at $ 77762.06 million which was lower than the deficit of $ 86269.45 million during April-October, 2014-15.

According to the data released by the Commerce Ministry, Indian exports in dollar terms stood at $21352.79 million which was 17.53 per cent lower than the level of $25891.39 million during October, 2014. In Rupee terms the exports valued at Rs 138916.98 crore which was 12.53 per cent lower than the level of Rs.158822.95 crore in the same period last year. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-October 2015-16 was $154292.24 million as against $187288.74 million in same period last year, registering a negative growth of 17.62 per cent in Dollar terms. In Rupee terms cumulative exports for the period April-October 2015-16 stood at Rs 992503.57 crore as against Rs 1130539.38 crore in April-October 2014-15, down by 12.21 per cent.

Meanwhile, imports during October, 2015 were valued at $31120.06 million in dollar terms, 21.15 per cent lower over the level of imports valued at $39468.76 million in same period last year. In rupee terms imports were valued at Rs 202460.88 crore, which was 16.38 per cent lower than Rs 242109.24 crore during October 2014. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-October 2015-16 in Dollar terms was $232054.30 million, as against $273558.19 million, registering a negative growth of 15.17 per cent in Dollar terms. In rupee terms the imports for the period April-October 2015-16 stood at Rs1492679.30 crore, down by 9.62 per cent compared to Rs 1651512.80 crore in the same period last year.

Oil imports which accounts for 31 percent of the total imports dropped by 45.31 per cent during October, 2015 at $6846.11 million than oil imports valued at $12517.24 million in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April-October, 2015-16 were valued at $54975.07 million which was 42.07 per cent lower than the oil imports of $94896.22 million in the corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during October, 2015 were estimated at $24273.95 million which was 9.93 per cent lower than non-oil imports of $26951.52 million in October, 2014. Non-oil imports during April-October, 2015-16 were valued at $177079.23 million which was 0.89 per cent lower than the level of such imports valued at $178661.97 million in April-October, 2014-15.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7809.05, up by 2.45 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 7802.20 and 7850.15. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.98%, Vedanta up by 2.74%, ITC up by 2.68%, Ambuja Cement up by 2.09% and HCL Tech up by 1.96%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.59%, Grasim Industries down by 2.19%, Infosys down by 2.12%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.88% and Axis Bank down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 9.51 points or 0.57% to 1,665.51, Shanghai Composite gained 10.01 points or 0.28% to 3,616.97, KOSPI Index surged 20.56 points or 1.06% to 1,963.58, Jakarta Composite soared 72.4 points or 1.63% to 4,514.58, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 124.02 points or 1.5% to 8,419.42, Nikkei 225 added 236.94 points or 1.22% to 19,630.63 and Hang Seng was up by 334.78 points or 1.52% to 22,345.60.