Choppiness continues on Dalal Street in noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade choppy in noon deals with frontline gauges trade tad below their neutral lines as investors remained on sidelines ahead of expiry of November derivative contracts on Thursday. Markets will remain shut tomorrow on account of Gurunanak Jayanti. The markets will closely watch the winter session of Parliament, beginning this week, which sets the agenda of the government. NDA's recent reverses in Bihar elections have put a cloud over the pace of reforms, and market participants fear that it won't be smooth sailing in Parliament.

On the global front, Asian markets were exhibiting mixed trend after a healthcare mega-merger failed to impress investors while the dollar held firm near an eight-month high as investors grew more convinced of a US rate hike next month. Back home, on the sectoral front, energy, realty and oil and gas witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while capital goods, software and auto remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. The broader indices were trading in green terrain, while the market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1,392 shares on the gaining side against 997 shares on the losing side while 187 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25833.71, up by 14.37 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 25703.86 and 25898.23. There were 12 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.22%, while Small cap index up by 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.39%, Realty up by 1.34%, Oil & Gas up by 1.08%, PSU up by 0.65%, Metal up by 0.35%, while Capital Goods down by 0.81%, IT down by 0.54%, Auto down by 0.53%, TECK down by 0.47% and Power down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.24%, HDFC up by 2.11%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.87%, Reliance Industries up by 1.26% and Coal India up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.05%, Infosys down by 1.38%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.23%, Sun Pharma down by 0.98% and Tata Motors down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Global Rating agency, Fitch has said that spending by the Indian government on infrastructure will be the catalyst for any meaningful improvement in domestic steel demand. Fitch in its report titled '2016 Outlook: Indian Steel Sector' has said that spending on infra projects such as housing for all and smart cities is the key for the revival of the Indian steel industry, which faces headwinds like cheap imports.

Fitch in its report further highlighted that India's steel consumption to improve marginally by 7-8 per cent in 2016. The agency projected that high imports and soft steel prices globally in 2016 are likely to result in continuing profitability pressures for the Indian steel producers. Further, it added that “their margins are likely to be lower in 2015 and improve marginally in 2016, supported by improving domestic demand and the imposition of safeguard duty on imports on certain steel products for 200 days”.

As of end-September 2015, Indian steel prices had fallen almost a quarter year-on-year in line with global trends. A relatively stronger rupee in 2015 to date; significant import increases and weak steel demand affected steel prices and consequently, profitability of steelmakers. On the other hand, the imposition of a 20 per cent duty on certain steel product imports, effective September 14, has given them some relief, Fitch said. On the global front, the report stated that global steel prices to remain weak in 2016, driven by weak demand and overcapacity in the industry.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7850.70, up by 1.45 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 7812.65 and 7867.50. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 2.34% and ONGC up by 2.22% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.06% and Ambuja Cement up by 1.79% and Cairn India up by 1.34%. On the flip side, Bosch down by 2.64%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.06%, GAIL India down by 1.56%, Infosys down by 1.44% and Adani Ports &Special down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite increased 3.72 points or 0.08% to 4,544.79, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 9.84 points or 0.59% to 1,680.74, KOSPI Index rose 12.59 points or 0.63% to 2,016.29 and Nikkei 225 was up by 45.08 points or 0.23% to 19,924.89. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 145.11 points or 0.64% to 22,520.79, Taiwan Weighted declined 85.59 points or 1.01% to 8,400.14 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.9 points or 0.11% to 3,606.41.