Benchmarks continue to trade marginally in red

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade marginally in red in early noon session, due to weak global cues and as investors remained wary ahead of GDP data to be announced later in the day and RBI’s fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review on Tuesday.  Depreciation in the rupee too dampened the sentiment. The rupee depreciated 5 paise to quote at fresh over two-year low of 66.81 against the dollar in noon trade on month-end demand for the American currency from importers and banks. Investors are also keeping an eye on developments related to GST Bill in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.  Traders were seen piling up position in Bankex, Consumer Durables, Auto, Capital Goods, Power stocks, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, TECK, IT, Oil & Gas and Metal sector stocks. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red as investors remained cautious following a mixed performance from Wall Street last Friday. Back home, the broader markets were outperforming the larger peers. The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2408 stocks traded, 1469 stocks advanced, while 775 stocks declined on the BSE. In scrip specific development, share of Rajesh Exports was trading up by 3.34% after the company bagged an export order worth Rs 1,122 crore of designer range of gold and diamond studded jewellery and medallions from UAE. The order is to be completed by March 31, 2016.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26103.63, down by 24.57 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 26096.09 and 26231.06. 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 0.18%, while Small cap index was up by 0.69%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.46%, Auto up by 1.10%, Capital Goods up by 0.55%, Power up by 0.48% and Bankex up by 0.28%, while FMCG down by 0.34%, TECK down by 0.33%, IT down by 0.07%, Oil & Gas down by 0.06% and Metal down by 0.03% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 1.90%, Tata Motors up by 1.88%, ICICI Bank up by 1.41%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.37% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.05%, Sun Pharma Inds. down by 1.36%, HDFC down by 1.28%, Vedanta down by 1.14% and GAIL India down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to strengthen the bill further to protect the interests of the consumer, the Parliamentary Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution has given an extension to submit its report on the Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 up to the first week of Budget Session of Parliament, 2016. As a result the passage of a bill which seeks to set up a regulatory authority having powers to recall products, cancel licences of defaulting companies and initiate class action suit, is set to be delayed.

Defending the extension, the committee chairman, J C Divakar Reddy said that the since adulteration of products is a major issue, he would like to recommend criminal action against sellers and manufacturers of such products. He further said “For such a big recommendation, we need to work hard with all facts.”

Once the standing committee submits its report, the department of consumer affairs will have to approach the Union Cabinet again with the recommendations made by the panel. Moving amendments, if any, based on the recommendations of the panel and pushing for the passage of the bill in both Houses during the session could prove to be a daunting task for the government as Budget sessions usually have a heavy legislative agenda.

The bill was earlier introduced in the Lok Sabha in August, seeking to create a ‘consumer protection authority’ which will also have the power to initiate class suit against defaulting companies to fast-track the redress of consumer grievances. The new bill, approved by the Cabinet on July 28, provides for a comprehensive framework for protection of consumer interest and will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The bill comes against the backdrop of emergence of complex products and services in the era of growing e-commerce in India that has rendered consumers vulnerable to new forms of unfair trade and unethical business practices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7931.55, down by 11.15 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 7927.40 and 7963.85. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.01%, Tata Motors up by 1.89%, Tata Power up by 1.58%, BPCL up by 1.35% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.19%, Ambuja Cement down by 2.17%, Idea Cellular down by 2.12%, Cairn India down by 1.68% and Asian Paints down by 1.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 128.22 points or 0.64% to 19,755.72, Taiwan Weighted decreased 77.79 points or 0.93% to 8,320.61, Shanghai Composite decreased 68.37 points or 1.99% to 3,367.94, Jakarta Composite decreased 40.69 points or 0.89% to 4,519.87, KOSPI Index decreased 30.5 points or 1.5% to 1,998.49 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 16.38 points or 0.97% to 1,666.21, while Hang Seng increased 4.01 points or 0.02% to 22,072.33.