Benchmarks gyrate around neutral line in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks added some strength hovering near the neutral line with the BSE Sensex managing to trade in green while the NSE Nifty trading in red in the late afternoon session. The sentiments got some support after Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation for December 2015 came in at (-) 0.73%. This is a contraction for the 14th straight month. Traders were seen piling position in IT, TECK and FMCG stocks while selling was witnessed in Realty, Metal and Bankex sector stocks.  In scrip specific development, Infosys was trading firm after reporting better-than-expected earnings and also raised its revenue guidance in constant currency terms. The company has reported 6.62% rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 3465 crore for the quarter as compared to Rs 3250 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. On the other hand, Tata Steel was trading in red after global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) lowered its credit score further into junk territory, citing subdued operating performance and concern about its high leverage.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 7,550 and 24,800 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 855:1705 while 156 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24884.68, up by 30.57 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 24473.22 and 25018.46. There were 7 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.69%, while Small cap index down by 0.75%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.08%, TECK up by 2.44% and FMCG up by 0.18%, while Realty down by 1.26%, Metal down by 1.20%, Bankex down by 1.19%, Capital Goods down by 1.18% and Auto down by 1.16% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 6.23%, Lupin up by 2.54%, Asian Paints up by 1.91%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 0.81% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.51%.

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.28%, Axis Bank down by 2.68%, Tata Motors down by 2.21%, BHEL down by 2.13% and SBI down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, overseas investments or outward foreign direct investments by Indian firms in the month of December fell to $1.15 billion from $2.61 billion in the same month last fiscal, according to the RBI data. The overseas investments in the month of November 2015 stood at $2 billion. Direct investments by Indian firms overseas more than halved from a year ago in December.

The total outward foreign direct investment of $1.15 billion was in the form of equity, loan and issue of guarantee. Of the total investment equity, loan and issue of guarantee stood at $261.76 million, $219.96 million and $663.56 million respectively in the month of December 2015 as compared to $223.12 million, $210.84 million and $2177.59 million respectively during December 2014.

Major overseas investors during the month were Emcure Pharmaceuticals with a combined investment of $102.45 million in Canadian and Nigerian wholly owned units (WOS) for manufacturing, GAIL India in US for agriculture and mining with investment of $114 million in a WOS, Essar Steel India in UAE based WOS with investment of $58.92 million for manufacturing. Other investors include Hasham Traders PI International Holdings in the US-based wholly-owned subsidiary with an investment of $55.6 million in services.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7559.00, down by 3.40 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 7443.80 and 7604.80. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 6.10%, Lupin up by 2.64%, Asian Paints up by 1.86%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.79% and BPCL up by 1.57%.

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.24%, Axis Bank down by 2.94%, Tata Motors down by 2.41%, Hindalco down by 2.35% and BHEL down by 2.33% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 474.68 points or 2.68% to 17,240.95, Hang Seng decreased 117.47 points or 0.59% to 19,817.41, Taiwan Weighted decreased 81.73 points or 1.04% to 7,742.88, KOSPI Index decreased 16.27 points or 0.85% to 1,900.01, Jakarta Composite decreased 13.79 points or 0.3% to 4,523.39 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 5.48 points or 0.33% to 1,637.06.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite increased 58.05 points or 1.97% to 3,007.65.

The European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 78.28 points or 1.31% to 5,882.69, Germany’s DAX decreased 145.21 points or 1.46% to 9,815.75 and France’s CAC decreased 65.73 points or 1.5% to 4,326.21.