Benchmarks gyrate near neutral line in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks erased gains and are hovering near the neutral line in the late afternoon session on account of selling in front line blue chip counters taking cues from weak global counterparts. The sentiments remained under pressure after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services stated that India will face challenges in sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap as the expected revenues may not be fully realized and subsidy cuts may be delayed. Investors maintained a cautious approach ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy review scheduled for tomorrow. Traders were seen piling position in FMCG, Capital Goods and TECK stocks while selling was witnessed in Bankex, PSU and Power sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Ipca Laboratories was trading under pressure after it received warning letter from the US health regulator for three facilities on which the regulator had earlier imposed a import ban for not adhering to the good manufacturing norms. Airline shares like Jet Airways, SpiceJet and InterGlobe Aviation were trading in green following a sharp reduction in Aviation Turbine Fuel or jet fuel prices.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mixed while the European markets were trading mostly on optimistic 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 positive in the ratio of 1417:1151 while 135 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24866.72, down by 3.97 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 24816.12 and 25002.32. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.55%, while Small cap index up by 0.38%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.85%, Capital Goods up by 0.78%, TECK up by 0.78%, IT up by 0.72%, Metal up by 0.13% while, Bankex down by 1.01%, PSU down by 0.56%, Power down by 0.52%, Oil & Gas down by 0.25%, Realty down by 0.15% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone up by 3.64%, Cipla up by 2.77%, Asian Paints up by 2.20%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.65% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.55%.

On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 3.95%, SBI down by 3.28%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.94%, Axis Bank down by 2.44% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, terming infrastructure upgradation as a ‘major challenge’ for the policy makers, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that India needs about $1 trillion for the development of new roads, ports and airports over the next few years. Gadkari said that there is no dearth of funds to meet this 'major challenge' and the NDA government is set to transform India's infrastructure, however the bureaucratic hurdles delay the process.

Expressing confidence on removing bureaucratic hurdles in the way of road projects, Gadkari said that companies in the sector are victims of the government's indecisiveness and the need for multiple approvals. Besides, he said the government had several rounds of discussions with bankers and contractors to clarify issues relating to land acquisition and project approval.

Gadkari further stated that building of infrastructure will add 2 percent to the India's GDP growth. He further added that his ministry is working on a target of 30 km of new roads per day by March 31 besides working towards achieving an ambitious target of 100 km a day. In the upcoming Union Budget for 2016-17, the ministry expects additional Rs 15,000-20,000 crore over the current year's outlay of Rs 45,000 crore and is expecting an increased allocation for his ministry to speed up road construction.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7565.10, up by 1.55 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 7549.10 and 7600.45. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone up by 3.70%, Cipla up by 2.99%, Yes Bank up by 2.89%, ACC up by 2.73% and Ambuja Cement up by 2.23%.

On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 4.26%, SBI down by 3.45%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.16%, Axis Bank down by 2.53% and Bank of Baroda down by 2.39% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading on a mixed note; Taiwan Weighted increased 11.75 points or 0.14% to 8,156.96, KOSPI Index increased 12.76 points or 0.67% to 1,924.82 and Nikkei 225 increased 346.93 points or 1.98% to 17,865.23.

On the other hand, Hang Seng decreased 87.61 points or 0.45% to 19,595.50, Shanghai Composite decreased 48.75 points or 1.78% to 2,688.85 and Jakarta Composite decreased 42.58 points or 0.92% to 4,572.59.

Malaysia stock exchange was closed on account of ‘FT Day’ holiday.

The European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 10.09 points or 0.1% to 9,788.02, France’s CAC decreased 8.88 points or 0.2% to 4,408.14 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 2 points or 0.03% to 6,085.79.