Benchmarks erase gains; trades in red

Indian equity benchmarks erased gains and are now trading in red hovering near the lowest point of the day in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip stocks taking cues from weak European counterparts. The rupee fell to 67.24 against the US dollar in early trade, snapping a six-day winning streak, added some selling pressure on the street. Traders were seen piling up position in Oil & Gas, Metal and FMCG stocks while selling was witnessed in Bankex, IT and TECK sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Just Dial was trading weak snapping its four day winning streak as traders exercised reverse arbitrage options on the counter. On the other hand, Strides Shasun was trading in green as its subsidiary is planning to acquire three brands from Moberg Pharma of Sweden. Eveready Industries was trading in green after the company announced it plans to foray into home appliances sector.

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 below the psychological 7,450 and 24,600 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1157:1350, while 138 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24520.62, down by 125.86 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 24511.95 and 24793.62. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.68%, while Small cap index down by 0.14%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.39%, Metal up by 0.96%, FMCG up by 0.16%, Realty up by 0.10% while, Bankex down by 1.82%, IT down by 1.38%, TECK down by 1.26%, Capital Goods down by 0.93%, Auto down by 0.46% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 2.07%, Lupin up by 1.96%, ITC up by 1.47%, Reliance Industries up by 1.27% and HDFC up by 1.04%.

On the flip side, SBI down by 3.34%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.93%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.52%, ICICI Bank down by 2.49% and BHEL down by 1.86% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing confidence, Urban Development Minister Venkiah Naidu has said that the Real Estate Bill will become a “reality” in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament itself. He has informed all domestic and global investors by saying “I am holding discussion with all stakeholders”. He said that the law would be a regulation and not strangulation.

Recently, the Congress wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naidu, asking them to have the bill passed in the first leg of Budget session of Parliament. The Real Estate Bill is pending in Parliament. The proposed real estate law is aimed at protecting the interest of the buyers and sellers.

In the year 2013, the Real Estate Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha. It was referred to the Standing Committee which submitted its report in February, 2014. After the NDA government was formed, the bill was again referred to a Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, which submitted its report on July 30 last year.  Earlier in December 2015 the Cabinet had cleared 20 amendments to the bill which seek to regulate transaction between buyers and promoters of residential real estate projects by establishing state-level regulatory authorities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7446.85, down by 38.50 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 7446.65 and 7527.15. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cairn India up by 6.91%, Hindalco up by 3.65%, Vedanta up by 2.12%, Lupin up by 2.03% and GAIL India up by 1.83%.

On the flip side, Bank of Baroda down by 4.84%, SBI down by 3.58%, HCL Tech down by 2.93%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.71% and ICICI Bank down by 2.68% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 148.14 points or 0.73% to 20,011.58, Nikkei 225 decreased 128.17 points or 0.76% to 16,783.15, Jakarta Composite decreased 50.88 points or 1.05% to 4,780.70, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 12.39 points or 0.73% to 1,685.54 and KOSPI Index decreased 11.75 points or 0.6% to 1,946.12.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite increased 4.05 points or 0.14% to 2,901.39 and Taiwan Weighted increased 4.76 points or 0.05% to 8,664.31.

The European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 63.23 points or 1.02% to 6,119.17, Germany’s DAX decreased 141.72 points or 1.45% to 9,637.21 and France’s CAC decreased 64.23 points or 1.45% to 4,378.06.