Benchmarks trim losses; trade continues in red

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed losses but continued their weak trade in the late afternoon session on account of profit-booking in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were under pressure from the early trade after exports dipped 5.66% in February to $20,738.60 million, against $21,983.43 million in February 2015, due to contraction in shipments of petroleum and engineering goods amid tepid global demand. Investors maintained a cautious approach awaiting the outcome of the two-day US Federal Reserve policy meet to provide guidance on the risk of US rate hikes this year. Traders were seen piling up position in IT, FMCG and TECK stocks while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Metal and Auto sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Cairn India was trading in red after a foreign brokerage firm downgraded the stock to hold from buy. On the other hand, Lux Industries was trading firm after the company stated that its board of directors will consider the stock-split proposal at a meeting on April 12.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green, while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 7,450 and 24,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 817:1582 while 144 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24423.93, down by 127.24 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 24354.55 and 24565.30. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.94%, while Small cap index down by 0.80%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.25%, FMCG up by 0.04%, TECK up by 0.00% while, Consumer Durables down by 3.79%, Metal down by 1.23%, Auto down by 1.21%, Realty down by 0.82%, Capital Goods down by 0.81% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 0.86%, ITC up by 0.71%, Lupin up by 0.49% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.04%.

On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.09%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.07%, Sun Pharma down by 1.65%, SBI down by 1.35% and GAIL India down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the disinvestment department is strategizing to aggressively market PSUs (Public Sector Undertaking) among investors in countries such as Japan and US, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a positive buzz about opportunities in India. This step has come after the good response from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the latest offers for sales in Concor and NTPC.

An action plan is being readied to increase engagement with select top investors of these countries in one-to-one as well as group interactions to showcase the opportunities in various sectors such as infrastructure, metals and oil & gas. After a lacklustre response from FPIs in most part of the current fiscal, investor’s participation increased in the latest government stake sales in Concor and NTPC. The effort would be to bring small stake sales in PSUs on a regular interval to maximize the opportunities subject to market conditions

For the current fiscal, the government has revised the disinvestment revenue target to Rs 25,300 crore as against Rs 69,500 crore set in Budget. Out of Rs 56,500 crore target set for next fiscal, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sales in PSUs and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore from strategic stake sales. Foreign participation in the government’s disinvestment programme would significantly increase after the Budget announcement on February 29, increasing the FPI limit in non-bank PSUs to 49% from 24%.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7426.95, down by 33.65 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 7405.15 and 7470.40. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 0.95%, Infosys up by 0.94%, ITC up by 0.84%, Grasim Industries up by 0.83% and Lupin up by 0.70%.

On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.59%, Vedanta down by 2.61%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.03%, Asian Paints down by 2.01% and PNB down by 1.98% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.9 points or 0.11% to 1,692.82, KOSPI Index increased 4.93 points or 0.25% to 1,974.90, Shanghai Composite increased 6.06 points or 0.21% to 2,870.43 and Taiwan Weighted increased 87.96 points or 1.02% to 8,699.14.

On the other hand, Nikkei 225 decreased 142.62 points or 0.83% to 16,974.45, Hang Seng decreased 31.07 points or 0.15% to 20,257.70 and Jakarta Composite decreased 8.75 points or 0.18% to 4,841.03.

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 25.04 points or 0.41% to 6,165.01, France’s CAC increased 23.79 points or 0.53% to 4,496.42 and Germany’s DAX increased 67.97 points or 0.68% to 10,001.82.