Benchmarks continue weak trade in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks extended their losses hovering near the lowest point of the day in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were on pessimistic note from early trade with many traders remaining on sidelines ahead of several central bank decisions this week. Traders were seen selling in Power, Metal and Oil & Gas sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services was trading firm after the company reported a 12% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 411.33 crore for quarter ended March 31. Bharti Airtel was trading in green after the telecom operator announced that it will decide on final dividend for FY16 or buyback of equity shares at its board meeting on April 27. Sakthi Sugars was trading in green after the company announced loan portfolio restructuring, post which their debt will reduce by Rs 60-70 crore and the net worth of the company will increase by Rs 150-160 crore.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red while the European markets traded on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 7,850 and 25,700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 957:1520 while 138 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25642.77, down by 195.37 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 25605.34 and 25891.03. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.27%, while Small cap index down by 0.40%.

The losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Power down by 1.72%, Metal down by 1.31%, Oil & Gas down by 1.01%, PSU down by 0.93%, FMCG down by 0.92%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.67%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.99%, TCS up by 0.82%, Coal India up by 0.52% and Adani Ports & Special up by 0.48%.

On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.21%, Reliance Industries down by 2.31%, GAIL India down by 2.18%, BHEL down by 2.11% and Tata Steel down by 1.99% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a day after government rolled back its decision to tighten PF withdrawal norms restricting subscribers to withdraw employer’s share of PF contributions before the age of 58 years, the Retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its meeting held on April 21, has planned to launch ‘One Employee One EPF Account’ system on May 1, in order to discourage premature PF withdrawals and encourage state governments to join its pension system.

Emphasizing the need for effective communication with employees and employers, EPFO’s Central Provident Fund Commissioner V P Joy stated that frequent withdrawals by employees on each job change, which is also encouraged by employers, need to be addressed by good service and simple interface.  He is of the view that employers and employees must be able to view and access the money trail pertaining to their individual profiles.

Joy stated that if the EPFO services and schemes are made more employee friendly, then a reference can be made to state governments for joining the EPF pension systems. He stated that once EPF services are improved then more people will voluntarily join the EPF system.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7842.00, down by 57.30 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 7829.75 and 7911.00. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 1.67%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.93%, TCS up by 0.91%, BPCL up by 0.71% and Grasim Industries up by 0.68%.

On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.56%, NTPC down by 3.45%, Reliance Industries down by 2.35%, GAIL India down by 2.30% and BHEL down by 2.20% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 162.6 points or 0.76% to 21,304.44, Nikkei 225 decreased 133.19 points or 0.76% to 17,439.30, Jakarta Composite decreased 46.27 points or 0.94% to 4,868.47, Shanghai Composite decreased 12.57 points or 0.42% to 2,946.67, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 8.09 points or 0.47% to 1,709.87 and KOSPI Index decreased 0.94 points or 0.05% to 2,014.55.

On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted increased 24.53 points or 0.29% to 8,560.28.

The European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 38.69 points or 0.61% to 6,271.75, Germany’s DAX decreased 112.12 points or 1.08% to 10,261.37 and France’s CAC decreased 39.89 points or 0.87% to 4,529.77.