Choppiness continues on Dalal Street in noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade choppy in noon deals in the absence of directional cues. Traders remained concerned with government’s statement that implementation of new pay scales recommended by the 7th Pay Commission is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, or 0.7 percent of GDP, on the exchequer in 2016-17. On the global front, all the Asian equity indices were trading in red terrain at this point of time, following a nearly 1 per cent or more decline in US equities overnight, while the yen saw fresh strength against the dollar.

Back home, sentiments remained dampened after ICICI Bank posted a steep fall in its net profit for the quarter that ended in March 2016 at Rs 702 crore. The lender reported an over 70% fall in its net profit on a year on year basis. It had posted a net profit of Rs 3,018.13 crore in the December quarter. The broader indices were trading in red, while the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 1041 shares on the gaining side against 1,134 shares on the losing side while 172 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25583.54, down by 19.56 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 25529.59 and 25755.43. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.05%, while Small cap index down by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.67%, Oil & Gas up by 0.27%, Basic Materials up by 0.13%, Bankex up by 0.08% and PSU up by 0.03%, while Telecom down by 1.80%, Auto down by 0.46%, Consumer Durables down by 0.42%, TECK down by 0.40% and Capital Goods down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Lupin up by 1.89%, Axis Bank up by 1.38%, Cipla up by 1.32%, Sun Pharma up by 0.74% and Coal India up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.38%, GAIL India down by 1.28%, SBI down by 1.14% and Reliance Industries down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in its report has asked NITI Aayog to complete mid-term review of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) on war footing for implementing their suggestions and initiatives in the last year of the Plan period. Expressing its concern, the committee pointed out that “with less than one year of the Plan period left, how the suggestions of the NITI would be effectively implemented in such a short duration of the remaining period of 12th Plan. The NITI should have been proactive in the matter and completed the job much earlier.”

The panel further said that even though the 12th Plan is in its last year of operation, this vital exercise has not yet been completed and the NITI has prepared only a draft Appraisal Document. Noting that 12th Plan is going to be over in less than a year, the panel said that they are not at all clear about the status of planning process in future.

In February 2015, it was decided that NITI would undertake Mid Term Appraisal of the 12th Five year Plan with a view to incorporating the shared vision of national development and important initiatives of Central Government so that they may be implemented in the last two years of the Plan.

In the separate development, the panel said that no study on utilisation of 10 per cent FlexiFund component within the CSS has been conducted by them to assess the benefits accruing to the States and has asked NITI to assess the implementation and impact of these schemes on a priority basis. It added that in this endeavor, more emphasis should be given on monitoring the outcomes of these schemes rather than the expenditure.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7843.20, down by 4.05 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 7821.80 and 7889.05. There were 26 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Lupin up by 1.98%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.80%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.65%, Axis Bank up by 1.48% and BPCL up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 5.30%, HCL Tech down by 5.12%, Hindalco down by 2.53%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.07% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.51% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng declined 270.02 points or 1.26% to 21,118.01, Taiwan Weighted fell 95.97 points or 1.13% to 8,377.90, Jakarta Composite slipped 17.83 points or 0.37% to 4,830.56, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 7.2 points or 0.43% to 1,667.56, KOSPI Index shed 6.78 points or 0.34% to 1,994.15 and Shanghai Composite was down by 5.19 points or 0.18% to 2,940.39.