Lackluster trade continues in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade gyrating around the neutral line in red in the late afternoon session in absence of any upside triggers. Investors maintained cautious approach ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy review due tomorrow. However, the downside was capped after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed that India’s economy has become stronger and the government is trying to bridge the gaps wherever there are any, to keep up the growth momentum. Markets hope the government would increase its planned capital infusion in state banks after 14 of them posted a combined March-quarter net loss of $3.8 billion. Traders were seen piling position in Realty, Capital Goods and Bankex stocks while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, TECK and IT sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Biocon was trading firm after touching 52-week high after the biopharmaceutical company announced that its proposed generic version of Trastuzumab injection, used to treat breast cancer, has yielded positive results from phase 3 clinical trials. Excel Crop Care was trading in green after Sumitomo Chemical of Japan launched a Rs 416 crore open offer to acquire an additional 30 percent stake in the agrochemical company.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green while the European markets traded mostly on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,250 and 26,900 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1191:1309 while 131 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26832.07, down by 10.96 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 26795.34 and 26901.42. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.07%, while Small cap index up by 0.34%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.87%, Capital Goods up by 0.57%, Bankex up by 0.37%, Metal up by 0.28% and Power up by 0.20%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.11%, TECK down by 0.41%, IT down by 0.27% and Oil & Gas down by 0.22% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.62%, GAIL India up by 1.65%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.44%, Cipla up by 0.90% and ICICI Bank up by 0.64%.

On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.45%, Axis Bank down by 1.39%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.37%, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone down by 1.03% and Lupin down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has levied definitive anti-dumping duty of $ 0.277 - 0.404 per kilogram on import of Methyl Acetoacetate from the US and China for five years to protect domestic makers from cheap shipments.Methyl Acetoacetate is used in industries like pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and polymers, among others.

Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) after its investigation into the matter recommended in its final findings that the chemical has been exported to India from the two counties below normal values and the domestic industry has suffered material injury due to it. In order to remove injury to the domestic industry it stated that the material injury has been caused by the dumped imports of subject goods from the subject countries while recommending the levy on imports of the chemical.

The probe was initiated by DGAD in January last year to ascertain if the chemical was being dumped in the country. The probe followed a petition by Laxmi Organic Industries.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8216.25, down by 4.55 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 8204.90 and 8234.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 2.62%, Bank of Baroda up by 2.57%, Hindalco up by 1.99%, GAIL India up by 1.54% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.47%.

On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 1.92%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.81%, BPCL down by 1.72%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.45% and Aurobindo Pharma down by 1.42% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted increased 5.54 points or 0.06% to 8,597.11, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 13.69 points or 0.84% to 1,650.15, Jakarta Composite increased 28.31 points or 0.58% to 4,882.23 and Hang Seng increased 82.98 points or 0.4% to 21,030.22.

On the other hand, Nikkei 225 decreased 62.2 points or 0.37% to 16,580.03 and Shanghai Composite decreased 4.58 points or 0.16% to 2,934.10. Seoul Stock Exchange was closed on account of ‘Memorial Day’ holiday.

The European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 43.3 points or 0.7% to 6,252.93, Germany’s DAX increased 10.63 points or 0.11% to 10,113.89 and France’s CAC decreased 3.1 points or 0.07% to 4,418.68.