Benchmarks erase gains; trades in red

Indian equity benchmarks erased their gains and are trading in red in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters taking cues from sell-off in European markets. Sentiment remained weak and trading was volatile, even after the worst of the turmoil seen on Friday, when global stock markets suffered their biggest decline in nearly five years, have eased. Investors shrugged off report by Moody’s Investors Service which highlighted that relaxation of foreign investment rules by the union government is credit positive. The report added that the announcement is credit positive because it demonstrates a continuation of reform momentum and paves the way for private investment and a boost in productivity. Traders were seen piling position in Realty, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods stocks while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK and Auto sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Bajaj Finserv was trading in green after reports suggested that the company would likely buy out German based Allianz SE’s stake in its life insurance joint venture firms. Manpasand Beverages was trading in green after domestic brokerage firm initiated coverage on the stock with buy rating indicating an upside potential from current levels.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 8,100 and 26,400 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1730:726 while 148 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26334.04, down by 63.67 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 26289.73 and 26493.51. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.67%, while Small cap index up by 1.33%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.47%, Oil & Gas up by 1.16%, Capital Goods up by 1.05%, FMCG up by 0.93% and PSU up by 0.84% while, IT down by 2.09%, TECK down by 1.88%, Auto down by 0.35% and Power down by 0.08% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.63%, Sun Pharma up by 1.61%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.39%, ITC up by 1.16% and Lupin up by 0.95%.

On the flip side, TCS down by 2.87%, Infosys down by 2.80%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.51%, Asian Paints down by 1.51% and Coal India down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, now with  33 of  36 states/UTs implementing NFSA by April 1,2016 and providing subsidised food grains to 72.45 crore beneficiaries (approximately 14.8 crore households), the remaining states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Nagaland are expected to roll out National Food Security Act (NFSA)  by next month. Ram Vilas Paswan Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister has said that the NFSA will be implemented in the remaining states by July to bring the whole country under its ambit.

The minister said that the government is working for uplifting and empowering the weaker sections of the society especially women and is providing financial support to them to improve their living. He pointed that essential commodities like rice and wheat has been made available for them at cheaper rates and Wheat for Rs 2 per kg and rice Rs 3 per kg is being given to poor people.

The NFSA Act, 2013 also known as ‘Right to Food Act’ aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's 1.2 billion people. It converted into legal entitlements in 2013 for existing food security programmers and includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System and recognizes maternity entitlements.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8069.70, down by 18.90 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 8039.35 and 8120.65. There were 25 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.97%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.91%, BPCL up by 2.52%, SBI up by 2.44% and Hindalco up by 2.17%.

On the flip side, TCS down by 2.99%, Infosys down by 2.86%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.06%, IndusInd Bank down by 1.70% and Asian Paints down by 1.57% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI Index increased 1.61 points or 0.08% to 1,926.85, Jakarta Composite increased 5.47 points or 0.11% to 4,840.04, Shanghai Composite increased 41.42 points or 1.45% to 2,895.70 and Nikkei 225 increased 357.19 points or 2.39% to 15,309.21.

On the other hand, Hang Seng decreased 31.83 points or 0.16% to 20,227.30, Taiwan Weighted decreased 18.12 points or 0.21% to 8,458.87 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 5.67 points or 0.35% to 1,628.38.

The European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 67.21 points or 1.09% to 6,071.48, Germany’s DAX decreased 75.98 points or 0.8% to 9,481.18 and France’s CAC decreased 34.48 points or 0.84% to 4,072.25.