Markets slips back into red in late afternoon session

Indian benchmarks have once again slipped into negative territory in the late afternoon session, as investors’ opted profit taking in select blue chip counter. Weakness in Indian rupee too weighed on the sentiment. Weak opening in European counter further put pressure. European stocks were trading in red on Friday, as investors paused for breath after sharp gains in the previous session. Back home, losses remained capped with signs of the centre and states, moving towards rolling out GST from April 1, agreeing on a timetable for deciding on the tax rate and completion of legislative work. Trader were piling up position in Realty, Oil & Gas and Metal counter, while selling was being witnessed in FMCG , Power and Consumer Durables.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28741.50, down by 31.63 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 28714.93 and 28825.09. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.53%, while Small cap index was up by 0.52%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.02%, Oil & Gas up by 0.96%, Metal up by 0.54%, Capital Goods up by 0.34% and PSU up by 0.22%, while Bankex down by 0.71%, FMCG down by 0.59%, Power down by 0.13%, Consumer Durables down by 0.03% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.51%, Cipla up by 0.71%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 0.67%, TCS up by 0.62% and ONGC up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.47%, Lupin down by 2.32%, ITC down by 1.00%, ICICI Bank down by 0.94% and Tata Motors down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s diesel exports are expected to remain near a 3 year high in September, as monsoon rains reduced the need for fuel used in irrigation pumps. Reportedly, India will be exporting 2.85 million tonnes of diesel in September similar volumes compared with August. According to government data, Augusts’ volume was the highest since September 2013, when India shipped out 3.37 million tonnes. As per Indian-refiner, diesel demand has not been that good during this monsoon season and has generally been flattish.

Reflecting the trend state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) exported diesel for the first time in more than five years and the ramp-up of a new refinery could also temporarily keep exports high after the monsoon draws to a close this month.  IOC exported its first low-sulphur diesel cargo in more than five years in August and followed up by offering a second cargo. While the first cargo was sold at a deep discount due to a low flash point making it more difficult to blend, any additional spot cargo will weaken an already oversupplied diesel market in Asia.

The increase in shipments from the world's No. 3 oil consumer has driven the profit margin for refining diesel in Asia to a seasonal six-year low. Refineries in India are also running at near maximum capacity due to healthy refining margins driven by low feedstock prices. The refinery is expected to boost IOC`s diesel output by 200,000 tonnes next month, which will reduce its offtake of the fuel from private refiners by a similar amount. This in turn could drive up exports from private refiners like Essar Oil and Reliance Industries.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8857.00, down by 10.45 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 8847.40 and 8885.20. There were 24 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech. up by 1.41%, Reliance Industries up by 1.36%, BPCL up by 1.04%, Cipla up by 0.77% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.73%, Lupin down by 2.40%, ACC down by 1.77%, Ambuja Cement down by 1.22% and ICICI Bank down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 73.32 points or 0.31% to 23,686.48, Nikkei 225 dropped 53.6 points or 0.32% to 16,754.02, Jakarta Composite declined 18.99 points or 0.35% to 5,361.27, Shanghai Composite was down by 8.42 points or 0.28% to 3,033.90, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 2 points or 0.12% to 1,667.66. On other hand, KOSPI Index increased 4.37 points or 0.21% to 2,054.07 and Taiwan Weighted surged 49.36 points or 0.53% to 9,284.62.

European markets were trading in red; France’s CAC decreased 30.13 points or 0.67% to 4,479.69, UK’s FTSE 100 declined 26.16 points or 0.38% to 6,885.24 and Germany’s DAX dropped 25.57 points or 0.24% to 10,648.61