Markets trade flat with negative bias in range-bound session of trade

In an extremely range-bound trade session, Indian equity benchmarks altering between positive and negative territory, were now trading flat with bit of negative bias as inventors remained jittery about geo-political tension after India went ahead with surgical strike on terror base across LoC on Wednesday night. Sentiment on the street weakened further on report that unemployment rate in India has shot up to a five-year high of 5 percent in 2015-16, with the figure significantly higher at 8.7 percent for women as compared to 4.0 percent for men. Besides, weak trend in Asian markets also weighed on the sentiment. However, losses remained capped with the report that Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to invest 10% of its annual incremental deposits or an estimated Rs 13,000 crore in the current fiscal in equity exchange traded funds (ETFs). Also, GST Council chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be meeting on September 30 and will finalise the rules regarding registration, refunds and payment and also take a view on exemption of goods under the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 3413.37 crore on September 29, 2016.

On the global front, Asian markets edged lower on Friday as worries about the health of Deutsche Bank weighed on financial shares and as oil prices inched back from near-one month highs on scepticism over OPEC's new plan to curb output. Also weighing on the Nikkei, data showing Japan’s August consumer prices fell 0.5% compared with a year ago, down for the sixth straight month, defeating the Bank of Japan’s attempt to push up inflation and growth. The August core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food prices but includes energy, also fell 0.5% from a year earlier, the same pace as in July. Further, stocks of Chinese manufacturers were declined despite slightly improved indications of the sector’s prospects. Overnight, US stocks finished lower on Thursday as drug companies and banks absorbed large losses.

Back home, stocks from Realty, Oil & Gas and Power counters were supporting the markets, while those from Metal, Capital Goods and FMCG counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Alkem Laboratories has dipped after the company received 13 observations from the US drug regulator for its manufacturing facility at Daman. On the other hand, Lupin has gained after the company received final approval for its Memantine Hydrochloride Extended-Release Capsules, 7 mg, 14 mg, 21 mg, and 28 mg from US FDA to market a generic version of Allergan’s Namenda XR Capsules, 7 mg, 14 mg, 21 mg, and 28 mg.

The market breadth remained optimistic as there were 1639 shares on the gaining side against 676 shares on the losing side, while 153 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27796.90, down by 30.63 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 27716.78 and 27904.04. 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 1%, while Small cap index up by 1.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.96%, Oil & Gas up by 1.14%, Power up by 0.93%, PSU up by 0.77% and IT up by 0.64%, while Metal down by 0.26%, Capital Goods down by 0.11% and FMCG down by 0.05% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 2.67%, Wipro up by 1.32%, ONGC up by 1.23%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.15% and NTPC up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 5.31%, Coal India down by 2.40%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.33%, Adani Ports &Special down by 1.15% and HDFC down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, unemployment rate in India surged to a five-year high of 5 per cent in 2015-16. According to the fifth annual employment-unemployment survey at all-India level by Labour Bureau, about 77 per cent of the households were having no regular wage/salaried person.

While the unemployment rate was estimated to be 5 percent at all-India level under the UPS (Usual Principal Status) approach, the overall unemployment was significantly higher at 8.7 per cent for women and stood at 4.0 per cent for men. As per the report, in rural sector, unemployment rate was 5.1 per cent whereas in urban sector, the rate was 4.9 per cent. In urban areas, female unemployment rate was estimated to be 12.1 per cent at pan-India level compared to 3.3 per cent for males and 10.3 per cent for transgender. On other hand, in rural areas, female unemployment rate was estimated to be 7.8 per cent at pan-India level compared to 4.2 per cent for males and 2.1 per cent for transgender.

The survey which was conducted across all states and union territories during April 2015 to December 2015, collected a total sample of 1, 56,563 households, with 88,783 households in the rural sector and 67,780 in the urban sector.

Among the states and union territories Tripura topped the chart at 19.7 per cent, followed by Sikkim at 18.1 per cent, Lakshadweep at 16.1 per cent, Andaman & Nicobar islands at 12.7 per cent, Kerala at 12.5 per cent and Himachal Pradesh at 10.6 per cent. The report showed that about 24 percent households benefitted from employment generating schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) and Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) etc. Only three North Eastern States, namely Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram have more than 70 percent of the households benefited from MGNREGA.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8587.80, down by 3.45 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 8555.20 and 8617.65. There were 31 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.96%, GAIL India up by 2.79%, Grasim Industries up by 2.41%, Bank of Baroda up by 2.01% and ONGC up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 5.45%, Coal India down by 2.61%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.25%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.49% and HDFC down by 1.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 1.5%, Nikkei 225 dropped 1.48%, Taiwan Weighted decreased 1.12%, KOSPI Index shed 1.16%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.27% and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.1%. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 0.16%.