Benchmarks trade marginally lower in early noon session

Indian bourses were trading marginally lower in early noon session as selling appeared in Realty, Telecom, IT and TECK stocks. Market participants were eyeing on Infosys, which is scheduled to declare its quarterly numbers today for the period ended December 2018. Sentiments were under pressure with a private report penning the eleven state-owned banks will have to wait for about a month before knowing which of them will have lending curbs eased after a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel reviews their December quarter results. The government has been pressuring the central bank to ease the curbs on at least some of the banks in an attempt to boost lending and the economy ahead of a general election due to be held by May. Meanwhile, a private report which stated that the government will miss fiscal targets for a second year in a row as it gives into populist pressures before a high-stakes election. Besides, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 344.58 crore Thursday, too put presser on the markets. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, as the Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the Federal Reserve will be patient about raising interest rates. Back on streets, on scrip specific development, TCS stocks slipped on the BSE despite the company’s consolidated income raised by 24.10% as its net profit of Rs 8,105.00 crore for the quarter as compared to Rs 6,531.00 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company also increased by 21.17% at Rs 38,501.00 crore for Q3FY19 as compared Rs 31,774.00 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36047.60, down by 58.90 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 36037.22 and 36214.26. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.24%, while Small cap index was down by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.87%, FMCG up by 0.52%, Basic Materials up by 0.36%, Oil & Gas up by 0.25% and Healthcare was up by 0.03%, while Realty down by 1.35%, Telecom down by 1.00%, IT down by 0.91%, TECK down by 0.88% and Capital Goods was down by 0.82% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.59%, ONGC up by 1.29%, Vedanta up by 1.10%, NTPC up by 0.64% and Sun Pharma was up by 0.63%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.14%, TCS down by 2.13%, Tata Motors down by 1.62%, Indusind Bank down by 1.36% and Bharti Airtel was down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that toll collections may register a double-digit growth in the financial year 2019-20, due to the strong growth in sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) and the increase in Wholesale Price Index (WPI). It also said that a high growth in automotive sales would subsequently lead to growth in traffic volumes.

According to the report, commercial vehicles (CV) account for around 65-70 per cent of the total vehicular movement on most of the country’s national highways while passenger vehicles account for the remaining 30-35 per cent. It also pointed out that the latest CV sales trend is encouraging with the M&HCV cargo segment seeing a robust growth of 38 percent during April-November period of 2018-19. Further, it said that the average increase in WPI (toll rates are linked to WPI) is expected to be around 4 per cent for 2018-19.

ICRA, in its latest study on performance of toll road projects, analysed 48 projects with a median operational track record of six years. Based on the study, it observed that traffic volumes started decelerating in 2012-13 due to prolonged slowdown in economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10805.70, down by 15.90 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 10801.20 and 10850.15. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 1.73%, Hindalco up by 1.67%, ONGC up by 1.47%, UPL up by 1.43% and JSW Steel was up by 1.43%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.18%, Tata Motors down by 1.53%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.51%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.30% and Indusind Bank was down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Hang Seng increased 93.75 points or 0.35% to 26,615.18, Jakarta Composite soared 12.32 points or 0.19% to 6,341.03, Straits Times advanced 17.58 points or 0.55% to 3,201.09, Shanghai Composite gained 10.68 points or 0.42% to 2,545.78, KOSPI rose 11.52 points or 0.56% to 2,074.80, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 38.71 points or 0.4% to 9,759.40 and Nikkei 225 was up by 195.90 points or 0.97% to 20,359.70.