Sensex, Nifty remain volatile; Metals lose shine

Key equity benchmarks remained volatile in late afternoon deals, impacted by weak cues from European markets along with losses led by Metal, IT and TECK stocks. Market participants got cautious after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) favoured bolstering the level of capitalisation of some banks, particularly government-owned banks, noting that the level of non-performing loans in India remains high. The street also remained worried with Federation of Indian Export Organisations’ (FIEO) statement that rising protectionism, fluctuation in commodity prices and inadequate availability of liquidity are the three major challenges, which exporters will face in the coming months. On the sectoral front, stocks related to the telecom sectors remained in focus, as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) set up a committee that will look into contentious issues arising out of telecom companies that are going through the insolvency process.

On the global front, European markets were treading in red, after the UK economy expanded for the second straight month, but at a slower pace, in February. The figures from the Office For National Statistics showed that gross domestic product, or GDP, grew 0.2 percent month-on-month in February, while the economy expanded 0.5 percent in January. Asian markets were also trading in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38569.84, down by 15.51 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 38460.25 and 38649.42. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.04%, while Small cap index was down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.81%, Oil & Gas up by 0.79%, Consumer Durables up by 0.76%, FMCG up by 0.64% and Energy up by 0.54%, while Metal down by 1.29%, IT down by 1.09%, TECK down by 0.84%, Basic Materials down by 0.47% and Bankex down by 0.31% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.87%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.57%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.19%, SBI up by 1.09% and ITC up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 3.80%, Infosys down by 1.49%, Axis Bank down by 1.35%, Sun Pharma down by 1.35% and Tata Steel down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to deal with insolvency issues faced by telecom companies, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has formed a six-member committee.

The six-member committee will look into three key issues -- first, the position of the DoT in terms of auction rules and licence conditions in cases where telcos file for insolvency; second, the legal position vis-a-vis licensed resources and as a creditor in terms of recovery of dues; and third, the precautions and actions available for DoT to safeguard the value of public resources such as spectrum from getting locked in unproductively or being disposed at sub optimal price consequent to the resolution process.

The move comes close on the heels of various cases, including that of Aircel and Reliance Communications (RCom) which are undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11585.15, up by 0.85 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 11550.55 and 11604.20. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 1.67%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.66%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.62%, GAIL India up by 1.54% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 3.90%, Tata Steel down by 1.49%, Sun Pharma down by 1.43%, Infosys down by 1.39% and Power Grid down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng lost 280.11 points or 0.93% to 29,839.45, Taiwan Weighted dropped 59.37 points or 0.55% to 10,808.77, Jakarta Composite fell 49.53 points or 0.76% to 6,428.80 and Shanghai Composite was down by 35.47 points or 1.09% to 3,206.46. On the flip side, KOSPI rose 0.05 points or 0% to 2,224.44, Straits Times advanced 2.86 points or 0.09% to 3,330.51 and Nikkei 225 was up by 23.81 points or 0.11% to 21,711.38.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 fell 3.08 points or 0.04% to 7,418.83 and Germany’s DAX was down by 32.90 points or 0.28% to 11,873.01. On the flip side, France’s CAC was up by 16.48 points or 0.30% to 5,466.36.