Indian equities trim losses; Sensex holds 18,700 mark

Indian equities trimmed losses and continued their weak trade in red in the late afternoon session taking cues from European counterparts. The market started on negative note on back of a lower earnings forecast by IT major Infosys, but regained some lost ground as India's annual industrial output growth measured by index of industrial production (IIP) surprised the street, by registering growth of 2.7% at 165.7 for the month of August 2012 against the growth figure of 0.1% in the previous month. Traders were seen piling position in Consumer Durables, Metal and Health Care sector while selling was witnessed in IT, TECk and Auto sector. In the scrip specific development, Deccan Chronicle Holdings was locked in the upper circuit limit after its board approved the sale of Deccan Chargers franchise to Kamla Landmarc Real Estate Holdings. Kingfisher Airlines was locked in upper circuit limit on reports that the troubled airline company may be allowed more time beyond the 15 days it was given to reply to a notice from the civil aviation regulator.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading on a mixed note while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stated that the decision on extending the debt repayment schedule for Greece will be taken only after the troika assessment report but he reiterated that the euro area will not bear the burden of Greece’s debt. Also, the European Union may consider pushing back when lenders need to start phasing in tougher Basel bank-capital rules by as much as a year after warnings that pressing ahead with the original timetable may drive up costs. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 5,650 and 18,700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1410:1297 while 138 scrips remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,702.93 down by 101.82 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 18,844.35 and 18,677.10. There were 15 stocks advancing against 14 declines while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in the green; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap index were up by 0.49% and 0.55% respectively.

The top gainers on the BSE sectoral space were, Consumer Durables up by 1.55%, Metal up by 0.41%, Health Care up by 0.38%, Realty up by 0.27% and FMCG up by 0.15%. While IT down by 2.32%, TECk down by 1.83%, Auto down by 0.49%, Bankex down by 0.07% and Capital Goods down by 0.07% were the top losers on the sectoral space.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Gail India up by 1.36%, Sterlite Industries up by 0.93%, HDFC Bank up by 0.79%, Cipla up by 0.78% and TCS up by 0.65%. On the other hand, Infosys down by 5.09%, Wipro down by 1.71%, BHEL down by 1.65%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.65% and Sun Pharma down by 1.39% were top losers on the Sensex.  

Meanwhile, paving way to another major reform measure in the country, the centre announced that the final decision on new National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy will be taken by mid-November. The Supreme Court of India has urged the government not to trigger any hike in the price of drugs and suggested to continue availing medicines at reasonable prices, to assure common people’s interests.

The empowered group of ministers had recommended inclusion of 348 drugs in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and it would be sent with a cabinet note by October 15. The apex court proposed the centre to assure that the cap on drug prices would not affect normal hike on account of increase in cost of inputs like raw material, packaging, labour and other components.

The apex court also expressed concerns on the availability of essential drugs at reasonable price. The judges also chided the government for taking so long in increasing the number of important medicines under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and urged it to include more essential medicines within the reach of the common man.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,685.60, down by 22.45 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 5,725.00 and 5,659.35. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 declines on the index.

The major gainers of the Nifty were ACC up by 3.84%, Ambuja Cement up by 2.92%, JP Associates up by 2.58%, Lupin up by 2.30% and PNB up by 1.49%. While, Infosys down by 5.11%, BHEL down by 1.57%, Wipro down by 1.47%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.33% and HDFC down by 1.26% were major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading positive; Kospi Composite was up by 0.01%, Shanghai Composite was up by 0.10%, Hang Seng was up by 0.65%, Straits Times was up by 0.48% and Jakarta Composite up by 0.53%. While, Nikkei 225 was down by 0.15%, KLSE Composite was down by 0.19% and Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.20% were the losers.

The European markets were trading in red, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.23%, Germany’s DAX descended 0.32% and the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 declined 0.25%.