Benchmarks continue lackadaisical trade below neutral line

Indian equities continued lackadaisical trade below neutral line in the late morning session. On the global front, most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red at this point of time as traders cashed in profits after a week of upbeat data out of China and rising hopes for the future of the euro-zone. Back home, traders were seen piling up position in, CD, HC and IT sector while selling was witnessed in Power, Oil & Gas and CG sector. Titan Industries, Rajesh Exports, Gitanjali Gems, Blue Star and Whirlpool of India from CD pack were seen trading in green. Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Mphasis and Financial Technologies (India) from IT pack were seen trading firm in green. Oil & Gas majors - Reliance Industries, ONGC, Gail India, Cairn India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation were capping the markets’ gains. Power majors NTPC, BHEL, Power Grid Corp, Tata Power, Reliance Infra, Siemens and Reliance Power too were pressurizing the markets.

Meanwhile, Sugar stocks such as Balrampur Chini Mills, Shree Renuka Sugars, EID-Parry (India), Triveni Engineering & Industries were edged lower after Union Government’s warning to mills to sell non-levy quota of October-November in time or face consequences.

In the scrip specific development, Talwalkars jumped on reporting 47% rise in Q2 consolidated net profit.  Ashok Leyland rose on bagging order to supply 35 buses to NBSTC. Strides Arcolab soared as its arm received USFDA nod for two Oncology products. Magma Fincorp gained on reporting 29% surge in Q2 consolidated profit.  Ambuja Cement surged on reporting 77% jump in Q3 net profit. Indiabulls Securities jumped on reporting decent Q2 numbers. Tata Communications rose on aiming 90% of voice business from contractual customers. Persistent Systems soared on reporting 38% rise in Q2 consolidated net profit. The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were managing to hold their psychological 5,650 and 18700 levels. The market breadth on BSE was positive, in the ratio of 1259:885.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18721.34 down by 70.59 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 18769.59 and 18706.82. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.18% and Small cap index was up by 0.43%.

On the BSE sectoral space, CD up by 1.17%, HC up by 0.07% and IT up by 0.05% were the top gainers. While, Power down by 0.55%, Oil & Gas down by 0.52%, CG down by 0.49%, Metal down by 0.44% and PSU down by 0.33%, were the top losers.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr Reddy’s Lab up by 1.19%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.87%, Wipro up by 0.69%, Infosys up by 0.50% and Tata Motors up by 0.30%. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel down by 1.32%, Jindal Steel down by 1.15%, Tata Power down by 1.12%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.08% and TCS down by 0.90% were the top losers on the Sensex.   

Meanwhile, supporting Indian industry’s long drawn concern about the excessive stringent monetary policy derailing Indian economic growth, the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has estimated the Indian economy to grow at a slower pace of 5.9 per cent during the current fiscal as compared to an expansion of 6.5 per cent in 2011-12, mainly on account of ‘severe’ monetary tightening by the country’s apex bank.

In its report, ESCAP pointed out that high inflation as well as high interest rates adversely impacted private consumption growth, industrial investments and business sentiment. The UN agency has also asked the sub-region to guard against the volatility that policies, such as the third round of quantitative easing in the US may bring in, include rising inflation as well as financial and exchange rate instabilities.

ESCAP is of the opinion that an enhanced sub-regional cooperation can reduce the wide development and infrastructure gaps in South and South-West Asia, stimulating growth that is more inclusive, sustainable and resilient to economic shocks and natural disasters. The report said that though the South and South-West Asian economies weathered the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 without any major disruption but the outlook for 2012 has been downgraded because of a general slowdown in economic activity. However, it added that ‘there are indications that the sub-region is turning the corner and is likely to do better in 2013 with the Indian economy projected to grow at 6.8% in 2013-14.’ 

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,698.05, down by 20.65 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 5,711.70 and 5,692.85. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Ambuja Cement up by 1.85%, IDFC up by 1.14% Dr. Reddy up by 0.79%, Bajaj-Auto up by 0.79% and Wipro was up by 0.71%. While, Bharti Airtel down by 1.45%, Tata Power down by 1.26%, M&M down by 1.25%, Reliance Infra  down by 1.06% and Jindal Steel down by 0.99% were the losers on the index

Asian equity indices were trading mostly in the red; Taiwan Weighted down by 0.65%, Kospi Composite was down by 0.91%, Shanghai Composite was down by 0.09%, Jakarta Composite down by 0.43%, Straits Times was down by 0.31% while Hang Seng was up by 0.24%, KLSE Composite was up by 0.20%, Nikkei 225 was up by 0.16% were the gainers.