Benchmarks slip into negative terrain; Sensex below 19,400 mark

Indian equities pare gains to continue its weak trade below neutral line hovering near the lowest point of the day in the late afternoon session on back of selling in front line counters and taking cues from European counterparts. The sentiments on the street were in cautious mood ahead of the vote on Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail in Rajya Sabha. Fertilizers stocks like GSFC, RCF, National Fertilizer, Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals and Chambal Fertilizer were trading in red as Union Cabinet yesterday deferred decision on the New Investment Policy for urea. Traders were seen piling position in Consumer Durables and Auto sectors while selling was witnessed in Realty, IT and Metal sectors. In the scrip specific development, Maruti Suzuki India is trading firm after touching 52-week high on reports that the car major will raise prices of cars by up to Rs 20,000 from January 2013 to counter currency fluctuations. GMR Infrastructure slipped after a Singapore Supreme Court order that gave the control of Male international airport that GMR was developing, to the Maldives government. Infosys was trading under pressure after the foreign brokerage firm UBS reported that the software major’s dollar revenue growth outlook of 5% for the year ending March 2013 could be under threat. Hexaware Technologies was trading in red after the company s cut its fourth quarter and full year 2012 guidance citing changes to a project plan for a customer and impact on account of hurricane Sandy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading on a mixed note while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. The ECB President Mario Draghi continues to see downside risks to the economic outlook for the euro area. The European Central Bank slashed its economic forecasts for 2013, offering little hope to the euro zone’s weaker members as they struggle to emerge from the region's debt crisis. Besides, the euro area economy slipped into recession in the third quarter. The gross domestic product contracted 0.1% in the third quarter from a quarter ago, when it dropped 0.2% matching the preliminary estimate released on November 15. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 5,950 and 19,400 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1393:1400 while 133 scrips remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19,399.97, down by 86.83 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 19,561.87 - 19,398.97. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.  

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap was down by 0.12% and Small cap index indices was up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.72% and Auto up by 0.47%, while Realty down by 1.73%, IT down by 1.03%, Metal down by 0.93%, TECk down by 0.89% and Bankex down by 0.72% were the top losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.71%, M&M up by 1.06%, Tata Power up by 0.92%, BHEL up by 0.54%, and Bharti Airtel was up by 0.37%.

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.59%, Sterlite Industries down by 1.56%, Cipla down by 1.26%, TCS down by 1.06% and HUL down by 0.94% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, pressing for some specific measures to bridge the difference between expenditure and revenue, the Parliamentary Committee termed the government's approach to deal with worsening fiscal situation as 'lackadaisical.’ The report, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Dec 6, said the government's reply on steps being taken to contain fiscal deficit are illusive on specific details.

The Standing Committee on Finance, which is headed by senior BJP Leader Yashwant Sinha strongly, recommended that the government must take specific measures with reference to sectors/schemes to contain the deficit. The Committee also noted that the fiscal deficit in 2012-13 is likely to be 5.3%, as against 5.1% according to the Budget.

The Committee report also considered the views of the government on the possibility of rating of Ministries based on their overall performance with regard to timely utilization of budget funds. Report also advised the Finance Ministry to set up expert group to rationalize the existing demands of Ministries and departments according to the Central assistance schemes, block grants and state planned schemes.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,901.65, down by 29.25 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 5,949.85 - 5,901.60. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.92%, M&M up by 1.41%, Tata Power up by 1.01%, Coal India up by 0.81% and BHEL was up by 0.58%.

On the flip side, DLF down by 3.49%, Axis Bank down by 2.50%, HCL Tech down by 2.00%, Tata Steel down by 1.84% and Sesa Goa down by 1.80% were the top losers on the Nifty.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note, Shanghai Composite surged 1.60%, Straits Times advanced 0.95%, Seoul Composite shot higher by 0.40% and Taiwan Weighted added 0.25%. On the other hand, Hang Seng lost 0.26%, Jakarta Composite was down by 0.12%, KLSE Composite edged tad lower by 0.06% and Nikkei 225 was down by 0.19%.

The European markets were trading in red with, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.03%, Germany’s DAX descended 0.12% and the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.04%.