Indian equities continue to trade in red

Indian equities continued their weak trade in the late afternoon session on back of selling in frontline counters. The uproar in Parliament over Walmart lobbying report, to some extent was weighing on investor’s sentiment. However the sentiments on the street were spoiled after latest data showed that India’s merchandise exports declined in November 2012 over November 2011. Traders were seen piling some position in FMCG sectors while selling was witnessed in Realty, Power and Oil & Gas sectors. UP based sugar companies like Balrampur Chini, Bajaj Hindusthan and Shree Renuka Sugars were trading in red as the increase in the state administered price of sugarcane by the Uttar Pradesh government will wipe out the benefits of the recent increase in sugar prices. In the scrip specific development, NMDC was trading in green ahead of its share sale which is schedule on Wednesday. Kingfisher Airline is locked at the upper circuit limit on reports that Abu Dhabi’s carrier Etihad Airways is set to buy a 48% stake in the Indian airline company.

On the global front, majority of Asian markets were trading in green barring Shanghai Composite and Nikkei 225, while the European markets were showing mixed show. In Europe, a two-day European Union (EU) summit is scheduled in Brussels on December 13-14, 2012 to examine a detailed plan for completing a banking union and strengthening euro zone fiscal policy aimed at resolving euro zone fiscal crisis. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said that he would step down after next year’s budget is approved. Separately, the euro zone investor confidence improved in December. The Sentix Index rose to -16.8 in December from -18.8 in November. This is its fourth increase in a row. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 5,900 and 19,400 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1007:1760 while 141 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19381.93, down by 27.76 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 19612.18 and 19323.20. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.

The broader indices too were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.33% and Small cap index has lost 1.00%.

The sole gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.84%, while Realty down by 2.51%, Power down by 1.24%, Oil & Gas down by 0.98%, PSU down by 0.96% and Consumer Durables down by 0.66% were the top losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.28%, Sun Pharma up by 1.81%, Jindal Steel up by 1.63%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.47% and HDFC was up by 1.07%.

On the flip side, Hindalco Industries down by 3.01%, BHEL down by 2.69%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.40%, NPTC down by 1.40%, and ONGC down by 1.37% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, a gloomy economic growth outlook, high interest rates along with rising ownership costs are taking a toll on Auto industry, as Car sales in India has slumped to 8.25 percent in November. Sales which grew at their fastest pace in 22 months in October, during the annual festive season that began in September and peaked in November, only to leave them highly disappointed for the succeeding months.

According to November sales data of automobiles released by SIAM, total sales of vehicles across categories registered growth of 1.79 per cent at 15.16 lakh units as against 14.89 lakh units in the same month last year. The overall growth in domestic sales during April-November 2012 was 4.80 percent over the same period last year.

Total passenger vehicles sales grew by only 3.86 percent in November 2012 over same month last year, while for cumulative period of April-November 2012, it grew at 9.62 percent over same period last year. In the passenger car segment, sales fell by 8.25 per cent to 1.58 lakh units last month from 1.72 lakh units in the same month last year. Passenger cars, which include sedans and hatchbacks, grew by a mere 1.28 per cent as compared to the same period last year, while vans grew by 1.04 per cent. Utility vehicles (including SUVs and MUVs), grew by a robust 61.69 per cent over last year. Nine of the 19 carmakers reported shrinking volumes and these included heavyweights like Hyundai, Tata Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors. Car sales grew just 1.3 percent in the April-November period from a year previously.

The overall Commercial Vehicles segment registered growth of 2.73 percent in April-November 2012 as compared to the same period last year. While Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) registered decline at (-16.34) percent, Light Commercial Vehicles grew at 16.98 percent. In November 2012 M&HCVs sales declined by (-33.22) percent over November 2011.

Further, three Wheelers sales grew by 4.84 percent in April-November 2012, while, two Wheelers sales registered a growth of only 4.05 percent during April-November 2012. Scooters, mopeds and motorcycles sales grew by 20.06 percent, 2.92 percent and 0.29 percent respectively over same period last year. In the month of November 2012 Scooters, Mopeds and Motorcycles grew by 6.64 percent, -2.15 percent and 0.05 percent respectively over same period last year.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,887.75, down by 21.15 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 5,965.15 and 5,874.75. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were HUL up by 1.91%, Ambuja Cement up by 1.86%, Sun Pharma up by 1.48%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.47% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.47%.

On the flip side, Hindalco Industries down by 3.13%, BHEL down by 3.08%, DLF down by 2.61%, Cairn India down by 2.11%, and ONGC down by 1.67% were the top losers on the Nifty.

Majority of the Asian indices were trading in the green; Hang Seng added 0.21%, Jakarta Composite rose 0.12%, KLSE Composite advanced 0.49%, Taiwan Weighted inched up by 0.06%, Seoul Composite rose 0.37% and Straits Times firmed up by 0.19%. On the other hand, Shanghai Composite declined by 0.44% and Nikkei 225 down by 0.09% were the losers in Asian pack.

The European markets were trading on a mixed note with, France’s CAC 40 added 0.13%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.15% while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.11%.