Benchmarks continue volatile trade; FMCG, Consumer Durables drag

Indian equities continued volatile trade in the late morning session in absence of any positive upside triggers. Market remains in cautious mood despite statement from Finance Minister P Chidambaram wherein he has expressed hopes that opposition would cooperate in getting five key economic reforms bills passed in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. While, most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the green at this point of time as investors remain encouraged with advancement in Japanese Exporters after yen fell to an eight months low. Back home, the traders were seen piling up position in Auto, Realty and Bankex, while selling was seen in FMCG, CD and CG sector. In the scrip specific development, Hindustan Unilever was trading under pressure on concerns that it may face higher royalty payments to its parent Unilever PLC. NMDC edged higher after the government mopped up Rs 6,000 crore by selling 10 percent stake in the iron ore major. Tata Motors zoomed as its wholly-owned subsidiary - Jaguar Land Rover stated that its total vehicle sales rose 14% to 29,893 units in November 2012 over November 2011. Honeywell Automation India was trading in green after the company stated that its promoter will sell 6.24% stake in the company via stock exchanges on Friday, 14 December 2012. The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were managing to hold their psychological 5,850 and 19300 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive, in the ratio of 1153:942.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19344.94 up by 10.32 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 19421.72 and 19335.00. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.38% and Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Auto up by 1.37%, Realty up by 0.72%, Bankex up by 0.50%, Health Care up by 0.42% and Oil & Gas up by 0.17%. On the other hand, FMCG down by 1.79%, CD down by 0.48 and CG down by 0.22% were the few losers on the Sensex.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.60%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.31%, ICICI Bank up by 0.89%, Wipro up by 0.77% and SBI up by 0.69%.

On the flip side, ITC was down by 1.16%, Hindustan Unilever was down by 1.16%, L&T was down by 0.61%, ONGC was down by 0.52% and Hindalco Industries was down by 0.51% were  the top losers on the Sensex.

 Meanwhile, during 2011-12, the exports of the Indian pharmaceuticals have achieved a record growth of 23.34% in US dollar terms.  According to the Director General of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) P V Appaji, “the exports growth story is one to be proud of”. The total exports, since last five years, have grown by 16% CAGR.

In the last fiscal, North America stood as the most favourable export destination with a 33 percent growth. According to Pharmexcil, pharma shipments to Oceania too have shown a rise of 43%, however, the overall turnover is small, as Australia and New Zealand are not yet fully tapped and higher growth rates can be expected in near future.

In an endeavor to encourage the $22 billion Indian pharma sector, Pharmexcil will be organizing a three-day show 'iPHEX 2013' in Mumbai in 2013 under the support of Ministry of Commerce & Industry. According to the IPHEX Committee Chief - Bhavin Mehta, more than 400 Indian pharmaceuticals firms are expected to showcase their products, which include formulations, APIs, nutraceuticals, health services and biotechnology products.

This show will provide a platform to the international buyers and regulators to evaluate the world’s third largest (in terms of volume) Indian pharma industry and will enable the council and its members to promote brand India - the quality and affordability aspect of Indian pharmaceutical sector.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,888.55 up by 0.55 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 5,907.45 and 5,884.45. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.67%, Siemens up by 1.83%, Lupin up by 1.48%, Bajaj-Auto up by 1.37% and HCL Tech up by 1.24%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.78%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.16%, Grasim down by 0.78%, ONGC down by 0.65% and Hindalco down by 0.63%, were the top losers on the index.

Asian markets trade mostly in green; KLSE Composite was up by 0.66 points or 0.04% to 1,650.41, Nikkei 225 surged by 175.75 points or 1.83% to 9,757.05, Straits Times was up by 12.16 points or 0.41% to 3,154.26, Seoul Composite was up by 14.07 points or 0.71% to 1,990.19 and Taiwan Weighted was trading up by 55.83 points or 0.73% to 7,745.07.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite was down by 14.19 points or 0.68% to 2,068.54 and Jakarta Composite was down by 29.04 points or 0.67% to 4,308.49, Hang Seng down by 2.84 points or 0.01% to 22,501.00.