Indian equities add gains; Nifty above 6,000 mark

Indian equities added gains to continue its firm trade above neutral line in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline counters and taking cues from European counterparts. Traders were seen piling some position in Auto, Realty and Health Care sectors while selling was witnessed in FMCG, CD and IT sectors. Auto stocks were trading firm amidst reports which highlighted that car sales is likely to post their weakest growth in nine years this financial year, compounding the country's gloomy economic outlook, as the automotive industry battles with high interest rates and slowing economic expansion. In the scrip specific movement, Tata Motors was trading firm touching 52-week high after foreign brokerage firm CLSA upgraded the stock to buy from outperform and Credit Suisse upped its rating to outperform, citing strong growth prospects for Jaguar Land Rover, driven by the new Range Rover and Chinese demand. Havells India, the electrical and power distribution equipment company touched a record high after foreign research firm Citi recommended a buy on the stock with a raised target price. GVK Power and Infrastructure surged after the foreign research firm JP Morgan upgraded the stock to overweight. Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company was trading in green on planning to raise funds via QIP. Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), a state-controlled power equipment manufacturer was trading under pressure as the foreign research firm JP Morgan put an underweight rating on the stock.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading in green while the European markets were too trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 6,000 and 19,700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1568:1253 while 130 scrips remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19,768.86, up by 26.34 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 19,824.06 and 19,722.55. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 declines on the index.

The broader indices were too trading in green; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap index were trading higher by 0.31% and 0.44% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Auto up by 1.37%, Realty up by 0.81%, Health Care up by 0.60%, Oil & Gas up by 0.57% and PSU up by 0.46% while, FMCG down by 0.88%, Consumer Durables (CD) down by 0.82%, Information Technology (IT) down by 0.45%, Metal down by 0.04% and Power down by 0.04% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 4.55%, Coal India up by 1.86%, Gail India up by 1.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.63% and SBI up by 1.48%.

On the flip side, BHEL down by 1.77%, TCS down by 1.72%, ITC down by 1.51%, Tata Steel was down by 1.35% and Bajaj Auto was down by 1.25%  were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, to reduce the mounting subsidy bill, the government should act quickly to raise diesel rates to bring them in line with global prices, said Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan. While addressing an event, Rangarajan said, ‘I think we need to cut subsidies’ proportion of GDP. Therefore, there is an imperative need to reduce the diesel subsidies.’

By adding further he said, it has become absolutely essential to adjust domestic prices in line with crude prices globally. Further, if the government accepts the recommendations of Vijay Kelkar Committee, diesel prices may have to be raised by Rs 10 a litre over the next one year. The committee, which was appointed by the finance ministry to devise the fiscal consolidation roadmap, had in its report recommended raising diesel and kerosene rates in a phased manner.

Scrambling to find ways to meet a record Rs 160,000 crore deficit expected this financial year on selling diesel, cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene below their production cost, the price hike is being considered. Further, of this, close to Rs 60,000 crore will come from upstream companies ONGC, OIL and GAIL India and for the rest, the oil ministry has asked the finance ministry to give cash subsidy.

Currently, state-owned oil companies sell diesel at a loss of Rs 9.28 per litre, and the hikes over the next 10 months will eliminate all of the losses and clear the government from providing any subsidy on the nation’s most consumed fuel. At present, diesel costs Rs 47.15 a litre in Delhi, was last revised on September 14 when it was hiked by a steep Rs 5.63 per litre.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,002.95, up by 1.25 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 6,020.10 and 5,989.10. There were 21 stocks advancing against 28 declines while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Motors up by 4.71%, Gail India up by 2.18%, Coal India up by 1.79%, SBI up by 1.71% and Bhari Airtel up by 1.70%.

On the flip side, TCS down by 1.91%, BHEL down by 1.80%, Ultra Tech Cement down by 1.74%, ITC down by 1.68% and Ambuja Cement down by 1.34% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Hang Seng increased 0.46%, KLSE Composite jumped 0.04%, Nikkei 225 surged 0.67%, Straits Times soared 0.26% and Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.22%.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite down 0.03%, Jakarta Composite slipped 0.92% and KOSPI Composite was down by 0.31%.

The European markets were trading in green with, France’s CAC 40 added 0.43%, Germany’s DAX ascended 0.36% while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 edged higher 0.46%.