Benchmarks continue lackadaisical trade below neutral line

The benchmarks started trading on a marginally lower note and were witnessed a choppy session with a negative bias in absence of fresh buying interest, as investors await cues from the US Federal Reserve on bond purchase program. Investors around the world may be waiting for the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting which concludes today. Nothing much is really expected though besides some clues about when the central bank could lower its bond purchases.

Sentiments got dampened on sustained selling by funds in the absence of any positive factor amid a weak trend in the Asian region. On the global front, Global cues remained mixed with US stocks extending gains overnight on expectations that the Fed would tone down its stance which suggested that it would reduce its monetary stimulus measures sooner-than-expected. Though, Asian markets were trading mostly in the red at this point of time.

Back home, the traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Realty and Health Care while selling was seen in PSU, IT and Oil & Gas sector. In scrip specific developments, Telecom companies are seen gaining after the recently announced roaming guidelines. Aviation stocks such as Jet Air India, Spicejet and Global Vectra edged higher on reports that a government panel has recommended allowing complete foreign ownership of aviation companies.

In scrip specific actions, GSPC surged after the company hiked CNG prices by Rs 2 per kg, and of piped cooking gas by Rs 4 per standard cubic metre for first 30 SCM, citing non-allocation of cheaper natural gas from the Centre. IDFC soared after the infrastructure financing company said the board had approved a proposal to seek licence from the Reserve Bank of India for setting up a bank.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading just below their psychological 5,800 and 19,200 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was showing positive trend with advances to declines in ratio of 933:705. The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19140.50, down by 82.78 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 19234.48 and 19100.13. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 declines on the index. The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.49% and Small cap index was up by 0.37%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Metal up by 0.56%, Realty up by 0.51%, Health Care up by 0.20% while PSU down by 0.70%, IT down by 0.58%, Oil & Gas down by 0.54%, Auto down by 0.46% and Bankex down by 0.37% were the top losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Jindal Steel up by 3.52%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.39%, Gail India up by 1.17%, Sterlite Industries up by 1.02% and BHEL up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Coal India was down by 1.68%, NTPC was down by 1.56%, Tata Motors was down by 1.38%, ONGC was down by 1.20% and TCS was down by 1.08% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, considering an easier access to credit is paramount to growth of any small business, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry is in the process of holding consultations with various banks, both in private and public sector to persuade them for improving flow of credit to MSME sector.

Minister of State for MSME sector K H Muniyappa said that the major factors affecting growth of the sector include marketing problems, shortage of raw-material, working capital, lack of demand, power crunch and labour issues. Therefore, there is a need to make these units more competitive by enhancing the availability of institutional credit, providing adequate infrastructure, meeting demands for skill development and strengthening marketing support. 

The sector contributes around 8% of the country's GDP, 45% of the manufactured output and provides employment to over 8 crore people engaged in over 3.6 crore units, producing more than 6,000 products. 

Meanwhile, the government has been taking steps to boost the sector’s growth. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Budget allocation for the sector has been more than doubled to Rs 24,000 crore from Rs 11,000 crore in the last five plan period. Further, it has also set up a six-member inter-ministerial panel, which will suggest measures to boost the MSME exports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,791.50 down by 22.10 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 5,809.25 and 5,777.90. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Jindal Steel up by 3.48%, IDFC up by 1.75%, Lupin up by 1.47%, Sesa Goa up by 1.41% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.39%. On the flip side, UltraTech Cement down by 2.23%, Coal India down by 1.83%, Tata Motors down by 1.65%, NTPC down by 1.43% and ONGC down by 1.06% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in red; Shanghai Composite declined 28.65 points or 1.33% to 2,130.65, Hang Seng dropped 283.62 points or 1.34% to 20,942.26, Jakarta Composite slipped 13.32points or 0.28% to 4,827.13, Straits Times contracted 10.24 points or 0.32% to 3,219.31 and KOSPI Composite was down by 15.30 points or 0.81% to 1,885.32.

On the flip side, KLSE Composite rose 1.55 points or 0.09% to 1,775.60, Nikkei 225 surged 152.83 points or 1.17% to 13,158.53 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 8.81 points or 0.11% to 8,019.83.