Benchmarks prune significant portion of losses as bargain hunters step in

Indian equity markets have pruned significant portion of their losses tracking the appreciation of Indian currency against dollar, nevertheless, downtrend prevailed on account of subdued regional counterparts. Benchmark indexes, Sensex and Nifty were trading with loss of over quarter a percent, though above 19100 and 5800 psychological levels respectively. Benchmark equity indices also managed to recoup part of their losses as bargain hunters were drawn towards select blue chip stocks, which were available at attractive valuations. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower on Wednesday as investors were cautious ahead of the conclusion of a Federal Reserve policy meeting for clues on bond purchases. However, Japanese stocks outperformed other Asian stocks as Japanese exporters rallied after the nation's shipments increased and the yen weakened ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve meeting.

Closer home, much of the support was rendered from stocks belonging to Metal, Consumer Durable and Health Care counters, while those from PSU, Auto and Information Technology remained the top laggards.  Reports which suggested of India’s business sentiments dipping to three months low level also weighed in early deals. Nevertheless, support which emerged at lower levels once bargain hunters stepped, minimized the damage at D-street to some extent. The overall market breadth on BSE is in favour of advances which have outnumbered declines in the ratio of 1036: 851; while 140 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19179.45, down by 43.83 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 19234.48 and 19100.13. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 declines on the index.

The broader indices magnified their gains; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indexes were trading up by 0.61% and 0.41% respectively.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Metal up by 1.28%, Consumer Durables up 1.10% Realty up by 0.70%, HealthCare up by 0.28% and Teck up by 0.06%, while PSU down by 0.46%, Auto down by 0.42%, IT down by 0.36%, Oil & Gas down by 0.34% and Power down by 0.15% and Auto was down by 0.35% were the top losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Jindal Steel up by 5.23%, Sterlite Industries up by 2.11%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.56%, Gail India up by 1.34% and Hindalco Industries up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.65%, Tata Motors down by 1.31%, NTPC down by 1.29%, ONGC down by 1.06% and Dr Reddys Lab down by 0.95% 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 5,801.45, down by 12.15 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 5,809.25 and 5,777.90. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Jindal Steel up by 5.36%, Sesa Goa up by 2.92%, IDFC up by 1.86%, Hindalco Industries up by 1.63% and GAIL up by 1.49%. On the flip side, UltraTech Cement down by 2.14%, Coal India up by 1.65%, Tata Motors down by 1.43%, NTPC up by 1.16% and ONGC down by 0.97% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in red; Shanghai Composite declined 1.22%, Hang Seng dropped 0.71%, Jakarta Composite slipped 0.28%, Straits Times contracted 0.16%, KOSPI Composite was down by 0.60% and Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.05%.

On the flip side, KLSE Composite rose 0.09% and Nikkei 225 surged 1.79%.