Indian equities continue to show lackadaisical moves in afternoon trades

Indian stock indices failed to exhibit any fervor in the Tuesday afternoon trades and are showing listless performance, trading in an extremely tight range lacking any significant upside triggers. Trade remained lackluster in the hour gone by as investors remained reluctant to initiate large bets and evidently preferred to indulge only in stock specific activity amid a slew of earnings announcements. Sentiments globally were unenthusiastic as Asian peers traded on a weak note while European futures too indicated a quiet start for the European markets. Investor’s remained cautiousness globally amid mounting worries over the ability of new governments in Greece and Italy to tackle the sovereign debt trouble by undertaking necessary fiscal reforms. Apart from the uncertainties on the political front, the surging borrowing costs in the European region dampened investors’ morale. Back home, investors commended heavyweights like drug-maker Cipla and auto major Tata Motors for their second quarter earnings announcement which prevented the frontline indices from drifting deeper into the red terrain. On the BSE sectoral space, the rate sensitive Automobile and defensive Healthcare counters kept the bourses in close proximity with the neutral. But hefty selling pressure was evident in the rate sensitive Realty pocket which languished at the bottom of the table after being butchered by close to four percent. Some selling pressure was also evident in the Consumer Durables and Power counters which lost around a percentage point.

Moreover, the broader markets continued to trade on a depressing note with large cuts of over a percentage points in contrast with their larger peers which showed signs of consolidation. The bourses slipped on higher volumes of over Rs 0.50 lakh core while the market breadth on BSE was in favor of declines in the ratio of 1850:729 while 91 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17,108.23 down by 10.51 points or 0.06% after trading as high as 17,172.09 and as low as 17,034.07. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in the negative zone; the BSE Mid cap index lost 1.10% and Small cap shed 1.33%.

On the BSE sectoral space Auto up 0.35%, Healthcare up 0.33% and Metal up 0.04% were the only gainers while Realty down 3.70%, Consumer Durables down 1.09%, Power down 0.83%, Bankex down 0.57% and Oil & Gas down 0.41% were the major losers in the space.

Cipla up 6.47%, Tata Motors up 2.73%, Jindal Steel up 1.59%, HDFC Bank up 1.01% and ONGC up 0.78% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while DLF down 4.71%, Tata Power down 2.49%, ICICI Bank down 1.33%, Jaiprakash Associates down 1.21% and Tata Steel down 1.17% were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, India’s public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) are likely to announce a reduction in petrol prices after the meeting of chief executives of the three downstream companies, which is scheduled on November 16. The stability in American dollar and softening international crude oil prices are seen as the chief reasons behind the plans of petrol price cut.

The companies are expected to announce a cut of around Rs 2 per litre in petrol prices, which would come in contrast with the Rs 1.80 per litre petrol price hike effected earlier this month. The price cut once announced will be the first cut in about three years and the first in the eighteen months since the government completely decontrolled gasoline prices in June 2010.

The small window of opportunity to reduce the fuel prices has also emerged due to the softening in Singapore prices, which has partially offset the impact of a declining rupee. According to reports, petrol prices averaged $115.8 per barrel in November against $121 per barrel price taken at the time of the Rs 1.80 per litre hike in petrol price. Also, the rupee has averaged Rs 49.20 per US dollar, which is less than the October average.

State-owned OMCs earlier this month hiked the petrol price by Rs 1.80 per litre, the fourth increase this year, as the rupee fell from Rs 46.29 a dollar to Rs 49.40 a dollar.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,130.15, lower by 18.20 points or 0.35% after trading as high as 5,158.75 and as low as 5,120.70. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Cipla up 6.37%, Tata Motors up 2.70%, IDFC up 1.47%, Jindal Steel up 1.42% and ONGC up 0.80%.

DLF down 5.17%, Tata Power down 3.21%, Siemens down 2.46%, BPCL down 2.44% and GAIL down 2.27% were the major losers on the index.

Asian markets traded on a pessimistic note, Shanghai Composite eased 0.07%, Hang Seng plunged 1.11%, Jakarta Composite sank 0.80%, KLSE Composite shed 0.09%, Nikkei 225 slipped 0.72%, Straits Times declined 0.34%, Seoul Composite dropped 0.88% and Taiwan Weighted dipped 0.46%.