Benchmarks trim gains; trade continues in green

Indian equities trimmed gains but continued to trade in green in the late afternoon session on account of profit booking in frontline counters. The sentiments were on optimistic note after rating agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed their sovereign credit rating on India, however adding that the outlook on Asia’s third-largest economy remains negative. Traders were seen piling positions in IT, TECK and Metal stocks while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Power and Realty sector stocks. In scrip specific development, ONGC was trading in green on inducting third offshore supply vessel, a step that will strengthen the state-owned exploration giant’s operational infrastructure. Sobha Developers was trading in green after consolidated net profit rose 13%. Wockhardt was trading firm after UK health regulator gave approval to company to manufacture and supply most of products manufactured at its unit at Kadaiya, Nani Daman.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading in red while the European markets were trading on mixed note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 6,250 and 21,000 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1104:1184 while 148 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 20927.91, up by 32.97 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 21142.85 and 20866.88. There were 15 stocks advancing against only 14 declining stocks while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid was down 0.45% and Small cap indices were trading lower by 0.33%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.61%, TECK up by 1.05%, Metal up by 0.73% and FMCG up by 0.11%.While, Consumer Durables down by 1.94%, Power down by 1.49%, Realty down 1.27%, Bankex down 1.08% and PSU down by 1.06% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.06%, Infosys up by 2.16%, TCS up 1.70%, Hindalco Industries up by 1.17% and HUL up by 0.81%. On the flip side, BHEL down by 4.52%, SBI down by 2.08%, ICICI Bank down by 1.82%, Tata Power down by 1.61% and Tata Motors down by 1.57% were the only losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, with an aim to cut the country’s fuel consumption and to enhance the fuel efficiency, oil ministry has recently asked the government to cut duties on branded petrol and diesel that offer better mileage. The move will help to cut down the prices of branded fuels leading to attract consumers to opt for branded fuels, which will help improve the fuel efficiency by about 2 percent, resulting in reduction in overall demand for petroleum products.

Oil marketing companies had launched specialised products (branded petrol and diesel) to enhance the fuel efficiency of new generation vehicles. Presently, the government levies higher excise duty on premium or branded petrol and diesel, which make them costlier than the normal or unbranded auto fuel. Earlier, in September, the government also withdrew the subsidy support for branded fuels resulting in further downward slide. Currently unbranded petrol is cheaper by around Rs 10, while, unbranded diesel is discounted by Rs 15 a litre from their branded versions. 

Oil ministry has also launched a ‘Nationwide Mega Campaign’ from October 1 to conserve petroleum products through reducing consumption of key petroleum products and minimizing wastage through simple fuel saving measures. The ministry is of the view that the move is a vital step towards demand side management with an saving potential of up to 3 per cent of petroleum  products, equivalent to approximately Rs16,000 crore in one year. In other initiatives to increase fuel efficiency, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) have jointly formulated an ambitious programme on fuel efficiency covering domestic LPG stoves and agriculture diesel pump sets.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,221.20, up by 6.05 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 6,288.95 and 6,207.35. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 declining on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.21%, Infosys up by 2.23%, HCL Tech up by 2.18%, TCS up by 1.78% and Hindalco Industries up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Bank of Baroda down by 5.43%, BHEL down by 4.31%, BPCL down by 3.53%, DLF down by 3.46%, and PNB down by 2.40% were the major loser on the index.

The Asian equity indices were trading mostly in red; Straits Times down by 0.16%, Shanghai Composite down by 0.48%, Hang Seng down by 0.68%, Nikkei 225 down by 0.76% and Seoul Composite down by 0.48%. On the other hand, KLSE Composite up by 0.06%, Jakarta Composite up by 0.78% and Taiwan Weighted up by 0.02%.

The European markets were trading on a mixed note; France’s CAC 40 was up 0.04%, Germany’s DAX added 0.02% and UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.22%.