Weak trade persists; Metal, Auto drag

Indian equities added losses to continue weak trade in the late afternoon session on account of selling in frontline counters and in absence of any positive global cues. Investors are eyeing release of key macro-economic data scheduled later in the evening i.e. IIP and CPI numbers which will further provide directions for the markets. Traders were seen piling positions in Realty, FMCG and Health Care stocks while selling was witnessed in Metal, Auto and Power sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Britannia Industries was trading in green after reporting 65.68% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 97.64 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013. Canara Bank was trading in green after reporting second quarter (July-September) result where net profit fell 5.3% year-on-year to Rs 625 crore, but asset quality improved on sequential basis. Net interest income rose 12% on a yearly basis to Rs 2,191 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. Wockhardt was trading in green as the company’s arm is planning to list overseas. Its board has approved listing of its holding company Wockhardt Bio in Europe.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading on a mixed note while the European markets too were trading mixed. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 6,100 and 20,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1037:1200 while 140 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 20424.24, down by 66.72 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 20,584.22 and 20395.60. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; with BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.18% while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.86%, FMCG up by 0.71%, Health Care up by 0.57% and Capital Goods up by 0.01%. While, Metal down by 1.35%, Auto down by 1.07%, Power down by 0.97%, PSU down by 0.73% and Oil & Gas down by 0.63% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco Industries up by 1.97%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.03%, ITC up by 0.95%, Wipro up by 0.89% and Sun Pharma up by 0.69%. On the flip side, SSLT down by 3.55%, Tata Motors down by 3.42%, Tata Steel down by 1.79%, Tata Power down by 1.66% and ONGC down by 1.53% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, in a move to attract higher capital inflow into the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed SEBI-registered qualified foreign investors (QFIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest in the credit enhanced bonds up to a limit of $5 billion.

The central bank has said that these investments by foreign investors would be within the overall limit of $51 billion earmarked for corporate debt and investment opportunity has also been extended to long term investors registered with SEBI such as Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), Multilateral Agencies, Pension/ Insurance/ Endowment Funds and Foreign Central Banks. The present limits for investments by QFIs, FIIs and long term investors registered with SEBI in Government securities is $30 billion.

Foreign investment is considered crucial for economic development, as a rise in capital inflow will help support the rupee, which has further started depreciating amid rising demand for the US dollar. Recently, the rupee breached the 63 mark against the US dollar for the first time since September 30. Despite the various efforts of Indian authorities to enhance capital inflow, FIIs have pulled out Rs 2,916 crore from debt securities so far this month and have withdrawn Rs 53,070 crore from the debt market since the beginning of year owing to the rising worries over the US Fed tapering.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,059.25, down by 19.55 point or 0.32% after trading in a range of 6,108.70 and 6,053.85. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 declining ones on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Ranbaxy up by 2.30%, Hindalco Industries up by 2.16%, Kotak Bank up by 1.82%, Cairn India up by 1.19% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.17%. On the flip side, SSLT down by 3.55%, Tata Motors down by 3.41%, ACC down by 2.34%, Asian Paints down by 2.01% and Tata Power down by 1.96% was the major loser on the index.

The Asian equity indices were trading on a mixed note; Nikkei 225 up by 2.23%, Shanghai Composite up by 0.82%, Taiwan Weighted up by 0.16% and Seoul Composite up by 0.92%. On the other hand, Straits Times down by 0.13%, KLSE Composite down by 0.49%, Hang Seng down by 0.73% and Jakarta Composite down by 1.31%.

The European markets were trading on a mixed note; France’s CAC 40 was down 0.15%, Germany’s DAX added 0.12% and UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.11%.