Markets Trading Lower

The Indian markets opened their day on a negative note and are holding their morning losses at present. Both the major indices, Sensex and Nifty, are trading lower by almost 0.30%. Among the sectoral indices, IT, Teck, Power and Bankex are the major losers, while Oil & Gas, Realty and Capital Goods are trading higher.

The other Asian markets are also trading in negatives. Hang Seng and Nikkei are down by 0.32% and 0.40% respectively. The Chinese market, Shanghai, which had started its day trading higher, has now slipped into the red, trading 0.38% lower at the 2051 levels. Media reports said that the Asian shares have moved mostly lower in see-saw trades today, with Australia’s index leading declining ahead of a central bank decision later in the session.

Back home, Bharti Airtel is the leading index loser, trading 1.32% down at Rs 243.70. NTPC, HDFC and Cipla are among the stocks which are trading lower by over 1%. The Auto stocks are also trading lower, with Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, M&M and Bajaj Auto trading lower in the range of 0.6%-0.9%. Other stocks like HDFC Bank, ITC, Jindal Steel, Hindalco, etc. are marginally in the red zone.

Index heavyweight RIL is the leading index gainer, higher by 1.09% at Rs 772.60. Other stocks like Dr Reddy’s Labs, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, L&T and SBI are trading higher in the green zone.

Ind-Swift Laboratories zoomed 12% up to Rs 57.40. There is a buzz that the Piramal group may be eyeing the company’s contract research and manufacturing business. The deal, which is probably under negotiation, is valued at Rs 1000-1200 crore.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 964 shares advanced, 842 shares have declined and 95 shares are unchanged.

We expect the markets to remain to remain volatile for the day with a negative bias.