Metal stocks lose sheen in a weak market

Axis Bank, Lupin, Vedanta, and Maruti Suzuki are the Sensex companies that are set to announce their quarterly earnings today

Markets continue to reel under pressure dragged down by metal shares and index heavyweights such as HDFC and ITC.

At 10:45 AM, the Sensex was at 27,227, down 135 points while the Nifty was at 8,222, down 38 points.

Meanwhile, the market participants are on edge ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s (US Fed’s) two-day policy meeting which begins on Tuesday and will look for cues as to when it may begin raising rates.

Further, Vedanta, Axis Bank, and Lupin have edged lower while ahead of their quarterly earnings result.

The top losers on the Sensex are ONGC, HDFC, Lupin, Vedanta, and Hindalco, all down between 2-3% each while top gainers on the Sensex are Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto , M&M, and Dr. Reddy’s up between 0.2-1.5% each.

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Updated at 9:40 am

Benchmark indices opened lower following negative cues from the global peers. Investors will remain on edge today ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s (US Fed’s) two-day policy meeting which begins on Tuesday and will look for cues as to when it may begin raising rates.

Also, market participants would remain cautious ahead of the corporate results and derivatives expiry, which is on Thursday.

At 9:35 AM, the Sensex was at 27,280, down 87 points while the Nifty was at 8,236, down 24 points.

The broader markets are displaying a divergent trend with BSE Midcap index up by 0.1% while BSE Smallcap index down by 0.03%. The market breadth is flat with a positive bias. On the BSE there are 720 advances against 698 declines.

Meanwhile, IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation will hit the capital markets today to raise Rs 3,018 crore through its initial public offering. The operator of the profitable no-frills carrier IndiGo has set a price band for the public offer at Rs 700 - 765. On Monday, IndiGo raised Rs 832 crore from 43 anchor investors, ahead of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of equity.

MARKET OUTLOOK

According to a morning note by Anandrathi , “Nifty is witnessing sustained supply near to crucial hurdle but bulls are not ready to give up till it hold above 8200 zones. Now for the day, it has to hold above 8225-8250 zones to witness buying towards 8300-8330 zones. While, if it sustains below 8200 then it may again get stuck in range from 8080 to 8200 levels.”

On Sensex, the note further said, “if it holds on to the 27250 levels then it may head towards 27500 and 27750 levels, while if it fails to sustain the 27000 levels then selling pressure might drag the index back to the 26800 and 26500 levels.”

RESULTS CAPSULE

Axis Bank, Lupin, Vedanta, and Maruti Suzuki are the Sensex companies that are set to announce their quarterly earnings later in the day. Among other companies, Dish TV, TVS Motor, and Tata Communications would also unveil their set of numbers today.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian share markets paused for breath on Tuesday after a four-week romp higher, as investors took cover ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan later in the week.

Moves were modest with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.07%. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.1%, though remained near a two-month high. Risk sentiment remained supported by China's rate cut last week and the prospect of more easing from the European Central Bank in December.

There has been speculation the Bank of Japan might expand its asset buying campaign at a policy meeting on Friday, though recent reports make it less likely. Even less is expected from the US Fed when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended on Monday with a minor loss of 0.1%, while the S&P 500 eased 0.2% and the Nasdaq added 0.1%.

The euro regained just a little ground to $1.1054, having touched an 11-week trough of $1.0987 on Monday. Against the yen, the dollar eased back to 120.86 from Monday's top around 121.51. US crude was quoted down 11 cents at $43.87 a barrel, while Brent eased 2 cents to $47.52 a barrel.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE FMCG and Healthcare indices are down by 0.3% each. On the upside, BSE Auto and Capital Goods indices are up by 0.2% each

Ahead of their September quarter resultsVedanta (1.1%) and Lupin(2.1%) have edged lower.  Axis Bank is trading flat.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has become the first Indian company to receive an in-principle board approval to raise rupee-denominated bonds abroad, also called masala bonds. On Monday, the company’s board approved raising up to $750 million through this route. The stock is however, down nearly 3% on account of profit booking post its Q2 results.

Maruti Suzuki launched a premium hatchback, the Baleno, on Monday. It is priced at Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), pitting it directly against the reigning segment leader, the Hyundai Elite i20. Baleno will be exclusively sold through NEXA, the company’s premium dealership. Also, the largest car maker in the country is set to announce its quarterly results later in the day.  The stock has advanced 0.8%

Aban Offshore on Monday said that it has won a Rs 325 crore order from ONGC fordeployment of jack-up rig Aban II for a period of three years. The stock is flat while ONGC has slipped 2%

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom operator, on Monday reported a 10.1% rise in net profit for the September quarter to Rs 1,523 crore, owing to a surge in data consumption and a one-time exceptional gain of Rs 660 crore from the sale of African tower assets. On a consolidated basis, it had recorded a profit of Rs 1,383 crore for the year-ago period. The stock has gained 0.3%

The global commodity prices edged lower on Tuesday following which the metal pack is reeling under pressure. Tata Steel, Hindalco, JSWSteel, Jindal Steel, Coal India, NMDC have all dropped between 0.4-1.8% each.




With Reuters input