Intraday volatility continued as key benchmark indices once again slipped into the red from green in mid-morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently off 30.04 points or 0.11% at 27,835.79. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. A latest survey showed that manufacturing activity in India picked up modestly in October 2014 amid stronger output and new order flows, particularly from overseas clients. Asian stocks were mixed. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth massive Rs 1754.73 crore during the preceding trading session on Friday, 31 October 2014, as per provisional data.
Auto stocks declined after reporting monthly sales volume data for October 2014. IT stocks rose as the rupee edged lower against the dollar today, 3 November 2014, with Infosys and Tech Mahindra hitting record high.
Key indices have alternately moved between positive and negative zone so far during the day. Earlier, the Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty had, both, scaled record high at the onset of the trading session after provisional data showed massive purchases of India stocks by FPIs during the preceding trading session on Friday, 31 October 2014.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks were mixed. US stocks jumped on Friday, 31 October 2014, sending the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average into record territory, after a surprise stimulus plan from the Bank of Japan was announced.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar, tracking weakness in most Asian currencies against the dollar.
Brent crude oil prices edged lower as mixed Chinese data and a strong dollar pressured prices.
At 11:25 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 30.04 points or 0.11% at 27,835.79. The index gained 103.99 points at the day's high of 27,969.82 at the onset of the trading session, a record high for the index. The index fell 76.43 points at the day's low of 27,789.40 in morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 9.25 points or 0.11% at 8,312.95. The index hit a high of 8,350.60 in intraday trade, a record high for the index. The index hit a low of 8,297.70 in intraday trade so far.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,339 shares gained and 778 shares fell. A total of 77 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 77.72 points or 0.79% at 9,913.92. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 101.47 points or 0.93% at 11,032.42. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
IT stocks rose as the rupee edged lower against the dollar today, 3 November 2014. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.
MphasiS (up 0.56%), Wipro (up 0.13%), HCL Technologies (up 0.19%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.63%) and TCS (up 0.22%) edged higher.
Infosys gained 0.73% to Rs 4,081 after scaling a record high of Rs 4,108.45 in intraday trade.
Tech Mahindra advanced 1.75% to Rs 2,555.85 after scaling a record high of Rs 2,569.45 in intraday trade.
Auto stocks declined after reporting monthly sales data for October 2014.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) dropped 2.95%. M&M on Saturday, 1 November 2014, reported a 15% decline in total auto sales to 42,776 units in October 2014 over October 2013. M&M said sales remained subdued during the month due to overall sentiment and high interest rates. Pravin Shah, Chief Executive of M&M's automotive division and international operations said he is happy with the company's retail sales in October 2014 which has helped bring the system stocks to an optimal level. Shah said he is happy with the customers' response to M&M's new generation Scorpio.
M&M separately said that its total tractor sales fell 17% to 31,907 units in October 2014 over October 2013. Tractor sales in the domestic market fell 18% to 30,800 units in October 2014 over October 2013. Tractor exports rose 51% to 1,107 units in October 2014 over October 2013. Commenting on the monthly performance, Rajesh Jejurikar, Chief Executive, Farm Equipment and Two Wheeler Division, M&M said that the delayed rains and sowing has led to a sluggish tractor industry. He said that M&M's recently launched Arjun Novo tractor has been very well received in the market and management expects this will help M&M drive sales in a challenging environment.
Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.52%. Maruti Suzuki India's total sales fell 1.1% to 1.03 lakh units in October 2014 over October 2013. Maruti Suzuki India's domestic sales rose 1% to 97,069 units in October 2014 over October 2013. The company's exports fell 23.5% to 6,904 units in October 2014 over October 2013. The sales figures were announced on Saturday, 1 November 2014.
The company said that owing to festivals and state elections during October 2014, Maruti Suzuki had 19 working days during the month. This limited the availability of vehicles during the month. In October 2013, Maruti Suzuki had 24 working days. Maruti said its retail sales during October 2014 were robust at around 1.08 lakh units, which was a growth of more than 10% over October 2013. Retail sales during October 2014 were about 10% higher than wholesales of 97,069 during October 2014, Maruti said.
In exports, shipment of around 1,000 units to Algeria and Egypt was rescheduled to November 2014 due to cyclonic conditions in Gujarat area. The impact of the aforementioned factors is reflected in the sales numbers for October 2014, the company said in a statement.
Tata Motors shed 0.59%. Tata Motors' total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles declined 17% to 42,819 vehicles in October 2014 over in October 2013. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles fell 17% to 38,760 units in October 2014 over in October 2013. The decline was largely as the market continues to remain challenged by macroeconomic trends, Tata Motors said. While segments such as medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) showed a 30% growth year-on-year, other segments such as the LCV sales continues to remain impacted by stringent financial rates and low consumer sentiment, Tata Motors said.
Bajaj Auto fell 1.33%. Bajaj Auto posted 0.18% rise in sales to 3.86 lakh units in October 2014 over in October 2013. Bajaj Auto's motorcycle sales fell 3% to 3.36 lakh units in October 2014 over in October 2013. Sales of commercial vehicles jumped 33% to 49,094 units in October 2014 over in October 2013. Bajaj Auto's total exports jumped 15% to 1.58 lakh units in October 2014 over in October 2013. The sales figures were announced during market hours today, 3 November 2014.
Hero MotoCorp lost 1.76%. Hero MotoCorp's total sales declined 8.05% to 5.75 lakh units in October 2014 over in October 2013. Hero MotoCorp said that the company's sales once again crossed 5 lakh units a month mark in October 2014 despite November 2014 being a non-festive month. The company said it had sold 6.25 lakh two-wheelers in October 2013 to cater to the market demand in the Diwali month of November last year. The sales figures were announced on Saturday, 1 November 2014.
Hero MotoCorp said its retail sales were robust during the recently concluded 37-day festive period. Hero MotoCorp said that during the festive period which lasted between 25 September 2014 (first day of Navratras) and 31 October 2014, the company retailed more than 10 lakh two wheelers. All the new launches - including the new ZMR, Splendor iSmart, Splendor Pro Classic and Passion Pro TR - have been driving the volumes across segments, the company said in filing to stock exchanges.
The company has lined up a total investment of over Rs 5000 crore across the globe, including manufacturing plants in Colombia and Bangladesh, new plants which are coming up in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and the Hero Global Centre for Research & Design at Kukas in Rajasthan.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar, tracking weakness in most Asian currencies against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.42, compared with its close of 61.36 during the previous trading session on Friday, 31 October 2014.
Brent crude oil prices edged lower as mixed Chinese data and a strong dollar pressured prices. Brent crude for December delivery was off 23 cents at $85.63 a barrel. The contract had fallen 38 cents to settle at $85.86 a barrel during the previous trading session on Friday, 31 October 2014.
The government's decision last month to decontrol diesel prices and a sharp decline in global crude oil prices recently will help India in containing its fiscal deficit. The fall in global crude oil prices will also help India in containing its current account deficit and fuel price inflation. India imports 80% of its crude oil requirement. A slump in Brent crude since the end of June contributed to consumer-price index slowing to 6.46% in September 2014, the least since 2012. However, a weakness in rupee against the dollar will restrict the benefit of falling global crude oil prices.
Adjusted for seasonal influences, the headline HSBC India Purchasing Managers' Index - a composite indicator designed to give a single-figure snapshot of manufacturing operating conditions - rebounded from September's nine-month low of 51 to 51.6 in October. The latest reading was consistent with a moderate improvement in business conditions during the month, the survey showed. Manufacturing activity picked up modestly amid stronger output and new order flows, particularly from overseas clients. However, firms continued to trim purchases and refrained from aggressive inventory accumulation, according to the survey.
The growth rate of India's eight core industries, which have a combined weight of 37.9% in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed down to 1.9% in September 2014 due to fall in output of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and fertiliser, data released by government on Friday, 31 October 2014 showed. The core sector had grown by 9% in September 2013.
Finance Minster Arun Jaitley on Friday, 31 October 2014, said that major priorities of the government will be to revive and sustain higher GDP growth, increase savings, fiscal consolidation, keeping the current account deficit (CAD) at moderate level, reviving investment cycle, encouraging growth in manufacturing sector, augmenting supply response to contain inflation especially food inflation, boosting infrastructure sector and exports, rationalize subsidies and reforms in direct and indirect taxes among others. The Finance Minister was speaking at the first meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Finance on the subject "Sustaining Growth Momentum - The Road Ahead". Jaitley said that the major priority of the government is to bring back growth momentum into country's economy. He said that the Indian economy has potential for achieving and sustaining higher growth. For 2014-15 the Finance Minster expects GDP growth in the range of 5.5% to 5.9%. He said the recent decline in international oil prices and prices of domestic food items point towards lower inflation in the coming months. The Finance Minister informed that the capital flows to finance the CAD is adequate and further moderation in CAD can be expected in 2014-15 due to lower oil prices.
Trading for this week will be truncated as the stock market remains shut tomorrow, 4 November 2014, on account of Muharram. Stock market also remains closed on Thursday, 6 November 2014, on account of Gurunanak Jayanti.
Asian stocks were mixed today, 3 November 2014. Key benchmark indices in China, Singapore and Taiwan were up 0.12% to 0.41%. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia were off 0.24% to 0.79%. Stock market in Japan was closed for holiday.
The HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, rose to a final reading of 50.4 in October from 50.2 in September, HSBC Holdings PLC said today, 3 November 2014. The final reading was unchanged from HSBC's preliminary 50.4 for October, announced on 23 October 2014. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity from the previous month, whereas a reading above indicates expansion.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index was 50.8 in October, lower that September's reading was 51.1, Chinese government data showed on Saturday, 1 November 2014.
A gauge of China's services industry fell to a nine-month low in October, joining manufacturing in signaling a broadening economic slowdown. The government's non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 53.8 last month from 54 in September.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 28 points at the opening bell today, 3 November 2014. US stocks jumped on Friday, 31 October 2014, sending the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average into record territory, after a surprise stimulus plan from the Bank of Japan was announced.
Data on Friday, 31 October 2014, showed consumer spending in the US unexpectedly dropped in September as incomes rose at the slowest pace of the year. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc.'s business barometer rose to 66.2 in October from 60.5 in the prior month. A reading less than 50 signals contraction.
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