Key benchmark indices extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 102.91 points or 0.49%, off close to 120 points from the day's high and up about 20 points from the day's low. Weakness in Asian and European stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
Some pharma stocks bucked weak market, with Dr Reddy's Laboratories hitting record high. Bank stocks edged lower.
A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices alternately swung between gains and losses in early trade. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday low in morning trade. The Sensex extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. The Sensex languished in the negative terrain in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 413.85 crore on Monday, 13 January 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 14:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 102.91 points or 0.49% to 21,031.30. The index fell 123.08 points at the day's low of 21,011.13 in mid-afternoon trade. The index rose 20.55 points at the day's high of 21,154.76 in morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 37.85 points or 0.6% to 6,234.90. The index hit a low of 6,234.65 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 6,280.35 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,462 shares dropped and 1,099 shares rose. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 23 stocks fell and rest of them rose. Tata Steel (down 2.58%), Sesa Sterlite (down 1.61%), and TCS (down 1.5%), edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Some pharma stocks bucked weak market. Cipla (up 0.75%) and Lupin (up 0.3%) gained.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories advanced 0.33% to Rs 2,637 after hitting a record high of Rs 2,645 in intraday trade
Shares of pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy Laboratories extended Monday's losses triggered by the company's announcement that the US Food and Drug Administration found possible violations at the generic-drug maker's active pharmaceuticals ingredient (API) plant at Toansa, Punjab, India. The stock was off 2.25%. The stock had fallen 5.42% on Monday, 13 January 2014, after the company said it has received the form 483 with certain observations as a result of the recent US FDA inspection at its active pharmaceuticals ingredient (API) plant at Toansa, Punjab, India. An FDA Form 483 is issued when an investigator observes conditions that might constitute a violation of the FDA's rules or standards.
Ranbaxy said that the company is assessing the US FDA observations, and will respond to the US FDA in accordance with the agency's procedure to resolve the concerns at the earliest. Ranbaxy said it continues to improve its systems and processes, and remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards that patients, prescribers, regulators and all other stakeholders expect from the company. The company added that it stays firmly committed to its philosophy of quality and patients first.
The Toansa factory is the fourth Ranbaxy plant to receive negative observations from the US drug regulator; its plants in Paonta Sahib in Himchal Pradesh, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and Mohali in Punjab had come under the FDA scanner earlier. Imports from the three plants have been stopped by the US regulator.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries dropped 0.39%.
ONGC lost 0.22%. ONGC and Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) today, 14 January 2014, signed an initial agreement for broad co-operation that could see KPC pick up stakes in the ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals (OMPL) and ONGC Petro-Additions (OPAL) projects. "We are seeking strategic partnership in the two companies. Twenty-six percent stake is being offered in (each of) the two projects," ONGC Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva said on the sidelines of the Petrotech 2014 industry conference. KPC chief executive Nizar al-Adsani said the agreement was the first of many steps to come and his company was looking at several opportunities in India and outside.
ONGC is developing the OMPL petrochemicals complex in south India, in which its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals will also hold a small stake. The company is developing the OPAL petrochemicals project, in a joint venture with GAIL (India) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC), at Dahej in western India, as part of its efforts to diversify beyond oil exploration and production.
Bank stocks edged lower. Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.44%), ICICI Bank (down 1.87%), AXIS Bank (down 0.9%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.26%) declined.
State Bank of India dropped 0.45%.
Bank of India lost 1.18%. The bank said after market hours on Monday, 13 Janaury 2014, its board will meet on 17 January 2014 to consider interim dividend, if any, for the financial year ending March 2014. The bank has set 24 January 2014 as the record date for the purpose of determining the shareholders eligible to receive interim dividend.
Corporation Bank fell 0.21%. The bank said after market hours on Monday, 13 Janaury 2014, its board will meet on 23 January 2014 to consider interim dividend, if any, for the financial year ending March 2014. The bank has set 29 January 2014 as the record date for the purpose of determining the shareholders eligible to receive interim dividend.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday, 13 January 2014, it had eased rules for hedging foreign exchange exposures, allowing greater flexibility for cancelling and rebooking forward contracts. The RBI is now allowing domestically-held forward contracts for all current as well as capital account transactions with a residual maturity of one year or less to be freely cancelled and taken out again, called rebooking. Before the changes domestic exporters could cancel and rebook up to 50% of the contracts booked in a financial year for hedging their contracted export exposures. Importers were allowed to cancel and rebook up to 25% of contracts booked in a financial year. These limits have been dropped. Foreign investors will be allowed to rebook 10% of the value of cancelled contracts, up from nothing previously.
On macro front, the rate of inflation based on the combined consumer price index (CPI) of urban and rural India slowed to 9.87% in December 2013, from 11.16% in November 2013, data released by the government after trading hours on Monday, 13 January 2014, showed. The moderation was largely driven by a fall in vegetable prices, which cooled nearly 19% from November on improved supplies. That helped slow down annual food inflation to 12.16% last month from 14.72% in November.
The core CPI inflation excluding the volatile food and fuel prices, edged up to 8.05% in December 2013, from 7.97% in November 2013.
Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) is seen easing up a bit at 7.1% in December 2013, from 7.52% in November 2013, as per the median estimate of a poll of economists carried out by Capital Market. WPI had accelerated to 7.52% in November 2013, from 7% in October 2013. The government will unveil WPI data for December 2013 at 12 noon tomorrow, 15 January 2014.
The Reserve Bank of India's Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 is scheduled on 28 January 2014. The Reserve Bank of India kept its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged after its last policy review in December and said at that time that it expected inflation to ease in the following months.
European stocks edged lower on Tuesday, 14 January 2014, tracking weak Asian stocks and sharp overnight losses in US stocks. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were off 0.79% to 1.18%.
Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, 14 January 2014, after Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart on Monday, 13 January 2014, said that the US economy is on solid footing and he would support continued cuts to stimulus. Fed's bond-buying program has been a source of liquidity for most Asian and emerging markets in recent years. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were down 0.15% to 3.08%. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.86%.
Japan's current-account deficit widened to a record in November 2013 at 592.8 billion yen ($5.75 billion) before seasonal adjustment, data showed today, 14 January 2014.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could drop 12 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 14 January 2014. US stocks sold off sharply Monday, resulting in the worst losses for benchmark indexes in several months, on concerns about the weak December jobs report and comments from a Federal Reserve official about a further reduction in stimulus. In a speech to the Rotary Club of America, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said he supports "similar tapering steps" as the one taken to reduce bond-market purchases by $10 billion by the Federal Reserve last month, so long as the economy grows at the 2.5% to 3% clip he's forecasting this year. He pointed out that the labor market is not as healthy as a 6.7% unemployment rate suggests. He said continued disinflation could pose risks to economic performance. Lockhart doesn't vote on policy in 2014.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day monetary policy meeting on 28 and 29 January 2014. By a 9-to-1 vote, the Fed on 18 December 2013 decided to trim its asset-purchase program by $10 billion to $75 billion per month starting in January 2014.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
