Markets continue to trade in a narrow range

Equity markets grappling with weak overseas inflows and interest rate hike concerns in view of rising inflation have further lost some more ground and are trading in a very narrow range as the traders prefer to stay on the sidelines before they could seek more clarity over RBI policy stance. The key equity indices are trading below their crucial level, the 50 share index--Nifty-- on NSE has entered into the red zone and is currently trading below 5700 mark, while, the 30 share index--Sensex--on BSE is hanging in green with marginal gain, but that too is trading below 19,000 mark. Further, stock from ADAG Group are attracting the maximum selling pressure , pulling the markets lower, following the market regulator SEBI passing a consent order with regard to its probe into possible violation of securities market norms by Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Natural Resources. On the global front, regional counterparts are all trading in red with an exception of KLSE Composite, while US futures too are showing downtick on the screen trade. Back home, broader indices too have entered into the red zone. On the BSE sectoral front, stocks from Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Information Technology, Bankex, TECk and Consumer Durables counters are gathering investor's attention, while, stocks from Realty, Power, Auto ,Capital Goods, Metals space  had some weak spells . The market breadth on the BSE is in the favour of declines which have currently overshadowed advances in the ratio of 1442:1000, while, 115 equity shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,870.49, up by 10.05 points or 0.05 %. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 declines while on the index.

Both, the broader indices have entered the red zone; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were down by 0.64% and 0.54%, respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Fast Moving Consumer Goods up by 1.05%, Information Technology up by 0.69 %, Bankex up by 0.44 %, TECk up by 0.30% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.27%. While, Realty down by 1.23%, Power down by 0.92%, Auto down by 0.80%, Capital Goods down by 0.73% and Metal down by 0.35% were the major losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.94%, HDFC up by 1.33%, Cipla up by 1.02%, Infosys up by 1.00% and Hindalco Industries up by 0.55%.

Reliance Infra down by 5.43%, RCom down by 3.14%, Hero Honda down by 2.23%, Jaiprakash Associates down by 2.08% and DLF down by 1.56% were the top losers on the index.

Meanwhile, the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have increased the prices of petrol yet again in wake of rising global prices of crude oil. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) raised petrol prices by Rs 2.50 per litre, while Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) hiked rates by Rs 2.54 a litre and Bharat Petroleum raised price by Rs 2.53 per litre. The slight difference in prices hiked by companies is to save themselves from allegations of cartelization.

In Delhi, a litre of petrol now costs Rs 58.37 while in Kolkata Mumbai and Chennai the price of the fuel will be Rs 62.27, Rs 62.81 and Rs 63 per litre respectively. The increase comes after the global crude prices rose significantly last month and crossed $90 per barrel mark, raising the under-recoveries of publically controlled fuel retailers. In December, the Indian crude basket averaged $89.78 per barrel, and in the New Year it has further increased by $92.8 per barrel.

The Indian government had in June last year deregulated the petrol prices, allowing the OMCs to set the price as per market conditions. At that time government hiked prices of diesel marginally and was supposed to deregulate the same as well later but the move has been deferred now. It had recently put off a meeting of an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the fuel sector to discuss an increase in the price of diesel and cooking gas as inflation continued to remained at elevated levels and any increase in diesel prices would boost prices further.

However, despite the latest hike in petrol prices, the OMCs are still bearing under-recovery on the fuel as the extent of hike was less than the loss they were currently suffering. The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), largest fuel retailer in the country, said on Sunday that the increase implemented by OMCs was less than the Rs 3.72 a litre which was needed to make domestic rates in line with rise in cost.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,650.30, down by 4.25 points or 0.08%. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 declines on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Kotak Bank up by 2.02%, ITC up by 1.91%, BPCL up by 1.71%, Axis Bank up by 1.53%, and HDFC up by 1.36%.

The top losers of the index were Reliance Infra down by 5.46%, Reliance Capital down by 4.31%,Reliance Power down by 4.19%, Sesa Goa down by 3.46% and RCom was down by 3.14%.

Asian equity indices were trading mostly in the red; Shanghai Composite was down by 2.34%, Hang Seng declined 0.27%, Jakarta Composite slid 1.11%, Straits Times dropped 0.11%, Seoul Composite shed 0.30% and Taiwan Weighted slid 0.68% and Nikkei 225 decreased 0.09%.

On the flip side, KLSE Composite up by 0.22% was the only gainers in the Asian pack.

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