Local bourses shave off some of the early gains

Local Bourses have shaved of some of their gains due to profit taking in several blue chip stocks which have dragged the markets away from their high point of the day. However, the mood remained fairly positive due to fall in the crude prices amidst overnight gain of the US markets. Positive Asian cues and fading political worries have also provided some comfort to the markets. As the three days long political drama finally ended on Tuesday with the DMK conceding 63 seats for the Congress in Tamil Nadu polls. On the global front, Asian stock markets are mostly trading in green encouraged by fall in oil prices. The US future indices too were showing an uptick on the screen trade. Back home, on the BSE Sectoral front, stocks from Realty; Consumer Durables (CD) and Auto were trying to keep the momentum on the positive end while stocks from Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Information Technology sector were tottering under intense selling pressure. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thrashed declines in the ratio of 1539:741, while, 94 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,486.49, up by 46.84 points or 0.25%. The index has touched a high of 18,583.30 and a low of 18,441.81. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 declines on the index.

The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were up 0.81% and 1.02% respectively. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Realty up by 1.20%, CD up by 1.18%, Auto up by 1.00%, Bankex up by 0.80% and PSU was up by 0.69%. While, HC down by 0.26%, Oil & Gas down 0.24%, IT down by 0.13% and TECk down by 0.03% were the only losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.79%, DLF up by 1.78%, ICICI Bank up by 1.46%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.44% and Reliance Communication up by 1.43 %.

Cipla down by 1.01%, Infosys down by 0.79%, Reliance Industries down by 0.75 %, Sterlite Industries down by 0.71% and Jindal Steel down by 0.65% and were the top losers on the index.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure that goods, services and technology are made available to consumers at affordable prices and at acceptable standards of quality, the government has proposed to formulate a national consumer policy (NCP). The department of Consumer Affairs has sought comments from all stakeholders regarding the policy and it has uploaded a draft NCP on the department's website.

The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Arun Yadav said in a written reply to Lok Sabha that "The Draft National Consumer policy (NCP) proposes to lay down a national policy that will ensure that goods, services and technology are available to consumers at reasonable prices and at acceptable standards of quality."

The National Consumer Policy seeks to provide guidelines to different branches of the Government and agencies at all levels in maintaining the appropriate consumer dimension while taking any step or decision which will have an impact on consumers' interests. As such, policy is not only about legislation governing consumer interest nor restricted to redressal of consumer complaints. It is a document which will guide the government in maintaining the appropriate consumer dimension while taking any step or decision which will affect the consumers.

Meanwhile, the implementation strategies for the same would be encouraging the establishment of internal dispute resolution mechanisms for all manufacturers and service providers, using legislation for enforcement of the rights of consumers, use of Essential Commodities Act for non market interventions and ensuring harmonization of standards at both national and international levels to promote better choices.

The ultimate deliverables would be that consumers should be empowered to make real choices, enhancement of consumer welfare through promotion of competition, consumers are informed and educated about the products and services they are purchasing.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,532.35, up by 11.55 points or 0.21%. The index has touched a high of 5,563.30 and a low of 5,519.60 respectively. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Kotak Bank up by 2.42%, SAIL up by 2.38%, Reliance Capital up by 2.26%, DLF up by 2% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.92%.

The top losers of the index were Cairn down by 1.95%, Sun Pharma down by 1.86%, Cipla down by 0.94%, Ranbaxy down by 0.93% and Reliance Industries was down by 0.71%.

JSW Steel, one of the largest Indian private sector steel companies is planning to raise Rs 1000 crore from an export credit agency (ECA) to part-fund its new 2.3 million tons per annum (mtpa) cold rolling mill complex in Vijayanagar that would require an overall investment of over Rs 4,000 crore.

ECA is a public agency that provides government-backed loans, guarantees and insurance to corporations for importing goods and services from their home countries. An ECA gives loans to importers either directly or through other financial institutions or banks.

JSW Steel officials stated that the export credit agencies in Germany and Japan are going to give approval of financial support for the import of machinery from the respective countries.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the green; Hang Seng was up 0.61%, Jakarta Composite was up by 0.04%, KLSE Composite up by 0.42%, Nikkei 225 was up 0.54%, and Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.05%.

On the flip side, Seoul Composite declined 0.04%, Shanghai Composite lost 0.21% and Straits Times was down by 0.36%.

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