Markets trade lackluster; bourses hover around their neutral line

Local Equity Markets remained quite range bound as bourses continued to trade on a lack luster note after opening higher as oil & gas shares weighed over subsidy sharing concerns. Oil & Gas stocks have been bleeding profusely since previous session as on reports the government would raise subsidy of upstream oil companies from 33% to 38.5% which would weigh on the profitability of these companies. Further, investors have also turned jittery over earnings growth concerns as State Bank of India (SBI) posted losses for the second consecutive day after posting 99% slump in Q4 earnings. The Index heavy weight has fallen further in today's session as leading brokerages such as that of Morgan Stanley, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs had cut their target price on the largest state owned lender. However, this time around the weak spells have been brought by broader indices which have slipped fast and deep in red. Both Midcap and Smallcap Index have edged lower by over 0.10%. Meanwhile, the barometer indices are trading near their neutral line. Mixed global leads failed to provide roadmap for the Indian equity markets. US markets fell for the third straight session on weak economic data and a negative outlook from one of America's biggest companies which heightened fears about a slowdown in the economy. However, the Asian stock benchmarks were trading mostly higher on Wednesday, as investors snapped up stocks battered in the recent selloff. Shares in Japan advanced amid some strength in banks. Shares in Hong Kong are up, led by energy and property companies. Meanwhile, the US future indices were trading mixed in the screen trade. Back home, the overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of declines which outnumbered advances in the ratio of 1177:972, while 102 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,144.86, up by 7.51 points or 0.04%. The index has touched a high and low of 18,218.20 and 18,086.15 respectively. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in the red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were down by 0.25% and 0.09% respectively. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, IT up by 1.02%, TECk up by 0.71%, FMCG up by 0.44%, CG up by 0.41%, and Metal was up by 0.05%. While, Oil & Gas down by 1.32%, PSU down by 1.14%, Auto down by 1.02%, Healthcare down 0.83% and Realty down by 0.68% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 2.27%, Hindalco Industries up by 1.94%, Hero Honda up by 1.71%, TCS up by 1.11% and HDFC was up by 1.10%.

Leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) -- is planning to get a hold on the legal process outsourcing market and will soon be joining the likes of Infosys and Wipro in the multi-billion legal process outsourcing (LPO) segment.

The company infact has already begun on a "small scale" with 2-3 clients and has raised hiring, both in India and the UK, for this practice. However, TCS is yet to make big ticket announcement, which will happen only when the business achieves sizable scale

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.52%, Reliance Infra down by 1.97%, RIL down by 1.59%, SBI down by 1.37% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.04% were the top losers on the index.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs cut their target price on State Bank of India after the country's largest lender posted an unexpected slump in quarterly profit. Morgan Stanley cut its price target to 2,000 rupees from 2,450 rupees and said the stock was unlikely to perform when net interest margins were falling. It kept its 'underweight' rating on the shares. BofA-Merrill lowered its price target on SBI to 2,950 rupees from 3,400 rupees and maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock.

The S&P is currently trading at 5,438.90, lower by 0.05 points. The index has touched a high and low of 5,460.50 and 5,420.50 respectively.  There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Wipro up by 2.46%, Hindalco Industries up by 2.09%, Hero Honda up by 1.65%, TCS up by 1.35% and Infosys up by 1.18%.

Tata Motors down by 2.53%, SAIL down by 2.34%, BPCL down by 2.23%, Reliance Infra down by 1.95% and Reliance Industries (RIL) down by 1.67%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Shanghai Composite was up 0.72%, Hang Seng gained 0.51%, Jakarta Composite added 0.81%, KLSE Composite rose 0.22%, Nikkei 225 surged 1.06%, Straits Times inched up by 0.11%, Seoul Composite spiked up by 1.38% and Taiwan Weighted increased up by 0.44% .

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