Indian equity markets continue trading in red; metals, realty drag

The Indian market, after opening lower on weak global cues, continues to trade in red but there is no sign of heavy selling. The weak session is mainly contributed by sharp selloff in RIL, proving a drag though some support is provided by ONGC, HUL and Bharti Airtel. Reliance Industries (RIL), a heavyweight of the Index extended initial losses after Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) refused to accredit three natural gas discoveries made by it at the KG-D6 block. Realty stocks too are trading in red on fear of another rate hike by RBI later in the week as higher interest rates could dent demand for residential and commercial property. Metal stocks declined as metal prices fell on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. Engineering stocks are trading weak led by Ingersoll Rand and AIA Engineering.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,214.61, down by 53.93 points or 0.30%. The index has touched a high and low of 18,242.25 and 18,120.76 respectively. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 declines on the index.

The broader indices too were trading in the red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices lost 0.19% and 0.05% respectively.

The only gaining sectoral indexes on the BSE were Health Care up by 0.09, CD up by 0.07%, TECk steady by 0.00%. While, Metal down by 0.96%, Realty down by 0.84%, Oil & Gas down by 0.70%, Bankex down by 0.39% and FMCG down by 0.27% were the major losers on the index.

Cipla up by 2.21%, RCom up by 1.73%, NTPC up by 1.19%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.10% and M&M up by 1.02% were the major gainers on the BSE.

On the flip side, RIL down by 1.79%, Hindalco down by 1.68%, DLF down by 1.26%, Tata Power down by 1.08% and SBI down by 1.06% were the top losers on the index.

Meanwhile, GAIL India is making a non-binding bid for acquiring 20% interest in shale gas assets owned by a US company. The estimated cost of the deal is $400-500 million. The company is expected to spend as much as $2 billion on acquisitions.

It is reported that the company is planning an overseas purchase which could include shale gas assets in the US and Australia. The company was also eyeing Eagle Ford Shale and Barnett Shale, both based out of Texas. After Reliance Industries, GAIL is the second company that is acquiring equity in US shale gas assets.

The board has approved the bid and has formed a committee of directors in charge of business development and finance to negotiate with the 'seller'. The acquisition is aimed to give GAIL the competence to bid for shale gas assets in India as and when they come up for auctions.  GAIL had issued in December a request for proposals from merchant bankers who can help to identify potential targets and eventually close a deal.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,466.70, down by 19.10 points or 0.35%. The index has touched a high and low of 5,470.85 and 5,436.95 respectively. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Cipla up by 2.11%, RCom up by 1.57%, BPCL up by 1.50%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.12% and GAIL up by 1.08%.

The top losers of the index were RIL down by 1.84%, Hindalco down by 1.81%, Sesa Goa down by 1.55%, Ambuja Cement down by 1.40% and SAIL down 1.38%.

All the Asian markets were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite declined 0.55%, Hang Seng dipped 0.33%, Jakarta Composite plunged 1.47%, KLSE Composite trimmed 0.51%, Nikkei 225 slid 0.70%, Straits Times descended 0.52%, Seoul Composite shed 0.17% and Taiwan Weighted fell 1.41%.

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