Sensex snoozes as FDI logjam continues; JP Asso, RIL shine

Indian equities witnessed a dull day of trade with investors glued firmly to their television sets, watching political parties battle it out on the issue of FDI in retail. The Sensex closed up 36.70 points (0.19%) at 19342.02, while the Nifty ended trade 13.20 points up (0.22%) at 5884.15.

Speaking during the FDI debate in the Lok Sabha, BJP Sushma Swaraj said that the manufacturing sector will face the maximum unemployment due to FDI in retail. "Manufacturing sector will face maximum unemployment. Maximum products available will be from China. China will see growth in both manufacturing sector and employment," Sushma said during the debate on FDI in retail in Lok Sabha.

Earlier in the day, global rating agency Moody's maintained its negative outlook on the Indian banking space even as finance ministry official met its analysts to pitch for a sovereign rating upgrade.

However, banking stocks more or less had factored in this news. India's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank rallied over 1.5 percent whereas their rival HDFC Bank fell 0.34 percent.

The top gainer on the Nifty was Jaiprakash Associations up nearly 5%, after the company received the final forest clearance for its Amelia North coal mine in its Madhya Pradesh power project of 1320 MW.

Oil and gas major Reliance Industries was up on media reports that the oil ministry is poised to approve the company's investment plans for the KG-D6 block. Oil ministry sources told CNBC-TV18 that RIL's issue over the CAG audited has been resolved. The CAG will begin KG-D6 audit any day now.

Private power producer Tata Power topped the buying list, rising 4 percent as CLSA believes that under various scenarios the company could see a 16-80% upgrade in earnings.

In the second line shares, Ruchi Soya, KSK Energy Ventures, BF Utilities, Tata Chemicals and Shree Global were up 5-12 percent whereas Karnataka Bank, Jet Airways, CRISIL, Bayer Cropscience and Videocon Industries lost 3-6 percent.

Among auto stocks, two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto jumped 1.55 percent whereas its rival Hero Motocorp slipped 0.56 percent. Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra was down 1.75 percent.

Software services exporters TCS and Wipro fell 1.25 percent and 1.65 percent, respectively. FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever went down 0.4-0.6 percent. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro declined 0.5 percent.

Indian equity benchmarks remained lacklustre since early trade following listless trade in global markets. Gains in Reliance, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and ONGC were offset by the fall in L&T, HDFC Bank, TCS and ITC.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 12.60 points to 19,317.92 while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 5.25 points to 5,876.20.

In actual, the market has been consolidating since yesterday after the smart rally seen last week on likely FDI clearance in retail sector.

Phillip Capital managing director Vineet Bhatnagar feels even if the sluggishness in the market does continue , there might be an upside surprise sometime later in the day. Bhatnagar adds that FIIs have bought close to a USD 1 billion worth in the cash market and are going long on India thanks to the announcements from Parliament.

Meanwhile, index heavyweight and private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries jumped 2 percent while its rival ONGC was up 1.35 percent.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank moved up 1-1.5 percent whereas their rival HDFC Bank was down 0.7 percent.

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto went up 1.4 percent. However, capital goods major Larsen & Toubro and software services exporter TCS slipped 1 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors were down 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

On the global front, France's CAC was up 0.4 percent whereas Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX were flat.

Indian Benchmarks continue to remain a victim of prevailing mood, which in turn remains lackluster in absence of a dominant trigger. Both FDI in retail debate in Parliament and Reserve Bank of India's impending open market operation has not lifted sentiment in any meaningful way. At 12.26 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 36.65 points or 0.19% at 19341.97, and the Nifty advanced 11.65 points or 0.20% to trade at 5882.60.

Top gainers on Sensex include Bajaj Auto, BHEL and Reliance Industries, registering an upmove of 2.15%, 1.84% and 1.78%. After a recent run-up, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) looks weak; it was trading 1.18% lower than its previous close. Among the banking stocks, SBI and ICICI Bank gained 1.5% and 1%, respectively.

Interestingly, all paper stocks have seen significant gains today following talks of US Based International Paper's reported interest in West Coast Papers. Market talks suggest that the global paper giant is in negotiation to buy out majority stake of West Coast Papers' promoters. The company, however, has denied any stake sale. While West Coast Papers surged 5%, Rama Newsprint rose 14.5% and AP Papers gained 3.2 %. The US based firm last year acquired AP Papers Mills.

Piramal Enterprises rose 0.7 % as the company's subsidiary Decision Resources Group acquired Abacus International, a firm providing evidence-based global market access solutions for leading healthcare companies.

After beginning on a tepid note, Indian benchmarks picked up momentum and gained over 1% each. However, it once again succummed to profit-booking resulting in a flat-to-positive trade. At 10.44 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 30.15 points or 0.16% at 19335.47, and the Nifty up 8.25 points or 0.14% at 5879.20. CNX Midcap continues with its outperformance since yesterday, and was up about 1%.

Moody's, which met the finance ministry official, has expressed concerns on banks' stressed assets. Mild profit taking was visible in HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Andhra Bank. However, largest public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI) was trading up 1.03%. It had closed with 1.5% gains yesterday.

BHEL remains top gainer on the Sensex with close to 2% gains. The stock has moved up over 6 % in just three trading sessions.

Sectorally, BSE power gained 0.8%, with Power Grid and CESC rising over 1% each. Interest in CESC picked up after regulator in West Bengal allowed an average 1% raise in tariffs for FY13.

Among Infra stocks, IVRCL (up 2.6%), Patel Engineering (up 3%) and HCC (up 1.4%) were on buyers' list.

Benchmarks opened sluggish Tuesday, as the market is still trying to digest the huge gains made last week.

The 30-share Sensex was up 10 points at 19316, and the Nifty was up 2 points at 5873. December Nifty futures were trading at a 30-point premium to spot, reflecting a bullish near term outlook.

Jet Airways was a big mover in early trade, up nearly 5% to Rs 582 as investors expect the stake sale to Gulf carrier Etihad to be finalized shortly.

JP Power was up around 8% to Rs 42.65, and Aurobindo Pharma, Adani Power, and Muthoot Finance was up 2-3%.

Reliance Industries shares were flat at Rs 809, largely unmoved by a news report that the government was set to approve the company's investment plan for its KG-D6 block, which has been mired in controversy for a while now.

Pantaloon Retail shares were up 1.6% to Rs 233.50 ahead of the Parliament debate on FDI in retail. The stock was among the big gainers on Monday.