WEAK MARKETS

Indian equity markets continued trading lower in negative territory following a disappointing jobs data from the US, and concerns about the domestic economy appear to be forcing investors to tread a cautious path. Nifty drops below the 5,200 mark, while Sensex holding 17,100 level. On sectoral front banking stocks were hit by RBI's directive to set aside more capital to meet BASEL III requirements. Automobile, bank, realty, metal and PSU stocks were mostly trading weak. Power and oil stocks were also trading lower, while pharmaceuticals, information technology and FMCG stocks were finding modest support. However, Hero MotoCorp witnessed profit booking in trade on its Q4 result. In currency markets, Indian rupee declined by 28 paise in early trade today to hit fresh four-month low of Rs 53.26 against the American currency. On the global front, most of the Asian shares were trading in red. Back home, the market breadth favoring negative trend; there were 834 shares on the gaining side against 1,458 shares on the losing side while 102 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex, plunging by 105.13 points or 0.61%, is currently trading at 17,196.78. The index has touched a high and low of 17,271.77 and 17,148.66 respectively. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.

The broader indices too enticed additional weakness; the BSE mid cap and small cap indices declined 0.72% and 0.56% respectively.

Auto down by 1.89%, Bankex down by 1.41%, Realty down by 1.03%, PSU down by 1.02% and Power down by 0.90% were the top losers on the index. On the flip side, Information Technology up by 0.73%, TECk up by 0.45%, Health Care (HC) up by 0.03% and FMCG up by 0.01% were top gainers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 1.81%, Wipro up by 1.61%, Cipla up by 1.50%, Infosys up by 0.90% and HDFC Bank up by 0.85%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 5.99%, ICICI Bank down by 2.83%, SBI down by 2.32%, Coal India down by 2.18% and DLF down by 1.95% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, uncertainty in fuel prices and hike in excise duty dampened the growth of automobiles in April 2012. With petrol prices expected to rise further, diesel models continued to drive growth for most players.  Market leader Maruti Suzuki registered modest growth of 3.4% last month on the back of success of its new Ertiga MPV and the Swift range. However, Maruti's passenger car sales in the domestic market declined by 1.3% to 72,939 units and sales of mini-segment cars, including the M800, A-Star, Alto and WagonR, fell by 26.4% to 30,720 units during the month.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted 49% increase in sales at 14,378 units primarily on the back of Etios. On the other hand, Honda Siel trebled volumes to 7,075 units on increased off-take of Brio, the small car, on resumption of normal production at its manufacturing facility in India. The company had witnessed slow sales last year due to disruptions in supply of components because of the tsunami in Japan and the flood in Thailand.

Tata Motors saw sales dip by 3% to 22,658 units last month. Sales of Nano small car dipped by a fifth to 8,028 units. Mahindra's strong diesel portfolio led to a 33% rise, whereas General Motors and Ford both posted a decline of 20% (8,005 units) and 2%, respectively. Experts say with interest rates remaining high, entry-level buyers are being cautious and deferring purchases, which have led to a slowing in sales, particularly in the small car segment.

Two-wheeler makers like Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), TVS Motor Company and Yamaha Motor reported robust sales in April. Hero MotoCorp continued with brisk business as the company achieved its highest monthly sales in April, registering a growth of 6.6%. HMSI posted growth of a whopping 45.53% jump in its total sales for April.  On the hand, TVS Motor reported a 4% increase in sales as compared to same month last year. Yamaha sales grew 6% increase and VE Commercial Vehicles clocked 14.8% sales growth in April 2012. 

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,198.10, lower by 41.05 points or 0.78%. The index has touched a high and low of 5,217.30 and 5,189.45 respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Wipro up by 1.87%, HUL up by 1.82%, Cipla up by 0.96%, HDFC Bank up by 0.84% and Infosys up by 0.82%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 6.16%, Axis Bank down by 3.36%, ICICI Bank down by 2.93%, IDFC down by 2.73% and DLF down by 2.38% were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading mixed; Hang Seng slipped 0.46%, KOSPI Composite shed 0.28% and Taiwan Weighted lost 0.23%. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite up by 0.02%, Jakarta Composite added 0.05%, KLSE Composite gained 0.04%, and Straits Times rose 0.06%.

Stock markets in Japan remained closed on Thursday on account of Constitution Memorial Day and would re-open directly on Monday.