MARKETS REMAIN UNDER PRESSURE

Indian equity markets, which tumbled in the morning session, remained in negative territory in the late morning session amid a cautious mood. Meanwhile, government has reported FY12 gross domestic savings at 30.8%, down from 34% earlier, however FY11 GDP had produced better results than initially thought. The revised number for FY11 stands at 9.3% from 8.4% estimated earlier. However, benchmarks have not reacted to this news and remained barren of action on the F&O series expiry day. In currency markets, rupee appreciated against dollar on continued selling of the American currency by exporters amid increased capital inflows. On sectoral front, metal and information technology stocks were mostly subdued. Realty stocks were finding fairly good support. Consumer durables, power and automobile stocks were also seeing some buying. In global markets, Asian shares gave up earlier session's gains on Thursday as sentiment was underpinned by the US Federal Reserve's pledge to retain its stimulus policy and on the signs of stabilization in the euro zone. Back home, the market breadth favoring negative trend; there were 1,140 shares on the gaining side against 1,175 shares on the losing side while 150 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19,951.96 down by 53.04 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 20,008.83 and 19,938.94. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.11% and Small cap index was up by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Realty up by 0.78%, Consumer Durables up by 0.46%, PSU up by 0.35%, Auto up by 0.22% and Health Care up by 0.15%, while, Metal down by 0.63%, Oil & Gas down by 0.29%, FMCG down by 0.27%, IT down by 0.15% and Bankex down by 0.01% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up by 1.82%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.47%, ONGC up by 0.99%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.72% and Sun Phama up by 0.37%.

On the flip side, Tata Power down by 1.98%, Sterlite Industries down by 1.65%, Reliance down by 1.32%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.23% and Wipro down by 1.17% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane is likely to be raised 23.5 per cent to Rs 210 a quintal by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for the 2013-14 sugar season. The proposed FRP hike would be in line with the recommendation of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices. However, if approved, could help farmers offset the rising cultivation costs, including both labor and fuel.

Also, CCEA is expected to consider allowing export of edible oil from the domestic tariff area (DTA) to special economic zones. Besides, it is also likely to consider allowing export of coconut oil and permit the export of edible oils with a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,500 a tonne in branded consumer packs of up to 5 kg without any quantitative restrictions.

Planting of sugarcane starts a year-ahead and an early announcement of FRP would help farmers make informed decisions. FRP, the benchmark cane price for 2013-14 sugar year, starting October, is linked to a basic recovery rate of 9.5 per cent, subject to a premium of Rs 2.21 a quintal for every 0.1 per cent increase in recovery above 9.5 per cent. FRP is fixed by the Centre but there at least five states - Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu - that announce their own rates, called the State Advisory Price (SAP).

India is expected to produce about 24 million tonnes (mt) of sugar in the current year, down from 26 mt last year. Domestic consumption of sugar is pegged at 22 mt.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,046.75 down by 9.00 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 6,058.05 and 6,042.30. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 declines on the index and one remains unchanged.

The top gainers of the Nifty were PNB up by 2.20%, BHEL up by 2.01%, DLF up by 1.82%, Asian Paints up by 1.59% and IDFC up by 1.40%.

On the flip side, Sesa Goa down by 1.98%, Tata Power down by 1.74%, Reliance Industries down by 1.43%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.24% and Wipro down by 1.21% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Hang Seng lost 0.34%, Jakarta Composite declined 0.40%, KLSE Composite slipped 0.06%, Straits Times dipped 0.06% and KOSPI Composite decreased 0.16%.

On the other hand Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.22%, Nikkei 225 up by 0.09% and Shanghai Composite was flat at 2,382.47.