Nifty in red; Sesa Goa, Sterlite plunge on Goa mining suspension

Tracking sluggish global cues the Indian markets today opened in the red with the Sensex down 0.28 percent at 17717.23 and the Nifty down 0.38 percent at 5342.

“Concerns over slowing growth and high f inflation in the economy are expected to persist in the near term. We believe that the high interest rate environment and sluggish growth in capex activity will continue to affect stocks in cyclical sectors,” said brokerage Angel Broking in a note today.

US markets closed lower on Monday on getting weak economic data from both domestic as well as global front. Traders opted to book some profit ahead of the big Fed meeting. The Asian markets have made a soft start and barring one or two, all indices in the region were trading in red. Global focus will remain on the outcome of two-day FOMC meeting and the German constitutional court’s ruling on ESM. Chinese data has been pretty glum as well.

[caption id=“attachment_450928” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Global focus will remain on the outcome of two-day FOMC meeting and the German constitutional court’s ruling on ESM. Chinese data has been pretty glum as well.[/caption]

Domestically, political impasse will continue to be a major overhang for Indian stocks, unless the Congress decides to do something.

Rain gods seem to have woken up wee bit late this monsoon season. Although a lot of damage to crops has already been done, even the late showers will come in handy. Reservoirs will swell up, helping farmers in the Rabi season.

Goa has temporarily suspended all mining activities, effective Tuesday, after an expert panel formed by the central government found “serious illegalities and irregularities” in mining operations. The suspension has impacted metal stocks severely with Sesa Goa down 4.6 percent ( Top Nifty loser) and Sterlite down 4.2 percent ( Top Sensex Loser).

Shares of public sector oil marketing companies are in the spotlight amid media reports that the Cabinet meeting later this evening could take a call on the sensitive issue of fuel price hike. BPCL rallied 1.5% ahead of cabinet meeting on fuel price hike today after market hours. HPCL surged 1.6% and IOC rose 1%. News of an impending increase in regulated fuels such as diesel and LPG has been doing the rounds for quite some time now

TCS, Sun Pharma, ONGC, NTPC, HUL, Dr Reddys Lab,Gail India, HUL are among gainers in BSE Sensex and Nifty.

RIL, Infosys,Wipro, BHEL, Tata Power, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Coal India are among losers in BSE Sensex and Nifty.

The airline stocks may see some upmove, as the Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh had written to the Oil Ministry on declaring aviation turbine fuel (ATF) as a notified product, which may decrease the burden of fuel cost on airlines. The auto sector too may remain buzzing as the car industry is demanding a revival package that includes a cut in excise duty and resumption of government purchases.

Stocks in news

MCX-SX aims to start equity trading in mid-Nov-MCX Stock Exchange in its quest to

become the country’s third major equities market. The stock is up 1.55 percent

Infosys has agreed to buy Lodestone Holding AG in a deal valued at 330 million Swiss francs, as India’s No. 2 software services exporter strives to boost income from higher value services and accelerate growth. The stock is down 0.8 percent in trade.

Max India Ltd, a diversified group with interests in hospitals and life insurance businesses, said on Monday it had sold its unit that makes polypropylene film to Germany’s Treofan for Rs 540 cr

Congress MP and JSPL chairman-and-managing director Naveen Jindal rubbished allegations that the company had violated norms in order to acquire coal blocks. Jindal added that the charges levied by the Opposition were baseless. The stock is down 1.3 percent today.

The Inter Ministerial Group headed by Zohra Chatterjee has completed the review of 28 captive coal blocks allotted. The IMG will submit its report to Coal Ministry of India today.

ONGC will buy 2.72% stake in the large Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli Group of oil fields in Azerbaijan as well as 2.36% stake in an associated pipeline to for $1 billion from Hess Corp. The stock is up 1.21 percent

Deccan Chronicle board has agreed to restructure the existing debt of the company by an application to CDR cell.The stock isup 4.38 percent at Rs 13.85

Amtek India has raised $0 million through FCCBs. The FCCBs are convertible at Rs 103.05 per share with maturity of 5 years.