Markets turn flat; oil and metal shares weigh

Markets are trading flat in the noon trades in the absence of any directional cues. Weakness in the global markets along with losses in oil and metal shares are weighing on the benchmark indices.

At 1.05 PM the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty are flat at the mark of 27,381 and 8,243 respectively.

In the broader market, both the BSE midcap and smallcap indices are outperforming the large counterparts with gains of around 0.3% and 0.1% each. Market breadth on the BSE is weak with 1,230 advances against 1,345 declines.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian equities worth Rs 204.22 crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The rupee trimmed its early losses but was still down by 8 paise at 63.75 against the US dollar this morning. Sustaineddemand for the American currency from importers as well as its strength against other global currencies saw the rupee pinned near 13-month lows.

Key Stocks:

On the sectoral front, BSE Oil & Gas index is the top loser down over 1.2% followed by Metal index dipped nearly 1%. On the other hand, BSE Consumer Durables index emerged as the top gainer up over 1% followed by Power index up nearly 1%.

L&T has gained around 0.5%. The Building & Factories business of L&T Construction, a brand of L&T, has bagged orders worth Rs 2521 crore in the month of December 2014 in both the domestic & international markets, including the prestigious order for the construction of a new passenger terminal at Duqm Airport in Oman from Ministry of Transport & Communications, Sultanate of Oman.

Pharma shares are trading firm. Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddys Lab have gained between 0.3-1% .

IT stocks have erased its early gains and are trading marginally in greenr. Infosys and TCS have gained around 0.2% each.

BHEL has gained over 1%. According to media reports, the company has entered into an agreement with Hindustan Shipyard Limited and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited to bid for the Navy project to build six submarines.

Oil shares are under pressure as global crude prices declined further and analysts predicted further bearishness in the market owing to rising US production despite a global supply glut.

GAIL and ONGC have lost 0.7% and 1% each while RIL has declined around 1.8%.

Metal stocks have declined failing to maintain the gains made in the last session. Hindalco and Sesa Sterlite have lost around 0.4% and 1.2% each.

Tata Steel has lost over 1.5%. Tata Steel has announced that the mining restrictions the company faced in Jharhkand are likely to adversely impact its third quarter revenues as the company was compelled to suspend operations at one of its blast furnaces in Jamshedpur for more than a month resulting in below capacity operation during the period.

Auto shares are witnessing pressure in today’s trade. Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors are down between 0.5-1%.

Among other shares, Rohit Ferro-Tech surged 16.5% to Rs 8.7 on the BSE after the company approved the proposal to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose off the Jaipur manufacturing unit of of the company located at Kalinganagar industrial Complex, Duburi, Jajpur district in state of Orissa.

BASF India has climbed 1.5% to Rs 1,229 on the BSE after it signed the business transfer agreement with Wurth India to transfer its import and distribution business of Glasurit, an automotive refinish paint brand in India, with effect from February 01, 2015.

Shares of Suven Life were up over 4% at Rs 216 after the company said it has secured three product patents in Eurasia, Japan and Mexico.

Global Markets:

Asian shares got off to a lacklustre start on Tuesday, as a sharp selloff in commodities and political uncertainty in Greece made investors less willing to take risks in the final trading days of 2014, Reuters reported. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading down 1.1% and China’s Shanghai Composite is trading flat with a negative bias, while Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average is down 1.6%.

Overnight US stocks ended flat on Monday as the S&P 500 notched its latest record high, but gains were curbed when an early rally in energy prices lost momentum, Reuters reported. S&P500 Index ended up 0.09%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% and Nasdaq Composite ended unchanged.