Auto, FMCG stocks witness mixed trend

Key benchmark indices hovered in a narrow range in negative terrain in early afternoon trade. At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 66.88 points or 0.21% at 32,175.05. The Nifty 50 index fell 31.45 points or 0.31% at 10,055.15. Market sentiment was lackluster amid geopolitical tensions in the wake of North Korea's missile launch in the direction of the east of Japan.

The Sensex lost 103.55 points or 0.32% at the day's low of 32,138.38 in morning trade. It rose 3.35 points or 0.01% at the day's high of 32,245.28 in early trade. The Nifty lost 42.95 points or 0.42% at the day's low of 10,043.65 in morning trade. It fell 2.70 points or 0.02% at the day's high of 10,083.90 in early trade.

Key indices opened the session lower on weak global cues. Later, indices hovered in negative terrain in a mostly range-bound trading so far.

Among other indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.53%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.23%. The declines in both the indices were higher than the Sensex's fall in percentage terms.

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed after North Korea launched a missile in the direction of the east. As per reports, the unidentified missile flew over Japan before landing 2,000 km east of Hokkaido. US equities closed mostly lower yesterday, 14 September 2017 after strong inflation data raised the possibility of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. However, the Dow index closed at its record high.

In the economic news, the US initial jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 284,000 from the previous week's unrevised level, figures released by the Labor Department yesterday, 14 September 2017 showed.

Closer home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 1,487 shares declined and 846 shares advanced. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks were mixed. Ashok Leyland (down 1.53%), Eicher Motors (down 0.84%), Tata Motors (down 0.41%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 0.02%) edged lower. Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.4%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.15%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.15%) gained.

FMCG stocks also witnessed mixed trend. Marico (down 1.81%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 0.99%), Emami (down 0.79%), Dabur India (down 0.54%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.43%) declined. Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.45%), Britannia Industries (up 0.42%), Nestle India (up 0.24%) and GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Health Care (up 0.22%) gained.

IndusInd Bank was down 0.76% at Rs 1,714. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan of up to $200 million with IndusInd Bank to provide finance to low income women borrowers in rural India. The 7-year senior loan will go toward IndusInd Bank's microfinance activities. The announcement was made during market hours today, 15 September 2017.

Mirc Electronics galloped 15.89% to Rs 23.34, with the stock extending previous session's surge triggered by the company announcing stellar Q1 results. The stock had hit 20% upper circuit to settle at Rs 20.14 yesterday, 14 September 2017, after the company announced robust Q1 results, after market hours on 13 September 2017. The company's net profit jumped 287.9% to Rs 4.50 crore on 13.7% decline in net sales to Rs 207.29 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its weekly weather report said that for the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon upto 13 September has been 6% below the normal rainfall. The June-September southwest monsoon is critical for the country's agriculture because a considerable part of the country's farmland is dependent on the rains for irrigation.

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