Market drops in early trade on weak Asian stocks

Key benchmark indices dropped in early trade on weak Asian stocks. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower in early trade. Reliance Industries also declined in early trade. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 188.91 points or 0.97%, off 72.20 points from the day's high and up 36.02 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 43.20 crore on Tuesday, 2 July 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

At 9:31 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 188.91 points or 0.97% to 19,274.91. The index lost 224.93 points at the day's low of 19,238.89 in early trade. The index fell 116.71 points at the day's high of 19,347.11 in opening trade.

The CNX Nifty was down 54.95 points or 0.94% to 5,802.60. The index hit a high of 5,815 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,792.65 in intraday trade.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 669 shares declined and 306 shares rose. A total of 51 shares were unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 309 crore by 09:30 IST.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 25 stocks declined and only five of them gained.

Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC shed 0.97% to Rs 321.80.

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 1.3% to Rs 860. The government on Thursday, 27 June 2013, decided to raise natural gas prices sharply to help fund investment in exploration and reverse declining domestic gas output.

The government on Thursday, 27 June 2013, agreed to double natural gas prices to industrial and retail consumers to help fund investment in exploration and reverse declining domestic gas output. The price of gas could go up to $8.4 per million metric British thermal units (mmBtu), effective 1 April next year, from current $4.2 mmBtu.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.20%. Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday, 2 July 2013, announced the launch of limited edition of sporty version of its compact car model Swift RS. The Swift RS comes with new styling and graphics, which give it a distinct sporty character and looks, Maruti said. Swift RS will be available only in limited numbers and for a short period.

Hindustan Copper lost 2.27%. The government has announced an Offer for Sale (OFS) for divestment of stake in Hindustan Copper to enable the company to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms. The government has set floor price of Rs 70 for the OFS, a 3.78% discount to Hindustan Copper's closing price on BSE on Tuesday, 2 July 2013. The government has decided to sell 3.71 crore shares constituting 4.01% stake in Hindustan Copper via OFS today, 3 July 2013. The government currently holds 94.01% in Hindustan Copper. The stake-sale would make the company complaint to the minimum 10% public holding norm of market regulator Sebi. Sebi has mandated minimum public shareholding of 10% for state-run firms by 8 August 2013.

Shares of Hindustan Copper lost 6.62% to settle at Rs 72.65 on Tuesday, 2 July 2013.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell 0.83%. The company after market hours on Tuesday, 2 July 2013, said it has formed a joint venture (JV) with Switzerland-based MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company to operate the Adani International Container Terminal (AICTPL), in South Basin, the third container terminal at Mundra Port.

Mr. Gautam Adani, Chairman Adani Group said, "Adani Ports has been at the forefront of creating modern Port Infrastructure, catering to the EXIM and domestic needs for over 16 years. The new container terminal will enable the biggest and largest container vessels to seamlessly berth and operate at Mundra. With rapid access to North and West India hinterland, the trade at large will benefit from scale benefits of larger vessels calling at Mundra, in addition to proximity to hinterland markets, providing a compelling cost advantage to port users. The new container terminal will be a regional hub with Trans-shipment of international cargo being performed. These facilities, along with other terminals in Mundra and Hazira are poised to serve the nation's sorely needed infrastructure shortages. Furthermore, Adani Ports will be expanding capacity to serve the nation's port infrastructure needs, providing international standards of capability and cost efficiency".

TTK Prestige fell 1.81% after turning ex-dividend today, 3 July 2013, for dividend of Rs 17.50 per share for the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013).

Markit Economics will today, 3 July 2013, unveil the result of a monthly survey on the performance of India's services sector for June 2013. The HSBC Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.6 in May from 50.7 in April.

Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, 3 July 2013, as concerns about growth in China's services sector added to the selling pressure amid caution ahead of US jobs data later in the week. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan were down 0.02% to 1.94%.

A pair of surveys monitoring China's services sector released Wednesday showed weak growth for June. The government-sponsored version of China's services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 53.9 for June from May's 54.3, though it remained above the 50 level dividing expansion from contraction.

Later in the morning, HSBC said its privately compiled China Services Business Activity Index ticked up to 51.3 last month, compared to 51.2 the previous month.

US stocks edged lower on Tuesday, 2 July 2013, losing steam gained from reports showing solid growth for car sales and factory orders as investors anticipated the jobs report at the end of the week.

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