After opening the day at record high levels, Indian share markets erased gains to end on a flat note led by a decline in automobile and FMCG stocks.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 20 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty ended down by 7 points.
In intraday trade today, the Sensex rallied over 400 points to hit fresh record high while the Nifty rose above 15,250.
Asian Paints was among the top gainers today. M&M, on the other hand, was among the top losers today.
SGX Nifty was trading at 15,112, down by 14 points, at the time of writing.
The BSE Mid Cap index ended down by 0.2%. The BSE Small Cap index ended lower by 0.3%.
Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the consumer durables sector witnessing buying interest.
Automobile stocks and FMCG stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.
Asian stock markets ended higher today after a record-setting day on Wall Street. The Nikkei ended up by 0.4% while the Shanghai Composite zoomed 2%. The Hang Seng ended up by 0.5%.
Crude oil prices hit 13-month highs, helped by rising optimism about a return in fuel demand.
US stock futures are trading flat. Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 14 points, while Dow Futures are trading down by 30 points.
The rupee is trading at 72.85 against the US$.
Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.7% at Rs 49,189 per 10 grams.
Speaking of stock markets, India's #1 trader, Vijay Bhambwani talks about whether the Indian stock market will face a taper tantrum, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.
In the video below, Vijay shows where you need to look for hints of a correction and why you need to be prepared for it
Tune in to find out more:
In news from the power sector, rating agency Moody's on Monday upgraded the outlook on the power sector to stable from negative, citing the fifth consecutive month of generation growth in January.
"We have changed the outlook for the power sector to stable from negative, recognising the better prospects for the sector as a result, amid an improved macroeconomic backdrop," Moody's said in a note.
The agency also said it does not expect any further material deterioration in the cash conversion cycle for power companies from current levels, which also supports the outlook.
The Central Electricity Authority last week reported a 3.1% year-on-year (YoY) growth in power generation in January, making it the fifth consecutive month of generation growth after six months of decline driven by coronavirus pandemic.
For the first 10 months of the fiscal 2021, power generation growth declined 2.9% YoY, compared to earlier expectations of a minimum 4-5% decline.
However, renewable energy generation (excluding hydro power) grew 4.3% during the same period and wind the weakest down 12%.
We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.
Speaking of the power sector, it is interesting to note that the power exchanged in India is about 4.5% of the overall power production, as can be seen in the chart below:
This is abysmally low by global standards. This shows that there is big upside in the market share of power exchanges in India.
As per Tanushree Banerjee, co-head of Research at Equitymaster, India's power sector is currently in transition. It is driven by increasing reliance on short-term contracts and electricity spot markets. This transition to the short-term market is happening due to quickly evolving industry dynamics.
Tanushree believes the Indian power sector will see a surge in spot power volumes due to certain factors.
Back in August 2020, Tanushree recommended a high quality stock from this space. Subscribers can read the report here (requires subscription).
And if you are not a StockSelect subscriber, here's where you can sign up.
In news from the chemicals sector, Balaji Amines was among the top buzzing stocks today.
Shares of the company zoomed 20% to hit a new high of Rs 1,514 after its profit more-than-doubled to Rs 701.6 million in the October-December quarter (Q3FY21) on the back of healthy revenue. The specialty chemicals company had posted a profit of Rs 267.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
Total income increased 63.7% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3.7 billion as sales volume jumped 34% YoY.
EBITDA was at Rs 987.7 million, up 116% YoY. Meanwhile, EBITDA margin improved 647 basis points (bps) to 26.9% from 20.5% in the previous year quarter.
The improvement in operating margins was primarily on account of improvement in operating leverage due to increase in volume offtake and better price realisation.
The company's management said the trend of increased demand across the company's product portfolio continues as there is sustained growth of Indian pharma industry on account of 'China Plus One' business strategy being adopted by Western companies.
Balaji Amines share price ended the day up by 14.2%.
Moving on to news from the automobile sector, shares of Balkrishna Industries slipped 10% today as investors booked profit after the company announced capital expenditure plan of up to Rs 19 billion, which will be funded by internal accruals and debt, if required.
The board at its meeting approved the capex plan, which includes Brownfield project at Bhuj to increase tire capacity, increase carbon black capacity including advance carbon black and power plant at Bhuj and modernization, automation and technology upgradation capex at existing facilities.
Further, the company's board has decided to shelve the US Greenfield tire project of 20,000 MTPA capacity with an estimated outlay of US$ 100 million previously approved by the board at its meeting held on August 10, 2019.
As per media reports, the announced capex is ahead of expectations and shall consume a large part of post dividend cash accretion at the company.
The company posted robust December quarter results with 46% YoY growth in standalone profit after tax at Rs 3.2 billion.
Revenue increased by 27% YoY to Rs 15 billion as sales volume jumped 26% YoY.
Balkrishna Industries share price ended the day down by 9.9%.
And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!
Read the latest Market Commentary
Equitymaster requests your view! Post a comment on "Sensex Ends Flat; Automobile and FMCG Stocks Witness Selling". Click here!
Comments are moderated by Equitymaster, in accordance with the Terms of Use, and may not appear
on this article until they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.
In the meantime, you may want to share this article with your friends!