Indian share markets open weak

Thu, 14 Feb 09:30 am

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Barring Singapore (down 0.2%), most major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a firm note with stock markets in Hong Kong (up 0.9%), Japan (up 0.6%) and China (up 0.6%) leading the gains. The Indian share market indices have opened the day on a weak note. Stocks in the auto and healthcare space are leading the losses. However, information technology and oil & gas stocks are trading firm.

The Sensex today is marginally down by around 19 points (0.1%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 6 points (0.1%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the red with the BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices down by around 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 53.92 to the US dollar.

Steel stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Bhushan Steel and JSW Ispat leading the losses. Leading Indian steel manufacturer Tata Steel has announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 2012 (3QFY13). On a consolidated basis, the company's net total income from operations stood at Rs 321.1 bn, lower by 3% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. At the bottomline level, the company reported net losses of Rs 7.6 bn, against losses of Rs 6 bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The company's poor performance was attributable to weak European operations. On a standalone basis, Tata Steel reported a topline of Rs 93.7 bn during the quarter, a rise of 11.8% YoY from Rs 83.8 bn in 3QFY12. The Indian operations reported net profits of Rs 10.5 bn, lower by 26.4% YoY. The company is now focusing on building a 3 million-tonne plant at Kalinganagar, Odisha, and also on expanding its Jamshedpur unit.

Mining stocks have opened the day on mixed note with National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Coal India Ltd (CIL) leading the gains. However, Ashapura Minechem Ltd and MMTC Ltd are facing selling pressure. Leading mining giant CIL has announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 2012 (3QFY13). Consolidated net sales during the quarter stood at Rs 173.3 bn, higher by 12.9% YoY from Rs 153.5 bn in 3QFY12. The growth in sales was led by 9.1% YoY increase in coal offtake which stood at 120 million tonnes during the latest quarter. Operating profits declined by 5.8% YoY on account of increases across most major cost heads. Operating profit margins declined from 29.7% in 3QFy12 to 24.8% in 3QFY13. However, higher other income, lower depreciation charges and interest expenses caused the bottomline by 8.9% YoY to Rs 44 bn. Net profit margins stood at 25.4% against 26.3% in 3QFY12. The PSU mining firm has set a coal output target of 464 million tonnes for the financial year 2013-14 (FY14).