Mid & small caps buck the trend

Wed, 21 May 01:30 pm

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Indian markets continued to trade in the red during the previous two hours of trade. However, the markets have recouped from the day's low level. Only the IT stocks are trading firm, while loss is being led by stocks from banking and capital goods sectors.

The BSE-Sensex is trading down by 125 points and the NSE-Nifty is trading down by 42 points. However, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up 0.7% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading up 0.9% today. The rupee is trading at 58.7 to the US dollar.

Energy stocks are trading mixed. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Gas Authority of India Ltd (Gail) India are trading lower, whereas Essar Oil is trading on a positive note. As per a leading business daily, the government owned oil & gas major ONGC's foreign investment arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has released profit & loss numbers for FY14. OVL reported record turnover of Rs 216.6 bn during the fiscal, which was up by 22% YoY over the previous year. Higher production, sales and favorable exchange rates led to the robust topline growth. The company produces 169,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day. It has total oil & gas reserves of about 637 m tonnes of oil equivalent (MMToe) as of March 2014. Net profit increased by 13% YoY to Rs 44.4 bn in FY14. As per the chairman, the company needs to improve its performance on production front and also acquire foreign energy assets in order to increase production to 20 MMToe by FY18 and 60 MMToe by FY30. OVL's parent ONGC is expected to release its FY14 and March quarter results on May 26, 2014.

Among consumer durable stocks, while Blue Star is trading up by 1.4%, Voltas is trading down by 3.5%. A leading financial daily has stated that as per industry body Associated Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ASSOCHAM), soaring mercury levels have failed to boost demand for residential and commercial air-conditioners. During the first four months of 2014, the demand for residential and commercial air conditioners were down by 10% and 20%, respectively. The air conditioning industry had been witnessing falling demand in the past three seasons. However demand, in the season this year, has been sluggish due to price-hikes and high interest rates. Majority of the air conditioner manufacturers have raised prices by up to 20% due to mandatory requirement of star rating by the Bureau of Energy (BEE) that has led to higher costs for technological upgradation. Reportedly, offtake of air conditioners fell by 15% during January-April 2014.