Indian stock markets continue to trade in the red on sell off in heavy weights over the last two hours of trade. Stocks from oil & gas and FMCG space are trading weak while stocks from the IT and consumer durable space are trading firm.
The BSE-Sensex is trading down by 107 points while NSE-Nifty is trading 35 points below the dotted line. BSE Midcap index is down by 0.2% while the BSE Small cap index is down by 0.1%. The rupee is trading at 44.69 to the US dollar.
Auto stocks are trading weak led by Maruti Suzuki and Escorts. As per a leading financial daily, auto sales touched 20 month lows in May. Sales rose 10.6% YoY in May as compared to a year ago. Car sales in India grew 7% YoY in May. Number of cars sold equaled 158,817 as against 148,425 a year ago. Rising lending rates and fuel prices have resulted in this slowdown. In such a scenario, consumer have preferred to defer their purchases. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has decided to wait for another month before coming out with forecasted sales numbers. It may be noted here that Mr. Pawan Goenka, President SIAM had earlier predicted 14-16% growth, revised from 16-18%. A major concern that has risen recently is based on RBI's new guidelines about non banking finance companies (NBFCs). Now, NBFCs cannot provide loans for purchase of non-transport vehicles which are personal vehicles.
Packaging stocks are trading firm led by Acclaim Industries and Uflex. As per a leading financial daily, Essel Propack, is planning to focus more on emerging markets like Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia and Africa as US and European markets are still struggling. As per the company's vice chairman & managing director Mr Ashok Goel, Essel Propack is planning to scale up its operations in emerging markets. The strategy of the company to achieve this would be through a combination of acquisition, capacity expansion and greenfield projects. While concerns on US and Europe continue, the company has indicated that this situation is not troubling the company. This is because emerging markets are picking up. On the other hand the company is not specifically looking to pick up stressed and troubled capacities which are up for distress sales in several European nations. It may be noted that Essel Propack derives about 80% of its business from overseas markets.
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 "Oil & gas stocks sink markets". 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!