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Indian markets drop on Asian cues
Tue, 2 Aug 09:30 am

All Asian stock markets have opened the day on a weak note. Stock markets in China (down 1.6%), Japan (down 1.2%), South Korea (down 1.9%) and Taiwan (down 1.2%) are leading the pack of losers. The Indian stock markets have also opened the day on a weak note. Stocks in the realty and banking space are facing significant selling pressure.

The BSE-Sensex is trading lower by around 157 points (0.9%), while the NSE-Nifty is down 49 points (0.9%). The midcap and smallcap stocks are in the negative as well with both the BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices down by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively. The rupee is trading at 44.22 to the US dollar.

Cement stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Shree Cement, Madras Cement and Chettinad Cement facing selling pressure. Shree Cement has announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 2011 (1QFY12). During the quarter the company's topline rose by 9.5% YoY to Rs 10,340 m. However, a correspondingly higher rise of 18.3% YoY in operating costs dented the company's margins. Operating margins (EBITDA) declined from 30.6% in 1QFY11 to 25.1% in 1QFY12. Poor operating performance coupled with a significant decline in other income caused the company's net profits to decline by 48.1% YoY. Net profit margins dropped from 11.2% in 1QFY11 to 5.3% in 1QFY12.

Oil & gas stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Reliance Industries (RIL), Gujarat State Petronet and Petronet LNG leading the losses. Indraprastha Gas has announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 2011. During the quarter the company's topline rose by 60% YoY to Rs 5,374 m. Operating costs rose at a slightly higher level of 66% due to a substantial increase in raw material cost. As a result, operating margins (EBITDA) declined from 32% in 1QFY11 to 29.5% in 1QFY12. At the bottomline level, profits soared by 40.1% YoY on the back of higher sales. However, higher operating costs and depreciation charges led the net profit margins to decline from 17% in 1QFY11 to 14.9% in 1QFY12.

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