The Indian equity markets traded weak throughout the day today. Selling activity was witnessed in stocks across the board with those from the consumer durables, realty and banking spaces leading the pack of losers. The key concerns surrounding the markets seemed to be the further decline in the Rupee against the dollar, which could possibly trigger action from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and government. While the BSE-Sensex closed lower by 450 points, the NSE-Nifty closed lower by 143 points. BSE Mid Cap and the BSE Small Cap closed on a weak note as well.
As regards global markets, Asian indices closed on a mixed note. European indices have largely opened in the green. The rupee was trading at Rs 61.38 to the dollar at the time of writing.
Power stocks ended the day on a weak note with Tata Power and Adani Power leading the pack of losers. The selloff in Tata Power was on the back of the company announcing weak numbers for the quarter ended June 2013. While the company's standalone revenues and profits grew by 14% YoY each during the quarter, its consolidated numbers came in very weak. While consolidated revenues grew by 29% YoY, it reported a loss of Rs 1.15 bn during the quarter ended June 2013. Key factors behind the loss were higher finance charges coupled with forex losses. A year ago, the company's quarterly profit stood at about Rs 1.5 bn. While the company's power business' revenues were higher by 43% YoY, its coal business witnessed a decline in revenues (4% YoY).
Stocks from the capital goods space ended the day on a weak note. Engineers India closed down by over 6% on the back of the company announcing a poor set of results for the quarter ended June 2013. While net sales were down by 38% YoY, profits were down by 16% YoY. The key culprit for the poor set of results was the company's 'turnkey division' which reported a massive 66% YoY decline in revenues. On the other hand, the 'consultancy and engineering products' division reported a 3% YoY increase in revenues. The relatively slower pace in decline in profits was on account of higher operating margins and a lower tax outgo. The improvement in operating margins was attributable to the savings in the construction costs as well as sub-contract payments during the quarter.
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