Indian stock market indices slid deeper into the red due to selling pressure in heavy weights over the last two hours of trade. IT and banking stocks are leading the pack of losers, while realty and FMCG stocks are the biggest gainers.
The BSE-Sensex is down by 236 points and NSE-Nifty is down by 73 points. BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices are down by 1.5% and 1.6% respectively. The rupee is trading at 45.61 to the US dollar.
Power stocks are trading in the red with the key losers being Reliance Infrastructure and Jai Prakash Power. As per a leading financial daily, Reliance Infrastructure has hinted that it may not allow Tata Power to use its transmission network to supply electricity in suburban Mumbai. Tata Power is a rival of Reliance Infra in the power sector. The former has around eight lakh customers in the metropolis and it uses Reliance Infrastructure's 400 sq km long transmission network to supply electricity in the area. It is to be noted that the latter has also got a distribution licence in the same area and it serves 28 lakh customers. It was recently granted distribution and transmission licences by Maharashtra power regulator which were expiring on August 15, for a period of 25 years. Both the stocks were trading in the red.
Auto stocks are trading in the red with the key losers being Tata Motors and TVS Motor. Maruti Suzuki has launched an upgraded version of its popular 'Swift'. The new version is in the aggressive price range of Rs 4.22-6.38 lakh, cheaper than rivals Volkswagen Polo and Hyundai i20. It is lighter by 30 kg and offers better fuel efficiency than the phased out version. The company expects the new version to increase its sales. It has invested Rs 5.5 bn in the new car. It is important to note here that new car purchases in the auto market fell 16% in July versus 26% drop in company car sales volumes. The management has said that it has already received orders for 50,000 new Swifts from across the country. Expecting a healthy order flow, it has raised production of the new car at its Manesar plant from 12,000 to 18,000 units a month. The stock was trading in the red.
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