Indian equity markets continue to trade weak over the last two hours of trade. Pharma and Consumer Durable stocks witnessed maximum buying interest while Oil and Gas and Realty stocks witnessed maximum selling pressure.
The Sensex today is down by 78 points, while the NSE-Nifty is down by 28 points. BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are up by 0.59% and 0.55%. The rupee is trading at 52.18 to the US dollar.
Energy stocks are trading in the red led by Reliance Industries and Gujarat Gas. According to a leading financial daily, Reliance Industries has refused to follow the oil ministry order to swap its Krishna Godavari (KG)-D6 block gas with an Andhra city gas company. The ministry had earlier ordered that a part of the 2.6 million standard cubic metres per day of KG-D6 gas allocated to Gas authiority of India Ltd (Gail) India be diverted to Hyderabad-based Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd (BGL) under a so-called gas swapping guidelines. Reliance has said that if such a policy was allowed it would encourage KG-D6 allottees to sell the cheap gas at higher rates during times like plant shutdowns when they don't need the fuel. The company has also said that trading in scarce natural resource was not permissible under the gas utilisation policy.
FMCG stocks are trading firm led by Archies Limited and Colgate. As per a leading daily, Dabur is eyeing overseas acquisitions in the healthcare segment. We may note here that to establish its business abroad, the company needs to tide over regulatory issues. A local acquisition would help Dabur get better foothold in the segment. Presently, Dabur is present in markets across West Asia, North Africa and Asia. However, the company is mainly focused on the personal care segment in these markets through its acquisitions of Hobi Kozmetik in Turkey and Namaste Laboratories in the US. The FMCG company earns Rs 16 bn from international operations which is 30% of its total turnover.
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