Power stocks lead the gainers

Tue, 20 Oct 01:30 pm

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After opening the day on a flat note, the Indian Indices are presently trading above the dotted line. Most sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks from the power and auto sectors leading the gainers. However metal stocks are trading weak.

The BSE-Sensex is trading up 60 points (up 0.2%) and the NSE-Nifty is trading up 18 points (up 0.2%). The S&P BSE Midcap index is trading up 0.8% and the S&P BSE Smallcap index is trading up 0.6%. Commodity prices are trading mixed. Gold prices, per 10 grams, are trading at Rs 27,010 levels. Silver price, per kilogram, gained about 0.48% or Rs 176 and is trading at Rs 37,114 levels. Crude oil is trading in red with loss of 0.1% and is trading at Rs 3,048 per barrel. The rupee is trading at 64.87 to the US$.

Cement stocks are trading on a mixed note with ACC Ltd and The Ramco Cements witnessing maximum selling pressure. India's leading cement producer UltraTech Cement has reported its results for the quarter ended September 2015. Total revenues of the company rose 4% YoY to Rs 60.13 billion in the July-September quarter. The growth was driven by a 4% rise in the domestic cement sales which grew from 10.4 million tonnes in the July-September 2014 quarter to 10.8 million tonnes in the latest quarter. The company reported a 3% growth in its consolidated net profit on a YoY basis.

The company's tepid growth during the quarter reflects the weak demand scenario in the cement industry. While the cement demand recovery has been slow given the sluggishness in the overall economy, the company is expecting demand for cement to pick up in the second half of 2015-16. We'll be putting up a detailed analysis of the company's results later today (subscription required).

Presently the scrip of the company is trading up by 0.5%.

Stocks in the automobile space are trading on a positive note with Tata Motors and Tube Investments leading the gains. As per a leading financial daily, Maruti Suzuki India has launched a variant of its mid-sized sedan Ciaz. The petrol variant in the category is priced at Rs 9.2 lakh while the smart hybrid diesel option is tagged at Rs 10.28 lakh.

As the company stated, Ciaz has emerged as one of its strong brands. It has strengthened the position of the company in the mid-size premium sedan segment. Since its first launch in October last year, Ciaz has seen sales of over 56,000 units.

Maruti Suzuki India is India's largest passenger car company and accounts for over 50% of the domestic car market. Stock of the company is presently trading up by 0.7%.