Indian share markets slide further

Thu, 8 Nov 01:30 pm

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With all-round selling across counters, Indian share markets continued to slide deeper in red in the post noon trading session. Majority of the sectoral indices are trading negative with capital goods, power and oil and gas stocks leading the pack of losers. Auto and FMCG are the only indices trading in green.

BSE-Sensex is down 108 points and NSE-Nifty is trading down 43 points. BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices are trading down by 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. The rupee is trading at 54.4 to the US dollar.

Most of food stocks are trading in positive led by United Spirits and Tata Global Beverages. As per a leading financial daily, in a bid to move closer to its consumption markets and also prune costs, Britannia wants to push up the proportion of in-sourced manufacturing from the present 45% to 65% over the next few years. To achieve this, the company plans to set up greenfield manufacturing plants in Bihar, Odisha and Gujarat as well as buy stakes in companies promoted by its contract manufacturers. Apart from its portfolio of seven power brands that include Good Day, Marie, Milk Bikis, Tiger, Nutrichoice, Treat and 50-50, the company feels that having regional offerings that cater to local tastes and preferences is important so as to fully address the consumption footprint. Some of its regional brands include Britannia Top, Nutrichioce Thin Arrowroot biscuits in West Bengal and Tiger Brita biscuits in Kerala. According to the company, the penetration of its biscuits stands at around 50% which is more than half of the overall category penetration of 90%. The stock is 0.5% up.

Majority of the engineering stocks are trading in red with Praj Industries and Jain Irrigation being the biggest gainers. The stock of Crompton Greaves has been under pressure since the company announced its results for the quarter ended September 2012. While the company's consolidated revenue grew by about 8% YoY during the quarter, profits were lower by about 64% YoY. The revenue growth was largely led by the consumer products division. Crompton Greaves' power systems and industrial segments businesses reported marginal growth figures in 2QFY13. Operating profits dropped by about 40% YoY on the back of a sharp contraction in margins. The same was on account of an increase in staff costs and other expenses. The sharper decline in profits was on the back of an 86% YoY rise in interest costs. At the end of 2QFY13, the company's unexecuted order book stood at Rs 94 bn. The order inflow - during the quarter - stood Rs 25.7 bn. The stock is down 1.2%.