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Indian Markets Trade in the Red
Mon, 18 Jan 11:30 am

After opening the day in the red, the Indian indices extended losses and continue to trade negatively. Sectoral indices are trading on a discouraging note with stocks from the telecom and auto sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading down 47 points (down 0.2%) and the NSE Nifty is trading down 15 points (down 0.2%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 1.3% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 2.6%. The rupee is trading at 67.56 to the US$.

Energy stocks are trading on a mixed note with Cairn India and Gujarat Gas leading the losses. As per an article in Economic Times, India will resume its unrestricted import of oil from Iran with international nuclear sanctions on Iran being lifted on Sunday.

The lifting of sanctions came after the US secretary of state John Kerry issued a statement confirming the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran has fully implemented its required commitments. With this development, Iran is expected to increase its exports of 1.1 million barrels of oil per day by 5,00,000 barrels per day. Indian currently imports 2,60,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), Indian Oil Corporation, and Essar Oil are the primary buyers of the Iranian oil.

And as per sources, Tehran is targeting India besides its traditional European partners as one of its top destinations. Further, Tehran is not considering increasing its oil exports to China, South Korea or Japan due to the dampened demand witnessed there.

On the other hand, the Indian car market is growing faster than China and the country's economic growth rate is picking up. Going forward, India could be an important demand driver for oil

Stocks in the automobile space are trading on a dismal note with Force Motors and Bajaj Auto leading the losses. As per a leading financial daily, Maruti Suzuki has hiked prices of its vehicles across models by up to Rs 12,000. The average hike in the ex-showroom prices across models, starting from entry level hatchback Alto 800 to premium crossover S-Cross, is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000. Further, the company has also hiked prices of its recently launched premium hatchback Baleno in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 12,000.

Many of the automakers have increased the prices of their vehicles in recent times. Some to be named are Honda, Toyota Kirloskar, Tata Motors and Skoda. Honda Cars India has increased prices of its vehicles across models by up to Rs 10,000. Skoda has also increased prices of its model range by up to Rs 33,000 since the beginning of January. Toyota Kirloskar Motor also raised product prices by up to Rs 31,500. Similarly, Tata Motors has hiked prices of its passenger vehicles by up to Rs 20,000 this month.

The above practice is carried every year by car makers where they announce their plans to increase prices of their vehicles during the start of the new year. The motive is to push sales to liquidate stocks after heavy discounting in festive season.

Presently the stock of Maruti Suzuki is trading down by 1.1%.

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