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Indian Markets Trade Weak
Mon, 16 May 11:30 am

The Indian markets are currently trading below the dotted line amid mixed international markets. Sectoral indices are trading mixed withIT and pharma stocks leading the gains. Banking and energy stocks witnessed maximum selling activity.

The BSE Sensex is trading lower by 117 points while the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 32 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading lower by 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. The rupee is trading at 66.76 to the US$.

Selling activity is witnessed across many of the capital goods' stocks with Bharat Electronics and Siemens bearing majority of the brunt. According to a leading financial daily, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has successfully commissioned a 660 MW supercritical thermal unit in Maharashtra. The unit has been commissioned at Mouda Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) at Mouda in Nagpur district of Maharashtra. The order for setting up two coal-based thermal units of 660 MW was placed on BHEL by NTPC.

While the first unit has been commissioned, work on the other 660 MW unit is also in an advanced stage. Notably, BHEL has earlier set up two units of 500 MW each at Mouda STPS, which are in operation.

Significantly, in FY16, all the 2,255 MW projects of NTPC and its JVs were executed by BHEL. BHEL has also been a major partner in the development of Maharashtra's power sector. BHEL has supplied and executed more than 16,000 MW of sets in the state so far. The scrip of BHEL is currently trading down by 0.4% on the BSE.

The engineering industry in India has grown tremendously over the years. But that growth has been marked by extreme volatility. Over the last eight years, the sector has seen numbers ranging from an output growth of 48% YoY in one year, to a contraction of 6% YoY in another. In our recent edition of the The 5 Minute Wrap Up Premium, we explain what factors to look for when picking an engineering stock (Subscription Required).

Shares of Raymond Ltd are trading up by 2.1% on the BSE after it was reported that the company is in talks with overseas private equity funds KKR & Company and Blackstone to sell 20% in its branded apparel business to fund expansion. In this regard, the company has appointed Citibank as investment banker.

The minority stake sale will help expand the apparel business which faces stiff competition from Aditya Birla Group's Madura Fashion and Arvind Lifestyle, leading apparel makers in India. According to The Economic Times, the branded apparel business clocked in a revenue growth of 18% in 2015-16 while the company's operating profit margin was negative 0.6%. India's readymade garments market is estimated at US$ 45 billion, with the branded apparel industry estimated at US$ 10 billion and growing at 10-12% per annum.

Raymond is one of India's largest branded fabric and fashion retailers. It is one of the leading, integrated producers of suiting fabric in the world, with a capacity of producing 38 million meters of wool & wool-blended fabrics.

Textile stocks were trading with negative bias in the morning trade. Vardhman Holdings and Welspun India are the leading losers.

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