Indian Indices Trade Marginally Lower; Metal Stocks Witness Losses

Fri, 18 May 12:30 pm

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Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector and capital goods sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 139 points (down 0.4%), while the NSE Nifty is trading down by 34 points (down 0.3%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.4%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.5%.

The rupee is trading at 67.94 to the US$.

In the news from airline sector, data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed domestic air passenger volume surged 26% in April to 11.51 million over the year-ago period. The rise here was driven by the tourists season, which began from the previous month.

The Gurugram-based IndiGo remained the market leader, having flown more than four out of every 10 passengers as it carried 4.58 million passengers during the month, while rival SpiceJet continued to see the highest seat occupancy across its aircraft market at 95.5%.

As per the data, Indian carriers flew 11.51 million passengers in April this year as against 91.34 million in the same month last year, logging a 24.1% growth.

Note that India's aviation industry is on a high-growth trajectory. India's domestic air traffic has seen a prolific growth of 20-25% during 2015 and 2016. And in 2017, it tapered to 17.4%. However, for the first time, domestic air traffic crossed an important landmark of 100 million passengers in a calendar year.

Indian Aviation Spreading its Wings

Air travel has recorded double-digit growth for 40 consecutive months, thanks to low fares, the addition of new flights/destinations, and overall growth in the economy.

What's foreseeable for India's aviation traffic in 2018 is some pressure on the back of the consistent rise in crude oil prices. Earlier this year, Brent crude oil briefly breached US$70 per barrel and touched its highest level since December 2014. Crude prices have been driven up by production curbs in OPEC nations and Russia, as well as by robust demand on the back of healthy global economic growth.

Oil prices are closely monitored by the Indian air carriers, as aviation turbine fuel is their single largest input cost. A sharp rise in the cost of fuel puts pressure on margins, and consequently an increase in air fares.

Although air travel is becoming the new normal, investors need to understand the industry dynamics before buying up aviation stocks.

Banking stocks are witnessing selling pressure today. At the time of writing, the BSE Bankex was trading down by 0.6%. ICICI Bank share price and Bank of Baroda share price were the top losers in the index.

Speaking of banking sector, here's what Kunal Thanvi, editor of Smart Money Secrets, wrote about the banking sector in today's issue of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• After the recent Reserve Bank of India new guidelines, both public and private sector banks have seen a significant rise in non-performing assets. That has resulted in a sharp decline in net profits.
  
  In fact, most of the public-sector banks have reported losses in the last quarter of FY18. The RBI has even barred Dena Bank from further lending.
  
  The RBI is considering barring more lenders that have failed to maintain minimum capital as per RBI's guidelines.
  
  We believe, this is definitely a sign of a further consolidation in the banking sector. If one can pick a bank with a differentiated lending strategy and a strong management, it could be a good investment going ahead.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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