A dull end to the day

Tue, 13 Oct Closing

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After trading range bound with negative bias for the majority part of the day, Indian equity markets closed the session in red. The BSE-Sensex closed lower by 58 points, while NSE-Nifty closed lower by 12 points. However, S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap indices managed to stay above the dotted line closing 0.1% and 0.4% higher respectively. Sectoral indices ended the day on a mixed note. Realty gained the most followed by Power sector stocks. However, oil and gas and IT stocks witnessed majority of the selling activity.

Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.17%, while the Nikkei 225 led the Hang Seng lower. They fell 1.11% and 0.57% respectively. European markets have opened lower in early trade. The rupee was trading at 64.72 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

According to a leading financial daily, ABB India has won orders worth Rs 1.41 bn from Power Grid Corporation of India to supply 765 kilovolt (kV) ultrahigh voltage power transformers for substations in the northern states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Three of these ultra-high voltage transformers will be installed at the Meerut substation in the north west of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, while 14 transformers will be installed in new substations being constructed in Uttarakhand.

ABB will design, manufacture, test, transport, erect and commission the 765 kV single-phase autotransformers at the substation sites. The 14 transformers for the greenfield substations in Uttarakhand are rated at 266.7 megavolt ampere (MVA), while the three transformers for the Meerut substation in Uttar Pradesh are 500 MVA.

The company's stock price is up by over 34% in the last one year, and a whopping 173% over the last two years. Except that the company's performance during this very period has been subdued. Its order book at the end of the June 2015 quarter fell 2% YoY compared to the same quarter last year. In fact, this base itself was a subdued one; its order book at June 2014 end had seen a 2% YoY fall too. Indeed, Devanshu Sampat, in one of the earlier premium editions of the 5 Minute WrapUp, talked about the company's stock price in the last two years and how the demand sentiment in the capital goods industry in general and for ABB's products and services in particular is still languishing.

Automobile sector ended the trading day firm with Bajaj Auto and Force Motors leading the gains. Eicher Motors' motorcycle division Royal Enfield has reportedly opened its first exclusive stores in Madrid and Paris in order to expand its market share in Europe. The company has witnessed good growth in both France and in Spain due to its distribution network and increasing dealerships in the past few months. Furthermore, the company is also looking to expand its global mid-sized motorcycle segment (250-750cc).

The recovery in the auto sector has been mixed so far with the strong performers being scooters and MHCVs. In the medium term, there could be challenges in terms of rural demand remaining subdued. The urban markets, however, are expected to perform better this year.

Early today, Asad Dossani released the 3rd and final video of his latest Master Series - Income At Will.

In video #3 Asad has answered some of the toughest questions that were sent across to him over the last few days. Plus, he has also announced a special gift (worth Rs 25,000) specially for his attendees.

So, if you still haven't seen the 3rd and final video, all you need to do click here. Asad actually believes that this is The Most Important Video of this master series and you should not miss it...click here to view video #3. (If you prefer to read the complete transcript instead, you can find that on the video page as well.)