Benchmark indices were down in early trade Wednesday, on likely profit taking after the rise in the last three sessions. Large caps were under pressure, with shares from the FMCG, oil & gas, and auto among the key laggards. The Sensex was down 50 points at 18990, and the Nifty down 12 points at 5735.

Power shares were up, led by Adani Power (up 9 percent) after the company got a favourable ruling from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). Adani Power had been seeking a hike in power tariffs due to escalation in price of imported coal and scarcity of domestic coal. According to a report in the Mint newspaper, CERC has allowed a variable compensatory tariff to be offered to Adani Power till the fuel situation stabilizes.

Other power share markets too rose, as the judgement is expected to strengthen the case for higher power tariffs for other imported coal-based projects of companies like Tata Power(+4 percent) and Reliance Power(+2 percent).

Reliance Communications shares were up around 6 percent to Rs 67, even as most experts think the Rs 1220 crore-deal with Reliance Jio will not help much in improving the company’s balance sheet. Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS sees the Nifty declining to 5400-5500 near term due to disappointing macro data and weak corporate earnings.

Arindam Ghosh of Blackridge Capital Advisors feels corporate earnings may have bottomed out for now. However, he expects the recovery in the broader market to be gradual and does not see market sentiment improving meaningfully near term.

The yen retreated from a one-month high against the dollar early in Asia on Wednesday, while the euro was subdued in a market largely lacking conviction as investors await policy decisions by the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank.

Brent crude oil settled lower and U.S. crude settled slightly higher on Tuesday as traders weighed concerns about demand and the possibility of a prolonged pipeline outage in the U.S. Midwest.

U.S. Treasuries steadied in Asia on Wednesday, after slipping the previous day as worries of a major banking crisis in the euro zone receded and as investors braced for a solid recovery in U.S. employment.

LOCAL MARKETS PREVIOUS CLOSE
* BSE index 19,040.95 (+0.93 pct)
* NSE index 5,748.10 (+0.77 pct)
* Rupee 54.26/27 per dollar (54.28/29)
* 10-year bond yield 7.99 pct (7.95 pct)
* 5-year OIS rate 7.23 pct (7.22 pct)
* 1-year OIS rate 7.45 pct (7.47 pct)
* Call money 7.50/7.60 pct (16/17 pct Thu close)

Save