Markets near day's lows; Sugar stocks rally

Benchmark share indices weakened in noon trades on Monday with index heavyweights dragging the Sensex below 25,000 even as sugar stocks rallied on reports of sharp hike in import duty.
At 1:10PM, the 30-share was down 173 points at 24,932 and the 50-share Nifty was down 56 points at 7,455.
The Indian rupee was trading unchanged at 60.18 per dollar because of uneven demand and supply of the US currency from banks.
Asian markets were trading mixed with the Nikkei and Straits Times trading with marginal gains while Shanghai Composite was down 0.1% and Hang Seng was down 1.4%.
European markets were also mixed in early trades with FTSE up 0.2% while CAC-40 was down 0.6% and DAX was trading flat with positive bias. Shares in France were the most hit after data indicated that business activity both manufacturing and services was lower than expected slipping to 48.0 from 49.3 in May.
FMCG index was the top sectoral loser on the BSE down 3.1% followed by IT, Power, Capital Goods, Oil and Gas indices. However, Metal and Auto indices were up 0.4-0.6% each.
Among the index heavyweights ITC was down 4.6% while Infosys was down 2.5% and Reliance Industries edged 0.6% lower contributing the most to the Sensex decline.
Other Sensex losers include, TCS and Hindustan Unilever among others.
ICICI Bank and ONGC were among the top Sensex gainers up 0.6-1.1% each. Mahindra & Mahindra rebounded today and was up 1.4%. The stock had corrected sharply on Friday amid concerns over tractor sales because of weak monsoon rains.
India's metal shares gain on hopes of better demand after a preliminary HSBC survey showed activity in China's factory sector expanded in June for the first time in six months as new orders surged. The HSBC-Market Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index jumped to 50.8 in June from May’s final reading of 49.4. Sesa Sterlite was up 1.4%, Tata Steel gained 0.9% and Hindalco was up 0.8%.
Rail-related shares firmed up on hopes that the hike in passenger fares by 14% and freight fares by 6% would improve the financial position of the Indian Railways. Kalindee Rail, Titagarh Wagons, Texmaco Rail, Container Corp of India were up 2-3% each.
Sugar stocks rallied on report that the government will hike import duty on sugar to 40% from the current 15%. The government has also decided to raise the mandatory blending of ethanol in gasoline to 10% from 5%. In addition, the food minister extended sugar export incentives till September 2014.
Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini Mills, Triveni Engineering and Industries, Dhampur Sugar Mills and Oudh Sugar Mills were up 5-10% on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were trading flat with positive bias.
Market breadth was weak with 1,476 losers and 1,196 gainers on the BSE.