Sensex loses 464 points, Nifty ends tad above 10,300; RIL, HDFC, Infosys drag
19 Oct 2018
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Market Closing:
Benchmark indices closed sharply lower amid weak global cues. Reliance earnings, NBFC crisis and H1-B visa issue dented investors sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 463.95 points or 1.33 percent at 34,315.63 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 149.50 points or 1.43 percent to 10,303.50.
HDFC, Infosys and Reliance Industries were leading contributors to the Nifty's fall.
HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Maruti Suzuki caught in bear trap.
HPCL, Sun Pharma and Vedanta were gainers.
Nifty Midcap index was down 1.5 percent.
PNB Housing Finance, Dewan Housing, Mindtree and Piramal Enterprises fell 8-18 percent.
NIIT Tech, Jet Airways, Biocon and Federal Bank gained 3-5 percent. Hathway Cable rose 3 percent but Den Networks lost ground on Reliance deal.
Market Update:
Benchmark indices recovered a bit from day's low, with the Sensex falling 457.12 points or 1.31 percent to 34,322.46. A hour ago, the index was down more than 600 points.
The Nifty slipped 149.20 points or 1.43 percent to 10,303.80.
About 1,722 shares declined against 679 advancing shares on the BSE.
Market Update :
Benchmark indices recovered a bit from day's low, with the Sensex falling 457.12 points or 1.31 percent to 34,322.46. A hour ago, the index was down more than 600 points.
The Nifty slipped 149.20 points or 1.43 percent to 10,303.80.
About 1,722 shares declined against 679 advancing shares on the BSE.
UltraTech Cement Q2 Earnings:
UltraTech Cement has reported a 9.4 percent on year degrowth in second quarter profit to Rs 390.8 crore, dented by weak operational performance.
Revenue during the quarter grew by 20.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 7,771.3 crore with domestic sales volume increasing 21 percent YoY.
"Rising energy and logistics cost coupled with rupee depreciation resulted in cost increasing by 14 percent as compared to Q2FY18, bringing down profits YoY," UltraTech said.
Power & fuel cost shot up 30 percent to Rs 1,886 crore and freight & forwarding expenses jumped 25 percent to Rs 1,946.9 crore compared to year-ago.
European Stocks Under Pressure
European stocks were under pressure, as investors monitored a flurry of third-quarter corporate results.
France's CAC was down 0.8 percent and Germany's DAX declined 0.6 percent while Britain's FTSE declined 0.2 percent.
SREI Infrastructure Sinks 20%
SREI Infrastructure Finance shares plunged 20 percent intraday to hit fresh 52-week low of Rs 25.40 after a media report suggested that the company is asking staff to go.
SREI Infrastructure asked its large number of employees to leave the company, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting unnamed sources.
The company said it has 200 employees on its rolls. SREI Group had total workforce of 2,631 employees at the end financial year 2017-18.
Sources further told business channel that SREI Infra has not replaced its infra division's CEO after CEO had resigned in September 2018.
SREI Infra told CNBC-TV18 that the company does not need CEO for its infra division as it is not looking to increase book. "Rumour of layoff is absurd and there is no liquidity problem/slowdown in business.
PTC India To Ink PPAs
Power trading solutions provider PTC India will sign medium-term power purchase agreements (PPA) for 1,900 MW coal-based power capacities with seven companies and five states by month-end under a pilot scheme, an official said.
After this tender, the company plans another round of 3,000 MW of medium term PPAs to give some relief to stressed power projects as PPAs are required for getting fuel supplies, a Power Ministry official told PTI.
The seven companies which would ink PPAs are IL&FS Energy for 550 MW, RKM Powergen for 550 MW, SKS Power for 300 MW, MB Power (Madhya Pradesh) Ltd for 175 MW, Jindal India Thermal Power for 175 MW, Jhabua Power Ltd for 100 MW and JP Nilgiri Project for 100 MW.
Zenith Healthcare Amalgamation
Zenith Healthcare said its board members approved the amalgamation of Zenith Medicine Pvt. Ltd with Zenith Healthcare.
The scheme is subject to the receipt of necessary approvals of the shareholders, creditors, SEBI, Stock Exchange, the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad (NCLT) and other requisite approvals.
Upon the amalgamation becoming effective, the entire business of Zenith Medicine will vest in the company.
Market Extends Losses:
Benchmark indices extended losses in afternoon as bears further tightened their grip on Dalal Street.
The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 505.42 points or 1.45 percent to 34,274.16 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 161.60 points or 1.55 percent to 10,291.40.
Increase in Tenure Of FSAs between Coal India and Steel Industry
Coal India has decided to increase the tenure of fuel supply pacts to be signed with the steel industry to 10 years with a view to reducing the sector's reliance on imports for the fuel, according to a notice.
The new FSA tenure would be applicable from the fourth tranche of auction of coking coal linkages for the steel sector to be held shortly, Coal India said in a notice to its subsidiaries.
"In view of substantial investment required for setting up of coal washing capacity by the consumer and with the aim to reduce dependence of steel sector on imported coal further, the tenure of steel sector linkage auction FSAs (fuel supply agreements) has now been increased to 10 years, which would be mutually extendable by another five years," Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in the notice.
Market Update:
Benchmark indices reeled under pressure with the Sensex falling 405.63 points to 34,373.95, dragged by banking & financials, technology and oil stocks.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 136 points to 10,317.00. More than two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.
Indiabulls Housing (down 15 percent), Yes Bank (5.5 percent), Reliance Industries (5 percent), Hero MotoCorp (3.6 percent) and HCL Technologies (3.5 percent) were prominent gainers among Nifty50 stocks.
HPCL (up 2.8 percent), Bharti Infratel (2.1 percent), Vedanta (1.8 percent), Sun Pharma (1.7 percent and IOC (1.4 percent) were biggest gainers.
New Chief Economic Advisor
The government is likely to appoint a new chief economic advisor (CEA) in the next one or two months, sources said.
A search committee appointed by the finance ministry is expected to finalise the list of suitable candidates soon and appointment is likely in 1-2 months, they said further.
The government on June 30 invited applications for the appointment of CEA on deputation basis after Arvind Subramanian quit the office ahead of completion of his term.
The finance ministry has appointed a search committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan to shortlist candidates for the post. Economic affairs secretary Subhash C Garg and B P Sharma, secretary, department of personnel training are also members of the selection panel.
The Finance Ministry is banking on merger and acquisitions among CPSEs and share buybacks by state-run companies to meet the Rs 80,000-crore disinvestment target for the current fiscal.
The government has raised more than Rs 9,600 crore through IPOs of three CPSEs and a tranche of Bharat-22 ETF in the first six months of the fiscal so far.
A Finance Ministry official said there are liquidity constraints in the market for the past 3-4 months and such conditions would persist till there are uncertainties in global markets and crude prices remain volatile.
"We will meet the disinvestment target. We are looking at acquisition of some state-run companies with similarly placed CPSEs, like PFC and REC," the official said.
China's Shares Rebound:
Asian stocks erased losses as China shares recovered after government statements sought to bolster market confidence following data showing the slowest Chinese economic quarterly growth since the global financial crisis.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.05 percent after earlier falling as much as 0.9 percent ahead of the release of China's latest GDP reading.
Australian shares fell 0.05 percent and Japan's Nikkei average was 0.6 percent lower, on track for its third straight week of declines.
China shares see-sawed but were up in early afternoon trade amid statements and signs of government support for the market. The Shanghai index, which in the morning fell to its weakest level since November 21, 2014, was up 2.4 percent in afternoon.
A weak Wall Street on Thursday had earlier set the tone for many Asian markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.27 percent, the S&P 500 lost 1.44 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.06 percent.
Gold Edges Higher
Gold prices nudged higher as Asian shares fell on renewed political and economic concerns including China's weak growth, with the metal on track for a third straight weekly gain.
China's economy grew 6.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, its weakest pace since the global financial crisis, and missed expectations as a years-long campaign to tackle debt risks and the trade war with the United States began to bite.
US gold futures were up 0.15 percent at $1,231.9 an ounce.
"With Chinese equity markets continuing to drift lower, and lingering geopolitical risks such as Fed interest rate hikes, Italian budget concerns and the US-China trade war, stock markets are still shaky and in no way have stabilised," said Ronan Manly, a precious metals analyst at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar.
Rupee Recovers Further
The rupee recovered from early losses to trade higher by 19 paise at 73.42 against the US currency in late morning session on fresh dollar selling by exporters amid easing crude oil prices and a weakening greenback.
Dealers said the Reserve Bank of India's steps to ease liquidity concerns of NBFCs also helped the domestic currency.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened lower at 73.62, but soon recovered the lost ground and jumped 19 paise to touch a high of 73.42 on increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.
The rupee sentiment also received a boost after a steep fall in Brent crude prices Thursday following a surprise jump in US stockpiles and lingering worries about Chinese growth outlook.
E-car Sales Plunge 40% In FY18
Despite the massive government push towards electric mobility, e-car sales plunged 40 percent to a low of 1,200 units in FY18 over FY17, while e-two-wheeler sales zoomed 138 percent to 54,800 unit during the same period, says an industry report.
As of March 2018, there were 56,000 electric vehicles on the roads in the country, of which e-cars were a paltry 1,200 units, while the rest 54,800 units are two-wheelers, according to the data from the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, the apex industry lobby for the e-vehicles industry.
In FY16, 20,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in the country, which increased to Rs 23,000 units in FY17, according to the data. In the same year, 2,000 e-cars were sold and remained stagnant in FY17.
Dish TV Hits Four-Year Low:
Direct to home television operator Dish TV shares fell as much as 6 percent in morning to hit more than four-year low after Reliance Industries signed agreement to acquire controlling stake in Hathway Cable and Den Networks.
The stock touched an intraday low of Rs 47.25, the lowest levels since May 2014. It corrected more than 10 percent in previous five consecutive sessions ahead of this deal and plunged 38 percent year-to-date.
Reliance Industries on Wednesday announced strategic investments in and partnership with cable television service operators Den Networks and Hathway Cable.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Dish TV is likely to be vulnerable from RIL's acquisitions. "We see pressure on high ARPU/HD subscribers which would pressure overall ARPU."
Buzzing: Shares of Dilip Buildcon touched 52-week low of Rs 447.65, but gained nearly 5 percent intraday Friday as broking house Citi maintained buy with a potential upside of 107 percent. Citi cut target price to Rs 966 from Rs 1,271 per share.
Mindtree falls: Shares of Mindtree fell over 8 percent in early trade after Citi downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, citing weak Q2 results. Citi also cut the stock's target price to Rs 1,090 from Rs 1,240 and opened a negative catalyst watch on the stock for 30 days. The financial services company said it expects the stock to correct given high expectations and sudden change in management commentary.
Market opens: It’s a negative start to the market on Friday morning as weak global cues and a fall in index heavyweight, Reliance Industries, are dragging the indices lower.
The Sensex has opened over 470 points lower, while the Nifty is down over a percent and is around 10,300.
All sectors are trading in the red, with maximum cuts from banks, auto, energy, IT, and metals space. The Nifty Midcap is down over a percent as well.
The Sensex is down 478.04 points or 1.37% at 34301.54, while the Nifty is lower 127.70 points or 1.22% at 10325.30. The market breadth is negative as 198 shares advanced, against a decline of 363 shares, while 2,970 shares are unchanged.
Market Headstart: Nifty likely to open lower; 3 stocks which could give 8-9%
Negative global cues have weighed on Nifty futures on the Singaporean exchange as well. The SGX Nifty is trading over 70 points lower, hinting at a lower start on Friday morning here and is likely to test 10,300-mark as well.
Crude trades higher: Oil prices nudged higher on Friday but were set for a second weekly drop amid higher US crude inventories, an ongoing Sino-US trade war and concerns over the death of a prominent Saudi journalist, reported Reuters.
Asian markets trade weak: Stocks in Asia fell on Friday as global sentiment soured on issues ranging from trade worries, Italy's 2019 budget, higher US interest rates and growth concerns in China that led to a slump in Chinese shares in the previous session. Early in the trading day, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.4 percent weaker following losses on Wall Street overnight, reported Reuters.
