MARKET WRAP: Sensex dips 162 pts on US-Iran tensions; PSBs, autos top drags

All that happened in the markets today

Following the global sell-off, Indian equity markets, too, settled lower on Friday after US military killed Iran Revolutionary Guards' commander Qasem Soleimani in a surprise air-strike. The middle-east tensions sent Brent Crude Futures soaring, while market sentiment turned sour at D-Street. 

Brent crude futures jumped nearly $3 on Friday after a US air strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian and Iraqi military commanders, sparking concerns of disruption to Middle East oil supplies. At 3:10 pm, Brent Crude Futures were at $68.62 per barrel-mark, up 3.5 per cent.

The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an intra-day low of 41,348.68, recovered slightly in the fag-end of the session and settled 162.03  points, or 0.39 per cent, lower at 41,464.61 level. 20 of the 30 constituents ending the day in the red. Oil-linked stocks, such as paints, aviation, oil-marketing companies (OMCs), and financial counters remained under pressure. 

In the intra-day trade, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), for instance, declined 2.9 per cent each on the BSE. Reliance Industries, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), too, slumped up to 0.7 per cent. 

On the NSE, the Nifty50 lost 55.50 points, or 0.45 per cent, to settle at 12,226.65-mark. Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank index slipped the most, down 2 per cent at close. Besides, Nifty Bank, Auto, Private Bank indices slipped over 1 per cent. On the upside, Nifty IT index advanced 1.3 per cent on the back of a weaker rupee. 

In the broader market, small-caps traded in the green territory, while mid-caps followed benchmarks. The S&P BSE mid-cap index was down 0.44 per cent, while the S&P BSE small-cap index was up 0.01 per cent at close. 

GLOBAL CUES

Heightened geo-political tensions between the US and Iran turned Asian markets negative. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had touched its highest point since June 15, 2018 in early trade, but fell after reports of the air strike emerged. It was last down 0.16 per cent.

China’s CSI300 index, one of the world’s best-performing indexes last year, struggled to stay in positive territory but was last down about 0.2 per cent. Australian shares finished up 0.64 per cent, but off earlier highs.

In Europe, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.6 per cent at 1:30 pm, with all the major country indexes well in the red.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:40 PM

Sectoral trends at NSE at close

3:39 PM

Top gainers and losers on S&P BSE Sensex at close

3:38 PM

Closing Bell

>> The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an intra-day low of 41,348.68, recovered slightly in the fag-end of the session and settled 162.03  points, or 0.39 per cent, lower at 41,464.61 level. 24 of the 30 constituents ending the day in the red. Oil-linked stocks, such as paints, aviation, oil-marketing companies (OMCs), and financial counters remained under pressure. 

>> On the NSE, the Nifty50 lost 55.50 points, or 0.45 per cent, to settle at 12,226.65-mark. Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank index slipped the most, down 2 per cent at close. Besides, Nifty Bank, Auto, Private Bank indices slipped over 1 per cent. On the upside, Nifty IT index advanced 1.3 per cent on the back of a weaker rupee. 

3:16 PM

Bosch likely to cut around 2,000 jobs in India amid auto sales slump

The German company will cut “a couple of thousand” jobs in India in the next four years, India Managing Director Soumitra Bhattacharya said. About 10 per cent of 3,700 white-collar jobs and a slightly higher percentage of 6,300 blue-collar jobs will be cut, he added in an interview in Bangalore on December 30. READ MORE

2:58 PM

Pharma stocks gain in a weak market

2:49 PM

Buzzing | Zee Ent continues to trade lower

2:41 PM

Oil update

Brent crude futures jumped nearly $3 on Friday after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian and Iraqi military commanders, sparking concerns of disruption to Middle East oil supplies.

Brent crude futures hit an intraday high of $69.16 a barrel, their highest since September 17, before easing to $68.42, up $2.17 or 3.28 per cent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.85 or 3.04 per cent at $63.03 a barrel, having earlier spiked to $63.84 a barrel, their highest since May 1.

2:35 PM

Global Markets check

Asian shares slipped on Friday, erasing early gains, while gold shone and oil prices spiked after US air strikes in Iraq killed a top Iranian commander, heightening geopolitical tensions.

Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed early on Friday in a US air strike on their convoy at Baghdad airport, prompting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to vow harsh revenge.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had touched its highest point since June 15, 2018 in early trade, but fell after reports of the air strike emerged. It was last down 0.16 per cent.

 

European shares were set to follow their Asian counterparts lower. Pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures shed 0.66 per cent to 3,757, German DAX futures were down 0.6 per cent to 13,303.5 and FTSE futures gave up 0.42 per cent to 7,514.

 

China’s CSI300 index, one of the world’s best-performing indexes last year, struggled to stay in positive territory but was last down about 0.2 per cent. Australian shares finished up 0.64 per cent, but off earlier highs.

2:21 PM

Do sovereign gold bonds bought in secondary market make good investments?

Gold has been in the limelight during CY2019 with returns over 20 per cent. Investors are keenly eyeing gold as an investment option in one form or the other, be it in physical or digital gold–gold exchange traded fund (ETF), fund of funds investing in gold ETF or through sovereign gold bonds (SGB). As physical gold does not give any interest or dividend, fans of ‘regular income’ prefer SGB over bullion and gold ETF. However, SGB issuances are not available round the year. Either you have to wait for a new issue or buy it from the secondary market. If you are keen to take exposure to gold via SGBs, is it a wise to buy from the secondary market? READ MORE

2:19 PM

NEWS ALERT | Indian airlines asked to exercise caution over Iranian airspace amid US-Iran tensions: sources to CNBC TV18

>> Airlines have been asked to avoid the air space to the extent possible

 

Alert- IndiGo & Air India to exercise caution in flight ops over Iranian airspace

2:17 PM

Market check

2:05 PM

Operating profitability the Achilles' heel for General Insurance Corporation

The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) stock surged 8 per cent to close at Rs 245.25 on Thursday. However, it has still shed 7.5 per cent in one month and is trading much below its listing price of Rs 400. A weak performance during H1FY20, with the combined ratio worsening to over 111 per cent, had made investors jittery. READ MORE

1:53 PM

Buzzing | IndiGo gains 3% on EGM news

1:36 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: SML Isuzu zooms 7%

>> Says, ready to manufacture BS-VI compliant diesel trucks and buses suitable for all types of Indian road terrains

1:23 PM

Now, Ratan Tata moves SC against NCLAT order restoring Cyrus Mistry

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