Markets at day's low; PSU banks shine

Markets have extended losses and are trading near day's low with Nifty breaking the important 8,200 mark as participants remain cautious ahead of the RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy review due tomorrow. 

At 14:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 100 points to quote at 26,743 and the Nifty50 has shed 31 point to trade at 8,190.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held a review meeting today on the performance of Public Sector Banks (PSBs). Key points of discussion included credit flow, expansion of banking activity and bad loans position.

Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda, SBI, Punjab National Bank have gained up to 5%.

STOCKS

Rate sensitive stocks are trading mixed ahead of the RBI monetary review tomorrow. From the banking space, SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank are up between 0.5%-2% while Axis Bank has lost over 1%.

In the auto pack, Bajaj Auto and M&M are up between 0.1%-1.5% while Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have shed up to 2%.  

HDFC Ergo general insurance company, promoted by Housing Development Finance Corporation has decided to buy L&T General Insurance for Rs 551 crore, first buyout in the general insurance industry. HDFC has shed 0.2%.

Telecom stocks have taken a hit after Reliance Jio started taking registrations from interested people for network trials, indicating that a launch may be around the corner. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular have lost between 0.5%-1.5%.

Cipla has gained 1%. Three years since Cipla New Ventures announced its plans to nurture innovative business ideas, the first product of that initiative has been approved under brand name Stempeucel, a drug that could possibly turn into a blockbuster.

Jubilant Life Sciences has jumped 5% on  receiving final nod  from the US health regulator for generic Levetiracetam injection, used for treatment of epilepsy, in the American market. 

A wholly owned US subsidiary of Sun Pharma has decided to divest two oral solid dosage manufacturing facilities to Frontida BioPharma. However, the stock is trading 1% lower.

Sumitomo Corp. has acquired 44.98% stake in Excel Crop Care for approximately Rs 623.44 crore and also announced the launch of a Rs.415.80 crore open offer to acquire further 30% stake in the company. The stock has gained 0.7%.

The Leela Group and Qatar's Al Faisal Group on Sunday signed an agreement to build a five-star hotel near Taj Mahal in Agra with an Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of about Rs 500 crore, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf state. Hotel Leela Venture has soared 4%.

Coal India is likely to deliberate on a proposal to buy back its shares in its next board meeting. Coal India had a meeting with the government last week and a buyback proposal is likely to be placed before the next board meeting. The stock has shed nearly 1%.

KKR India is set to invest about Rs 600 crore in Kwality Ltd, the largest dairy firm in India outside government control, according to media sources. The stock has surged 0.6%.

Ujjivan Financial Services fell 12% to Rs 336 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on account of profit booking. The stock hit an intra-day low of Rs 328 after touching a high of Rs 387 in early morning trade.