MARKETS ON FRIDAY: Sensex ends flat, Nifty holds 10,300; PSU banks gain

All that happened in the markets on Friday

Benchmark indices ended flat on Friday, as investors remained cautious after sentiment soured on renewed fears of a trade war after US President Donald Trump proposed more tariffs on China.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,627, up 30 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,331, up 6 points.

Trump said on Thursday that he had directed US trade officials to identify tariffs on $100 billion worth additional Chinese imports, escalating the dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Asia shares ex-Japan slipped 0.13 per cent, while US stock futures fell more than 1 per cent. Global markets have been volatile this week amid the back-and-forth of the US-China trade conflict.

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday adopted a remarkably dovish tone, surprising analysts who were expecting the firming up of rates in the medium term, even as one of the six members in the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted for a hike in an otherwise status quo policy.

After the first bi-monthly monetary policy for 2018-19, the repo rate remained at 6 per cent. RBI Executive Director Michael Patra voted for a 25 basis points hike, but other five members, including RBI Governor Urjit Patel favoured a pause.

The central bank lowered its inflation projection sharply from previous forecasts, but flagged risks on the upside on the revised numbers. The RBI expects retail inflation in March at 4.5 per cent, down from 5.1 per cent it projected in February.

(with wire inputs)

3:45 PM

Nifty PSU Bank ends 0.90% up. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
PUNJAB NATL.BANK	102.15	97.00	5.15	5.31
ALLAHABAD BANK	53.50	51.70	1.80	3.48
ANDHRA BANK	45.40	44.20	1.20	2.71
ORIENTAL BANK	98.90	97.05	1.85	1.91
BANK OF INDIA	113.10	111.10	2.00	1.80

3:40 PM

Nifty Pharma ends 1.35% higher. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
PIRAMAL ENTERP.	2663.90	2540.40	123.50	4.86
AUROBINDO PHARMA	619.40	599.15	20.25	3.38
LUPIN	809.05	786.70	22.35	2.84
GLENMARK PHARMA.	563.60	556.55	7.05	1.27
SUN PHARMA.INDS.	512.60	507.55	5.05	0.99

3:34 PM

BSE Sensex gainers and losers of the day

3:32 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,627, up 30 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,331, up 6 points.

3:23 PM

News Watch RCom gets tribunal nod for tower, fibre business sale

Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) said on Friday it received the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) approval to proceed with the sale of its tower and fibre business. READ MORE

Impact on stock:

3:01 PM

Gold hits over two-week low as dollar firms ahead of US jobs data

Gold prices hit over two-week lows on Friday, ahead of the US payrolls data later in the day, weighed down by a firmer dollar even as President Donald Trump re-ignited trade war fears by proposing $100 billion in new tariffs on China. READ MORE

2:46 PM

PSU Bank extends gain; PNB, Allahabad Bank up 3%

Shares of public sector bank were in focus for the second straight day with Nifty PSU Bank index nearly 1%, extending its Thursday’s 5% surge, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained status quo on the key short-term borrowing rate in its first bi-monthly monetary policy for the financial year 2018-19 (FY19) on Thursday.
 

Punjab National Bank (PNB), Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Canara Bank were up in the range of 1% to 4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). READ MORE

2:30 PM

Crude update

Oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump's threat of new tariffs on China reignited fears of a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

 

President Trump said on Thursday he had ordered US trade officials to consider tariffs on USD 100 billion more of imports from China, escalating tensions with Beijing.

 

Brent crude for June delivery was down 0.5 per cent, at $67.99 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down 0.5 per cent, at $63.22 a barrel.

2:18 PM

Earnings

 

Samsung Electronics Co. reported higher-than-projected profit as demand for its memory chips remained strong enough to outweigh concerns about display supplies to Apple Inc.

 

Operating income rose to 15.6 trillion won ($14.7 billion) in the three months ended March, according to preliminary results released Friday from the Suwon, South Korea-based company. That compares with the 14.5 trillion-won average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. READ MORE

2:01 PM

Market Check

 

S&P BSE Sensex	33,550.62		-0.14%
Nifty 50	10,301.45		-0.23%
S&P BSE 200	4,537.33		-0.02%
Nifty 500	9,137.35		-0.10%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,516.36		0.16%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,820.61		0.26%

1:45 PM

EOW attaches 3 accounts of 63 Moon Technologies with Rs 4.8 billion funds

The city police's economic offences wing (EOW) has, as part of its ongoing probe into the National Spot Exchange (NSEL) payments scam, attached three bank accounts of that bourse’s parent entity, 63 Moons Technologies (earlier known as FTIL). Sources said this was to enforce a notification in this regard of the Maharashtra government. The money in question is about Rs 4.8 billion. READ MORE

1:31 PM

Galaxy Surfactants extends fall after Tarapur plants receive Form 483

Galaxy Surfactants dipped 2% to Rs 1,400, extending its past three days 5% decline after the company received Form 483 for two of its facilities in Maharashtra after United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) audit. READ MORE

1:15 PM

Top BSE500 Gainers

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)	VOLUME
SOBHA	548.70	40.60	7.99	209623
JAI CORP	161.00	11.80	7.91	960849
MPHASIS	930.00	57.70	6.61	58341
MMTC	64.30	3.95	6.55	1053606
HIND.COPPER	72.20	4.20	6.18	1218395

1:03 PM

Stick largely to accrual funds despite softening of 10-yr govt bond yield

 

As was widely expected, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep interest rates unchanged. But, the lowering of the inflation estimate for 2018-19 did surprise many.

 

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield, which had risen to 7.78 per cent in the recent past, had softened to around 7.3 per cent after the government announced that it would borrow less in the first half of the financial year. After the monetary policy, it fell further to 7.13 per cent, following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) dovish outlook on inflation. READ MORE

12:47 PM

Pidilite joins Rs 500 billion market-cap league; stock hits new high

Pidilite Industries has entered into the league of corporate entities with a market value of over Rs 500 billion after the stock price of the company hit new high on the BSE.
 

Pidilite Industries with the m-cap of Rs 500.73 billion stood at number 62nd position in overall m-cap ranking at 10:28 am, the BSE data shows. The stock was trading 1% higher at Rs 977 hit a new high of Rs 982 on the BSE in intra-day deal. READ MORE