MARKETS ON WEDNESDAY: Indices end flat, Nifty holds 10,400; OMCs fall

All that happened in the markets on Wednesday

Indian shares came off one-month highs to end flat on Wednesday, after a choppy session dragged by financials and oil marketing companies (OMCs).

Sentiment was also subdued on concerns that inflation worries could resurface on the back of rising crude oil prices. Brent crude futures surged more than 3 percent on Tuesday to their highest since late 2014, at $71.34 a barrel.

Investors await March retail inflation data due on Thursday for cues about the economy. Retail inflation likely eased to a five-month low in March as increases in food prices slowed once again but remained above the central bank’s medium-term target, a Reuters poll found.

Financials were the top losers with the Nifty PSU Bank index down over 2% after gaining more than 7% in the last four sessions.

OMCs slumped following reports that the government is asking these firms to absorb price hikes. Hindustan Petroleum Corp plunged over 7% intra-day, while both Bharat Petroleum Corp and Indian Oil Corp dropped over 5%.

Among global markets, Asian stocks rose modestly on Wednesday but pared early gains as caution again crept into markets over strained US-China trade ties and escalating tensions in Syria.
 

(with inputs from Reuters)

3:56 PM

Nifty Metal rises 1.59%. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
VEDANTA	296.80	284.10	12.70	4.47
NATL. ALUMINIUM	75.00	72.35	2.65	3.66
JINDAL STAIN .HI	177.70	172.15	5.55	3.22
HIND.COPPER	74.30	72.80	1.50	2.06
HINDALCO INDS.	234.20	230.00	4.20	1.83

3:51 PM

BSE Oil and Gas index slips 2.23%. Top losers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	LOSS( )	LOSS(%)
H P C L	337.15	364.75	-27.60	-7.57
B P C L	417.50	450.95	-33.45	-7.42
I O C L	167.80	179.30	-11.50	-6.41
GAIL (INDIA)	326.75	331.95	-5.20	-1.57
CASTROL INDIA	206.50	208.00	-1.50	-0.72

3:36 PM

BSE Sensex: Top gainers and losers

3:33 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,940, up 60 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,417, up 15 points.

3:27 PM

Dolly Khanna buys stake in Associates Alcohols in Q4; stock surges 12%

Associated Alcohols & Breweries hit a new high of Rs 340, up 12% on the BSE, after the breweries & distilleries company said that Chennai-based value investor Dolly Khanna bought stake in the company during March quarter. Dolly Khanna’s has purchased 187,279 equity shares representing 1.04% stake in Associated Alcohols & Breweries in January-March 2018 quarter, according to latest shareholding pattern filed by the company with the stock exchanges. READ MORE

3:14 PM

IRB Infra hits over 7-year high; stock surges 10%

IRB Infrastructure Developers hit an over seven-year high of Rs 281, up 10% on the BSE, recorded its sharpest single day gain since September 28, 2017, on back of heavy volumes. The stock of roads & highways company is trading at its highest level since August 24, 2010, when it touched a record high of Rs 313 during intra-day trade. READ MORE

3:01 PM

Stocks at 52-week high

COMPANY	LATEST	52 WK HIGH	PREV HIGH	PREV DATE	VOLUME
AARTI INDS.	1214.00	1222.20	1212.00	14-MAR-2018	5623
ASTRAL POLY	951.10	967.20	949.00	01-MAR-2018	5303
AVENUE SUPER.	1478.00	1515.00	1494.80	10-APR-2018	124427
BALKRISHNA INDS	1287.15	1314.15	1296.45	10-APR-2018	40336
DILIP BUILDCON	1188.50	1217.00	1209.15	09-APR-2018	67785

2:45 PM

Rising oil prices, political developments to keep OMC stocks under check

 

Oil marketing companies (OMCs) -- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) – lost up to 8% in trade on Wednesday after reports suggested that the government has asked these OMCs to absorb Rs 1 per litre oil price hike.

 

OMC stocks, analysts say, could remain under pressure for the next few months giving the outlook for crude oil prices, and especially ahead of the assembly elections scheduled all through calendar year 2018 (CY18) and the general election scheduled for May 2019. Given this backdrop, the government may not be willing to hike retail fuel prices given that oil is a politically sensitive subject. READ MORE

2:33 PM

Singapore Exchange to list Indian equity derivative products in June 2018

 

The Singapore Exchange on Wednesday said it would list Indian equity derivative products in June, nearly two months after India’s three main bourses announced they would stop licensing their indexes to overseas exchanges.

 

The announcement comes after the Singapore bourse said it would launch successor products to its flagship Indian equity index derivatives before the bourse’s license agreement with the National Stock Exchange of India expires in August 2018. READ MORE

2:15 PM

Hindustan Unilever hits new high;enters top-5 club of most valued companies

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the fast moving consumer goods company (FMCG), entered into the list of the top-5 most valuable companies by market capitalisation (m-cap) as the stock price of the company hit a new high on Wednesday.

With an m-cap of Rs 3.06 trillion, HUL now features at fifth position in the list by replacing India’s largest mortgage financier, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) in this prestigious club. HDFC reported m-cap of Rs 3.03 trillion at 01:20 pm. HUL is now 6% away to surpass FMCG gait ITC, which have m-cap of Rs 3.24 trillion, the BSE data shows. READ MORE

2:00 PM

Market Check

 

S&P BSE Sensex	33,944.40		0.19%
Nifty 50	10,411.45		0.09%
S&P BSE 200	4,579.36		0.06%
Nifty 500	9,226.80		0.08%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,627.51		-0.15%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,978.75		0.17%

1:45 PM

Interview of the day This is another tough period, but markets will make newer highs: Damani

Despite the headwinds both on the domestic and global fronts, Ramesh S Damani, member, BSE and a prominent investor, says India will weather a global trade war better than a lot of other Asian countries. In an interview to Vishal Chhabria, he says earnings will pick up soon, and the fear that earnings will not come is misplaced. While markets could see some pain in the near-term, there is value emerging in certain sectors. Damani talks on the sectors he likes, and says he wouldn’t let political fear stop him from investing. READ MORE

1:32 PM

Dilip Buildcon, Balkrishna Industries, Shakti Pumps hit new highs

Shares of highway builder Dilip Buildcon, tyre company Balkrishna Industries and industrial machinery manufacturer Shakti Pumps (India) have hit their respective new highs, gaining more than 20% in last one month on the BSE in otherwise range-bound market. READ MORE

1:17 PM

India inflation likely slowed further in March, but above target: Reuters poll

Indian retail inflation was expected to have eased to a five-month low in March as increases in food prices slowed once again but remained above the central bank's medium-term target, a Reuters poll found. That, coupled with the latest data which showed Asia's third-largest economy beat China to regain top spot as the fastest growing major economy. That should give policymakers some relief as they seek to keep inflation under control without hurting growth. READ MORE

12:59 PM

Commercial vehicle and tractor demand key triggers for Bosch stock

The Bosch stock has gained about 15 per cent over the fortnight on strong outlook for commercial vehicle and tractor sales, higher demand on transition to BS VI norms and lower effect of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) threat. Prior to this, the stock has been underperforming the broader indices. The auto index fell over 31 per cent from a 52-week high to its lowest level a couple of weeks ago.

 

The downtrend was due to lacklustre revenue and earnings growth over the past few quarters led by stalling of certain trading activities as well as loss of business from Tata Motors during the transition from BS III to BS IV. READ MORE