India-Pak tension sees Sensex slip 466 pts from day's high; ends at 35,905

All that happened in the markets today

Benchmark Indices ended lower on Wednesday as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated. 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,905, down 68 points or 0.19 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,807, down 29 points or 0.26 per cent. The 30-share index had hit an intra-day of 36,371, while the 50-share Nifty surged to 10,939 during the day.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT index ended 0.5 per cent lower led by a decline in Wipro and Infibeam. While the Nifty Financial Service index settled 0.5 per cent lower weighed by Edelweiss and Indiabulls Ventures.



In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 57 points, 0.40 per cent higher at 14,249, while S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 13,573, up 23 points, or 0.17 per cent.
 

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares were trading higher in the early trade on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reinforced the US central bank’s recent shift towards a more “patient” approach on policy in the face of a slowing economy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei share average gained 0.4 per cent. 

In the overnight trade, US stocks settled lower. In the commodity market, oil prices rose on OPEC-led supply cuts and a report of declining US crude inventories. 

(with Reuters input)

4:06 PM

MARKET WRAP :: Jayant Manglik, President - Retail Distribution, Religare Broking

The Indian equity benchmark indices witnessed yet another highly volatile trading session. The nifty index opened higher, however escalating tensions between India-Pakistan led to a sharp fall in the markets. In the latter half, the markets managed to recover some of its losses before ending 0.3% lower at 10,807 levels.

The broader markets outperformed with BSE Midcap and Smallcap ending with gains of 0.4% and 0.2% respectively. The sectoral indices witnessed mixed trend. While Capital Goods, Realty and Auto ended with moderate gains, sectors like Consumer Durables, Banking and IT were the top losers.

 

We expect markets to remain volatile in the near term. On the domestic front, any escalation of  tensions between India and Pakistan would keep the markets volatile. Further, India’s Q3FY19 GDP numbers on tomorrow would be keenly watched. Globally, positive developments on US-China trade deal is good for the global markets, however progress on Brexit deal front, crude oil price and currency movement would be actively tracked by investors

4:05 PM

HEAT MAP :: BSE Sensex

4:04 PM

Markets at a glance

(Image source: NSE)

3:37 PM

Market at close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,905, down 68 points or 0.19 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,807, down 29 points or 0.26 per cent.

3:26 PM

Raveesh Kumar, MEA says

3:25 PM

Rain Industries hits 10% lower circuit on weak December quarter numbers

Shares of Rain Industries locked in lower circuit of 10 per cent at Rs 97.65 apiece on the BSE after the company reported the biggest net loss in the past four years in October-December quarter (Q4CY18), mainly due to lower operating performance. The petrochemicals company posted a net loss of Rs 139 crore in Q4CY18 against a net profit of Rs 307 crore in the year-ago quarter. Earlier, in December 2014 quarter Rain Industries posted a net loss of Rs 200 crore. READ MORE

3:21 PM

NEWS ALERT

3:12 PM

Elara Capital on Sanofi India

Sanofi’s portfolio is skewed more towards high-growing chronic portfolio and along with its leadership position in basal insulin provides an edge. Top products, such as Lantus, Insuman and Allerga, along with line extensions of Amaryl remain resilient.

Further, the company recently launched Toujeo (February 2018) has gained traction. At the CMP, the stock is trading at 16x CY20E EV/EBITDA, which is at a 30-40% discount to other MNC peers like GSK Pharma. We recommend Accumulate with a TP of INR 6,600 based on 30x CY20E P/E. Any regulatory headwinds to drug pricing in the domestic market are key risks to our call

3:08 PM

COMMENT :: UBS on inflation, rate cuts

We expect headline CPI inflation to remain below 4% YoY until Oct 2019 and average 3.8% YoY in FY20 (below the RBI's medium-term target of 4% YoY). Our forecast assumes tepid food inflation for the fifth consecutive year amidst an assumption of normal rainfall (no weather shock) and stable crude oil prices.

More importantly, we now expect core inflation to come off 100bps in FY20. Softer inflation could give the MPC enough leeway to ease monetary policy, especially given its renewed focus on supporting growth. We expect the MPC to cut the policy rate a cumulative 75-100bps in this cycle (including the recent 25bp rate cut).

3:06 PM

MARKET CHECK

2:50 PM

Edelweiss on Jindal Steel & Power

Despite a challenging price environment, we expect JSPL to fare better than peers on the back of volume growth. Besides, deleveraging efforts – more notably at Jindal Shadeed – are expected to reduce debt by another USD 0.2-0.3bn by Q1FY20E. Maintain ‘BUY/SO’ with an unchanged target price of Rs 200/share, implying an exit multiple of 6.2x June-2020 EBITDA. 

2:48 PM

Crisil on crude oil prices

Slowing demand is expected to keep crude oil prices under check. Consequently, we expect the prices to range $63-68 per barrel in 2019, considering the impact of any production cuts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to arrest a further decline in crude oil prices, which are currently hovering at ~$60 per barrel. Naphtha prices are expected to decline at a similar pace as those of crude oil prices. This, in turn, will likely hurt petrochemicals prices

2:48 PM

Equirus Securities on Subros

Subros (SUBR) is market leader in automotive AC parts with a 42% market share. MSIL is the largest customer (contributed 69% of FY18 Sales), it is also largest supplier to OEMs like Tata Motors and M&M.

Moreover, a strong parentage (Denso Corp. 20% stake recently increased from 13% earlier at Rs 400/share) provides SUBR access to Denso’s technological prowess, an enviable pipeline (new products to flow through) and thus a strong competitive edge.

We expect 10%/15%/31% sales/EBITDA/PAT CAGR over FY19-FY21, and initiate coverage on SUBR with LONG and a Mar’20 target price of Rs 312 at 17x Mar’20 EPS. We believe that FY20 free cash flow yield of 8% provides strong valuation support.

2:47 PM

Equirus Securities on Avanti Feeds (AFL)

AFL currently trades at 15x/12x our FY19/FY20 EPS estimates. We arrive at our Mar’20 target price of Rs 520 by ascribing a target PE multiple of 20x, down from 22x earlier to factor in the current demand uncertainty in the US. Key downside risks: (1) Farm gate prices falling further, in turn hurting shrimp farming. (2) A slowdown in Indian shrimp exports.

2:41 PM

NEWS ALERT | External Affairs Ministry will brief media at 3:15 pm