MARKET WRAP: Sensex ends 170 points lower on sell-off in Maruti, ZEEL

After starting on a firm note, bulls lost the momentum in the second half of the session on Friday, owing to heavy selling in Maruti Suzuki India (Maruti) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL).

The S&P BSE Sensex witnessed a swing of around 521 points in the intra-day trade before ending at 36,026, down 170 points or 0.47 per cent. 

On similar lines, the broader NSE's Nifty50 index signed off the day at 10,781, down 69 points or 0.64 per cent. Out of 50 stocks, 32 constituents ended in the red and 18 in the green. 

As many as 215 securities hit their 52-week low during the session including names such as ABG Shipyard, Apex Frozen Foods and Ashok Leyland. On the other hand, eight stocks touched their one-year high.

On a weekly basis, Sensex lost 1 per cent while Nifty settled with 1.14 per cent decline. 

In the broader market, S&P BSE MidCap index lost 1.20 per cent or 178 points to end at 14,682, while S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 14,000, down 225 points or 1.58 per cent. 

Buzzing Stocks

Shares of ZEEL ended 31 per cent down at Rs 300 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) amid reports of promoter stake sale. According to news reports, the company is in talks with firms including Sony Pictures to sell half of their holding in the entity.

Maruti Suzuki closed over 7 per cent lower at Rs 6,516 on BSE after the country's largest passenger car maker reported a 17.26 per cent fall in its net profit at Rs 1,489.3 crore for the third quarter of FY19. The carmaker had reported PAT of Rs 1,800 crore in the year-ago quarter. On QoQ basis, the figures fell 33.5 per cent. Read More
 

Global Markets

 

Asian stocks rose across the board on Friday, buoyed by gains in US technology shares while investors awaited several key events next week including US-China trade talks.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.95 per cent to scale its highest since December 4. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 per cent. Tech-heavy South Korean shares added 0.9 per cent. Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.4 per cent with technology companies boosted by a surge in their US peers.

 

(with wire inputs)

3:38 PM

Sectoral losers on NSE

3:36 PM

Gainers and losers of the day on S&P BSE Sensex

3:33 PM

Market at close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,041, down 170 points or 0.47 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,781, down 69 points or 0.64 per cent.

3:15 PM

L&T Q3 earnings preview: Here's what analysts expect

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro is expected to announce its financial results for third quarter of FY19 (October-December period) today.

 

According to analysts, the quarter gone by was muted for capital goods universe order inflows due to cautious stance ahead of general elections in 2019 and subdued private capex. READ MORE

2:57 PM

EARNINGS IMPACT Maruti Q3 profit falls 17% YoY to Rs 1,489 crore; stock skids nearly 9%

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on Friday reported a 17.26 per cent per cent fall in its net profit at Rs 1,489.3 crore for third quarter of FY19. The carmaker had reported PAT of Rs 1,800 crore in the year-ago quarter. On QoQ basis, the figures fell 33.5 per cent. Total revenue from operations stood at Rs 19,668.3 crore against Rs 19,283.2 crore in the year-ago period. Basic EPS (earnings per share) came in at Rs 49.30 against Rs 59.56 in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal. Read more

2:55 PM

EARNINGS IMPACT

2:53 PM

NEWS ALERT | DHFL net profit at Rs 313.6 crore vs 438.7 crore on QoQ

2:45 PM

Zee Entertainment in a free fall, sinks 25% on promoter stake sale buzz

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises plunged as much as 24.90 per cent to Rs 326 apiece in the intra-day trade on Friday on reports of promoter stake sale. According to news reports, the company is in talks with firms including Sony Pictures to sell half of their holding in the entity. It is learned that ZEE promoter Subhash Chandra, who is also chairman of the company, had discussions on the proposed stake sale in the UK and the US. “Chandra has had extensive meetings and discussions to sell half of his holding in ZEE. There are three final players in the ring,” reported The Economic Times citing sources. Read more

2:36 PM

EARNINGS IMPACT

2:35 PM

NEWS ALERT| Maruti Q3 net profit at Rs 1,489 crore vs Rs 1,799 crore on YoY

2:22 PM

Zee Entertainment Enterprises falls over 20%

2:01 PM

Edelweiss on Essel Propack

Essel Propack (EPL) reported a stable Q3FY19 driven by a strong 17% YoY revenue surge (eight quarter high, non-oral driven). However, margin miss led to EBITDA coming in line. Key highlights: 1) India turned around with 9% YoY revenue growth post a flat H1FY19; 2) EAP sustained stellar performance driven by non-oral. 9mFY19 jumped 19% YoY; and 3) Europe posted multi-quarter high growth, but margin improvement was still below expectation.

We believe, given growth revival (after many quarters) and strong management guidance, the stock should again trade close to its long-term average. Hence, we revise up our target multiple to 8x (7x earlier) EV/EBITDA, leading to revised TP of INR134 (INR111 earlier). Maintain ‘BUY’. That said, valuation is dependent on sustained performance in ensuing quarters

1:59 PM

HDFC Securities on Bharti Infratel

We remain positive on BHIN with target price of Rs 344 at 25x Dec-20E EPS (for merged entity). Key reasons are (a) stock has corrected by ~45% from peak (b) on account of savings on DDT (~Rs 5bn) and earnings accretion from Indus acquisition (c) healthy dividend yield of ~6% (d) uncertainty receding from Voda-Idea merger impact (e) growth resumption owing to robust data usage and (f) prognosis for rental renegotiations is weak in near term.

1:58 PM

Edelweiss on Sterlite Technologies

Sterlite Technologies (Sterlite) reported strong Q3FY19 numbers— revenue and EBITDA jumped 59.8% and 45.7% YoY (Street estimate 35.3% and 40.9%), respectively. Key highlights: 1) revenue growth was driven by execution of Navy order; 2) higher contribution of services business (~30%) led to 320bps QoQ dip in EBITDA margin at 22.0%; 3) management highlighted that Sterlite remained unaffected by decline in spot OF prices on account of delay in China Mobile tender as it has strong product order book; and 4) order book jumped 1.25x YoY to INR102.3bn with 50:50 split between services and products. We believe, with upcoming capacity expansions, Sterlite is well positioned to capture strong fibre demand. Sustained slowdown in China OF demand leading to supply glut is key risk to our thesis. Maintain ‘BUY’ with Rs 436 target price

1:50 PM

How India, China can gain from Trump's move to hurt Venezuelan oil industry

If the US decides to deploy a slate of sanctions that it’s said to have drafted against the Latin American nation, American refiners -- the No. 1 consumer of Venezuelan crude exports -- would be forced to cease purchases. That may mean more supply becomes available for the OPEC producer’s other big customers: China and India. READ MORE