MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 240 points as IAF strikes Pakistan terror camps

All that happened in the markets today

The benchmark indices trimmed most of the morning losses to end lower on Tuesday. In a knee-jerk reaction, the benchmark indices lost ground in intra-day trade, after the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday destroyed a major terrorist camp in Pakistan.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,974, down 240 points or 0.66 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,835, down 45 points or 0.41 per cent. India VIX, a gauge of volatility climbed 11 per cent to 17.04.

The S&P BSE Sensex hit a low of 35,714 levels, while the Nifty50 slipped to 10,729 levels before buying at lower levels aided recovery. 

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index ended 1.55 per cent lower driven by a fall in Orient Bank and Union Bank of India. The Nifty Financial Services, too, settled nearly 1 per cent lower weighed by Edelweiss Financial Services and Max Financial Services.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.27 per cent, or 38 points lower at 14,192 levels. The S&P BSE SmallCap index, too, lost 0.5 per cent to close at 13,550 levels.
 

Buzzing Stocks

Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) slipped 8 per cent to Rs 125 apiece on the BSE in early morning trade after rating agency ICRA downgraded the company’s commercial papers (CPs) worth Rs 8,000 crore to ‘A2+’ from ‘A1+’. The stock ended at Rs 130.85, down 4.28 per cent on the BSE.

Shares of Tata Motors ended higher for the 10th straight trading session, up 4.07 per cent at Rs 183 apiece on the BSE, in an otherwise weak market as Tata Sons increased its stake in the company by nearly one percentage points through open market purchases.

Global Markets
 

Asian shares lost steam on Tuesday after scaling a five-month high as investors waited to see if Washington and Beijing can clinch a trade deal, while the pound advanced on hopes UK Prime Minister Theresa May will delay a Brexit deadline.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5 per cent from its highest since mid-September as US and Chinese negotiators work to hammer out a deal that would end a protracted tit-for-tat tariff battle. Chinese shares see-sawed between positive and negative territory after a sharp rally the previous day. Japan’s Nikkei stumbled 0.4 per cent as some selling pressure built ahead of the fiscal year-end.

(with Reuters input)

3:55 PM

MARKET VIEW :: Vishal B Malkan, technical analyst and founder, MalkansView

Historically, these strikes have given a knee-jerk reaction during the first couple of hours of a trading session. Markets tend to bounce-back at the end of the day. These events do the job of weeding out weak hands, thus creating a short squeeze and make way for a rally in the short-term. A similar fate may be in store for this week as well. Stocks to watch out for include Jindal Steel, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors

3:49 PM

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

We expect markets to remain volatile in the near term. On the global front, 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.  Domestically, geo-political tension between India and Pakistan would keep the markets volatile. Further, India’s Q3FY19 GDP numbers on Thursday would be keenly watched. We advise investors and traders to follow stock specific approach

3:35 PM

Sectoral gainers of the day on NSE

3:34 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 35,974, down 240 points or 0.66 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,835, down 45 points or 0.41 per cent.

3:26 PM

Top losers on BSE500

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	CHG(rs)	CHG(%)	VOLUME
ADANI TRANSMISSI	199.00	-11.55	-5.49	44202
KIOCL	125.55	-6.65	-5.03	4310
UCO BANK	18.20	-0.90	-4.71	107368
SUZLON ENERGY	5.37	-0.26	-4.62	6073526
EDELWEISS.FIN.	140.70	-6.50	-4.42	97734

3:07 PM

Does the steadily-growing SBI MF have what it takes to bag the top spot?

SBI Mutual Fund has had its share of ups and downs during its nearly 32 years of existence. As the second fund house to set up shop after UTI in 1987, the fund house enjoyed a dream run between 1987 and 1993 piggybacking on the performance of its closed-ended schemes. The entry of private sector players in 1993, however, spoiled the party of public sector-sponsored asset management companies (AMCs), including SBI MF. READ MORE

2:48 PM

Top gainers and losers on S&P BSE Sensex

2:25 PM

Thermax jumps on plan to buy stake in JV company

Thermax rose 3.83% to Rs 998.20 at 13:59 IST on BSE after the company said it will buy out stake in a joint venture company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 25 February 2019. READ MORE

2:06 PM

Motilal Oswal on Infosys

CMP: Rs 755 

Target Price: Rs 865 

Rating: Buy

 

In the recent past, onsite centricity, healthy lateral mix, and greater use of sub-contractors are all accompaniments of growth, defying revenue growth as a lever for profitability. But sustained demand should allow the industry to either

(1) pass on the higher cost to clients, or (2) eventually reap the fruits of investing in onsite talent development.

 

We estimate margin pressure for INFO to bottom out in FY20 between 22.5-23%. Our price target of INR865 discounts forward earnings by 19x, a 10% discount to TCS’ 1-year forward multiple. Maintain Buy.

2:01 PM

Market check

1:49 PM

Prabhudas Lilladher on agrochem industry

Although we don’t rule out growth pangs for another 3-6 months, worst seems to be over for the agrochemical industry. We initiate coverage on the agrochemical sector. Insecticides India (INST) is our top pick with 57% upside; UPLL (Buy) and PI (Accumulate) are structural plays. Sharda Cropchem (SHCR) and Dhanuka Agritech (DAGRI) offers decent upside, but SHCR is sensitive to the raw material supply situation in China and DAGRI’s fortunes are dependent fully on the domestic market. BYRCS remains a structural pick, although returns might be back ended

1:34 PM

Commodity arm of Anand Rathi, Geofin Comtrade 'not fit and proper': Sebi

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday declared the defunct commodity subsidiaries of broking firms Anand Rathi (ARCL) and Geofin Comtrade (formerly Geojit Comtrade) (GCL) “not fit and proper” in relation to the Rs 5,600-crore National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam. Earlier, the regulator had last week taken a similar action against the commodity arm of leading equity brokers Motilal Oswal Financial Services and India Infoline. READ MORE

1:19 PM

Sharda Motor surges 10% on JV with Eberspaecher Exhaust Technology

Shares of Sharda Motor Industries (SMIL) were up 10 per cent to Rs 1,539 apieceon Tuesday, extending its previous day’s 14 per cent rally on the BSE, after the company formed a joint venture with Germany-based Eberspaecher Exhaust Technology International for business development of BS VI norms in commercial vehicle segment in India. READ MORE

12:57 PM

Just In: ICRA revises Titan's debt rating to positive from stable