The benchmark indices traded with modest losses in morning trade. At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 100.62 points or 0.29% at 34,146.43. The Nifty 50 index lost 28.30 points or 0.28% at 10,087.85.
The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index up 0.94% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index up 0.88%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1330 shares rose and 656 shares fell. A total of 94 shares were unchanged.
The undertone of the market was positive after the US central bank on Wednesday cut its benchmark short-term rate to near zero, and said nearly all its policymakers foresee no rate hike through 2022. It also said that it will keep buying bonds to maintain low borrowing rates and support a US economy mired in a deep recession with high unemployment.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's retained India's sovereign credit rating at BBB- with stable outlook. The ratings agency said, "While risks to India's long-term growth rate are rising, ongoing economic reforms, if executed well, should keep the country's growth rate ahead of peers." S&P has forecast India's economy to shrink by 5% this fiscal.
Gains were capped amid rising coronavirus cases in the country. India reported 1,37,448 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 8,102 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
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Meanwhile, total coronavirus cases worldwide stood at 73,60,239 far with 4,16,201 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
BHEL (up 2.08%), Vodafone Idea (down 2.13%), Jindal Steel (up 3.13%), Just Dial (up 0.18%), NCC (up 0.16%) and PVR (down 1.10%) are under the F&O ban for June 11. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index lost 0.69% to 14,740.15, underperforming other sectoral indices on the NSE.
Tech Mahindra (down 1.47%), MphasiS (down 1.34%), Infosys (down 1.29%), TCS (down 1.25%), Hexaware Technologies (down 0.72%), Persistent Systems (down 0.27%) and Wipro (down 0.14%) declined. Meanwhile, MindTree (up 0.34%), HCL Technologies (up 0.37%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.86%) advanced.
Q4 Results Today:
Dixon Technologies (up 1.67%), EID Parry (up 3.39%), IIFL Wealth Management (down 0.66%), KNR Constructions (up 2.71%), Redington India (up 2%), Shriram City Union Finance (up 1.15%), Sundram Fasteners (down 0.35%) and Westlife Development (up 1.68%) are some of the companies that will announce their quarterly earnings today.
Earnings impact:
Century Textiles & Industries fell 2.10% to Rs 308 after consolidated net profit dropped 32.1% to Rs 82.11 crore on a 8.7% fall in net sales to Rs 770.03 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.
The company's interest cost surged 65.4% to Rs 25.16 crore while the depreciation costs rose 22.2% to Rs 58.14 crore in the fourth quarter as compared to the same period last year.
The company said the COVID 19 pandemic in the last month of the FY 2020 has affected all the businesses of Century Textiles and Industries, impacting the overall revenue adversely. Though the scenario is grim currently, it is expected to show signs of revival from the second half of this financial year across the businesses.
Mahanagar Gas rose 3.55% to Rs 1029 after the company reported 24.8% jump in net profit to Rs 166.59 crore despite a 5% fall in net sales to Rs 686.55 crore in Q4 FY20 over Q4 FY19.
The company's profitability was aided by lower total expenditure (down 13% YoY) and lower tax expense (down 4.7% YoY) as they stood at Rs 442.72 crore and Rs 57.68 crore in the fourth quarter. The term 'YoY' indicates year-on-year comparison.
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