Weakness continued on the bourses as key benchmark indices languished in negative zone in early afternoon trade. At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 131.16 points or 0.52% at 25,206.40. The losses for the Sensex were higher in percentage terms than those for the 50-unit Nifty 50 index. The Nifty was down 29.50 points or 0.38% at 7,687. The Sensex fell 157.90 points, or 0.62% at the day's low of 25,179.66 in early afternoon trade. The barometer index rose 95.38 points, or 0.38% at the day's high of 25,432.94 at the onset of trading session, its highest level since 6 January 2016. The Nifty fell 39.60 points, or 0.51% at the day's low of 7,676.90 in early afternoon trade. The index rose 32.90 points, or 0.43% at the day's high of 7,749.40 at the onset of trading session, its highest level since 6 January 2016.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 1,473 shares fell and 846 shares rose. A total of 165 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.54%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.55%. The decline for both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
In overseas stock markets, most Asian stocks fell as recent remarks from US Federal Reserve policy makers reignited expectations for an early interest-rate increase in the United States. US stocks ended little-changed during the previous trading session on Thursday, 24 March 2016, after weaker-than-expected economic data. Meanwhile, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said the relatively minor downgrades to the Fed's economic outlook suggest the next rate hike 'may not be far off provided that the economy evolves as expected.' On Friday, 25 March 2016, data showed that the US economy grew at a 1.4% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the fourth quarter, higher than a previous estimate for 1% growth.
Tata Power Company was down 1.28% to Rs 61.85. The company announced during trading hours today, 28 March 2016, that Tata Power's Strategic Engineering Division (Tata Power SED) and Cranfield University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the possibility of entering into a strategic partnership through research and development (R&D) and academic study in the areas of defence-related engineering and emerging technologies.
IT stocks were mixed. Persistent Systems (up 3.68%), Hexaware Technologies (up 0.62%), Infosys (up 0.60%), HCL Technologies (up 0.36%) and TCS (up 0.16%), edged higher. Wipro (down 0.67%), MindTree (down 1.87%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 2.04%), MphasiS (down 2.31%) and Tech Mahindra (down 2.31%), edged lower.
Meanwhile, IT major Accenture reported strong Q2 results and raised revenue guidance for the financial year ending 31 August 2016 (FY 2016). At the time of announcement of Q2 results, in its business outlook, Accenture raised its expectations of net revenue growth for the financial year ending 31 August 2016 (FY 2016) to be in the range of 8% to 10% in local currency compared with 6% to 9% expected previously. Accenture's consolidated net profit jumped 88.43% to $1.4 billion on 6% rise in net revenue to $7.9 billion in Q2 February 2016 over Q2 February 2015. For FY 2016, the company now expects diluted earning per share (EPS) to be in the range of $5.95 to $6.06 on a GAAP basis and $5.21 to $5.32 on an adjusted basis, excluding the after-tax impact of the gain on the sale of Navitaire. The company previously expected diluted EPS to be in the range of $5.09 to $5.24. Accenture now expects operating margin to be in the range of 14.6% to 14.7%, an expansion of 10 to 20 basis points from the adjusted operating margin of 14.5% in fiscal 2015. The company previously expected operating margin to be in the range of 14.6% to 14.8%.
Most FMCG shares declined. Britannia Industries (down 2.6%), Dabur India (down 1.41%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (down 1.29%), Bajaj Corp (down 1.08%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 1.03%), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.79%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 0.56%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.49%) and Marico (down 0.1%), edged lower. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.85%), Nestle India (up 1.23%) and Godrej Consumer Products (up 2.17%), edged higher.
Also Read
Panacea Biotec lost 2.01% after the company announced the launch of CABAPAN, a cost effective product for the treatment of metastatic castration resistant prostrate cancer. CABAPAN has been developed by Panacea Biotec's state-of-the-art global research and development center (GRAND), Mumbai and manufactured at modern production facility complying with global current good manufacturing practices (cGMP), at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, Panacea Biotec said. CABAPAN will be made available at one fifth of the current cost of treatment, it added. The announcement was made during market hours today, 28 March 2016.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News