Local stocks are trading lower in early trade on weak global cues. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 272.02 points or 0.68% at 39,650.44. The Nifty 50 index was down 79.95 points or 0.68% at 11,649.65.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.38%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.9%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is weak. On the BSE, 449 shares rose and 1173 shares fell. A total of 71 shares were unchanged.
F&O expiry:
Trading could be volatile as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month October series to November series. The October 2020 F&O contracts expire today, 29 October 2020.
Stocks in news:
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Hero MotoCorp fell 0.8%. Hero MotoCorp reported 8.99% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 958.49 crore on 22.73% rise in total income to Rs 9,620.22 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) lost 4.54%. On a consolidated basis, Larsen & Toubro (L&T)'s net profit surged 118.43% to Rs 5520.27 crore on 12.15% decline in net sales to Rs 31034.74 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
Profit was boosted due to divestment of Electrical & Automation (E&A) business to Schneider Electric SE on 31 August 2020. Profit after tax from discontinued operations for the quarter and six months ended 30 September 2020 includes gain on divestment Rs 8101.04 crore (net of tax).
Axis Bank rose 0.62%. Axis Bank reported net profit of Rs 1,682.67 crore in Q2 September 2020 as compared to net loss of Rs 112.08 crore in Q2 September 2019. Total income rose 2.77% to Rs 19,870.07 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
Infosys fell 0.23%. Infosys announced that it has completed the acquisition of Blue Acorn iCi, an Adobe Platinum partner in the US, and a leader in digital customer experience, commerce and analytics. This follows the announcement the company made on 8 October 2020.
Wipro shed 0.37%. Wipro announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Encore Theme Technologies Private Limited (Encore Theme), a specialist in providing SaaS and Cloud solutions in financial services.
RBL Bank rose 0.74% after the bank's net profit surged 165% to Rs 144 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 54 crore in Q2 September 2019. Net interest income rose 7% to Rs 932 crore in the second quarter from Rs 869 crore in the same period last year.
Separately, RBL Bank said that the Reserve Bank of India had granted its approval to Maple II B.V., for acquiring more than 5% but up to 9.99% of the paid up share capital of the bank.
AU Small Finance Bank declined 1.23%. AU Small Finance Bank reported 87.2% rise in net profit to Rs 321.88 crore on 26.51% rise in total income to Rs 1,498.15 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks are trading lower on Thursday following an overnight plunge on Wall Street as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the West. The Bank of Japan is also set to announce its interest rate decision and release its outlook report on Thursday.
Japan's retail sales fell 8.7% in September as compared to a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Preliminary Report on the Current Survey of Commerce released Thursday.
Surging coronavirus cases in the United States and Europe were a growing concern as French and German leaders announced new lockdown measures to combat rising infections. In the U.S., the state of Illinois has ordered Chicago to shut down indoor dining. In Europe, German officials agreed to a four-week partial lockdown, while the French government imposed new nationwide restrictions until December 1. Worsening matters for investor enthusiasm were dwindling hopes for any imminent U.S. economic relief package with a presidential election less than a week away.
In US, stocks tumbled on Wednesday, amid concerns over the latest increase in coronavirus infections and its potential impact on the global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 943.24 points, or 3.43%, to 26,519.95, the S&P 500 lost 119.65 points, or 3.53%, to 3,271.03 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 426.48 points, or 3.73%, to 11,004.87.
Back home, domestic shares slumped on Wednesday on weak global cues as coronavirus infections grew at an alarming pace in the United States and Europe. Uncertainty over next week's U.S. Presidential elections also worried investors. Banks and financial stocks witnessed major selling. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 599.64 points or 1.48% at 39,922.46. The Nifty 50 index lost 159.80 points or 1.34% at 11,729.60.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,130.98 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1.48 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 October, provisional data showed.
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