After hitting a record high in morning trade, key equity benchmarks ended with minor losses on Tuesday. Selling emerged in late trade after Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced resignation after his deputy Ajit Pawar quit.
The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, fell 67.93 points or 0.17% to 40,821.30. The Nifty 50 index fell 36.05 points or 0.30% to 12,037.70.
The Sensex hit an all-time of 41,120.28 while the Nifty hit an all-time high of 12,132.45 in morning trade.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1118 shares rose and 1410 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.79% and the BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.38%.
Politics:
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Devendra Fadnavis has resigned as the chief minister and Ajit Pawar has resigned as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra ahead of tomorrow's floor test. Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP doesn't have the numbers after Ajit Pawar's resignation and the party will not indulge in horse trading.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ordered a floor test on Wednesday, 27 November 2019, to determine the strength of the BJP-led Maharashtra government, which an opposition alliance says does not command majority support. The swearing in of members needs to be completed by 5 pm. The proceedings shall be live telecast. Pro-tem Speaker should be appointed to conduct floor test. It will be open ballot.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in on Saturday (23 November 2019) morning as the chief minister of Maharashtra for the second consecutive term. Ajit Pawar, a member of the NCP, took oath as deputy chief minister of the state. Ajit Pawar is the nephew of NCP president Sharad Pawar.
The tussle over government formation in Maharashtra reached SC after the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress combine challenged the BJP for forming a government in Maharashtra. The three parties argued that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis doesn't have the numbers to be chief minister.
Foreign Markets:
Overseas, most European shares were trading lower while Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday afternoon following record finishes overnight on Wall Street.
On the US-China trade front, leading negotiators from Washington and Beijing held another phone call on Tuesday morning to discuss 'core issues,' China's Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement.
Liu He, China's top negotiator on trade, spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the statement said.
Markets have been watching for developments and details surrounding an anticipated "phase one" trade deal that has so far remained elusive ahead of December 15, when additional tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. are set to go into effect.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Bank index rose 0.51% at 31,718.35, its record closing high. It hit an all time high of 31,850.35 in morning trade.
Among private sector banks, ICICI Bank (up 2.62%), City Union Bank (up 1.67%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.32%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.25%), advanced.
Among state-run banks, State Bank of India (down 0.19%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.86%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.65%), declined.
The Nifty IT index fell 1.18% to 14,922.15, reversing gains acquired in the previous session.
Wipro (down 2.16%), TCS (down 1.60%), HCL Technologies (down 1.40%), Infosys (down 1.05%) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.74%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.12% to Rs 1558.85. The stock hit fresh record high of Rs 1576 in intraday today, as the company inched further towards Rs 10 lakh crore in market capitalization.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises slumped 6.97% to Rs 319.70. The company's board completed the process of reconstitution of the board and appointed three new independent directors in lieu of two independent and one nominee Director of Essel Group, namely Niharika Vora, Sunil Sharma and Subodh Kumar, respectively.
The founder of ZEE, Subhash Chandra, stepped aside as the chairman of the company.
Ashok Leyland slipped 3.06% to Rs 80.75. The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with lClCl Bank to enter into a strategic financing partnership for two years. This MoU will enable both Ashok Leyland and ICICI Bank to offer customised financial solution to customers across India with focus on semi-urban and rural geographies.
UPL fell 0.38% to Rs 542.35. Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook on UPL Corporation's ratings to stable from positive.
The change in outlook to stable from positive reflects the weaker than expected operating performance of the broader UPL Group, and our expectation that it will take longer for its credit metrics to improve to a level appropriate for a higher rating, said Kaustubh Chaubal, a Moody's vice president and senior Credit Officer.
InterGlobe Aviation fell 2.60% to Rs 1412.75 after media reports suggested that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was dissatisfied with Indigo's efforts to modify the glitch-prone older Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines installed on Airbus A320Neo aircraft.
The regulator reportedly said that for every new A320Neo aircraft that IndiGo adds to its fleet henceforth, it would have to ground a similar aircraft with unmodified engines. This means a significant portion of IndiGo's fleet could be grounded if the carrier fails to meet 31 January, 2020, deadline. The said deadline was issued to the company by the DGCA early in November after a series of engine incidents, the reports added.
Tejas Networks hit an upper circuit limit of 10% at Rs 104.55 after the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat Electronics (BEL). The MoU envisages strategic cooperation, covering the use of Tejas' optical transmission, access and data-switching products. The company also received purchase orders of Rs 60 crores from BEL, towards supply and services of its optical and data networking equipment for various projects.
Indoco Remedies surged 10% to Rs 170 after the company received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) for its Clinical Research Organisation located at Hyderabad. The inspection was carried out by the United States Food and Drug Administration from 5 August to 9 August 2019. The inspection was successfully conducted without any observations.
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