Key benchmark indices ended lower on Friday. Trading was volatile after the Supreme Court on Friday initiated contempt proceedings against telecom companies for non-payment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues and directed that all directors of the companies be present at the next hearing. The matter will be heard next on March 17.
Global shares were mixed as investors monitored China's coronavirus epidemic and updates on how badly it could dent growth in the world's second-largest economy.
The S&P BSE Sensex, fell 205.05 points or 0.49% at 41,254.74, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index lost 61.20 points or 0.50% at 12,113.45, as per the provisional closing data.
In the wider market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.80% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.46%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 926 shares rose and 1548 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 15 stocks advanced while 35 stocks declined.
Economy:
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India's annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 3.1% in January 2020 (over January 2019) compared with 2.59% in December 2019 and 2.76% in January 2019. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far is 2.50% compared to a buildup rate of 2.49% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Among the Nifty stocks, ONGC (down 1.57%) will declare it third quarter earnings today.
Selling in banks put pressure on key indices. IndusInd Bank (down 4.38%), State Bank of India (down 2.41%), HDFC Bank (down 1.77%) and Axis Bank (down 1.50%) declined.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) rose 1.51% to Rs 476.20. On a consolidated basis, BPCL's net profit surged 239.47% to Rs 1,776.35 crore on 5.95% decline in net sales to Rs 74,959.18 crore in Q3 December 2019 (Q3 FY20) over Q3 December 2018 (Q3 FY19). Profit before tax (PBT) surged 138.78% to Rs 2,434.01 crore year-on-year (YoY). Total tax expense rose 19.29% to Rs 382.58 crore during the period under review.
On a standalone basis, BPCL's net profit surged 154.60% to Rs 1,260.63 crore on 5.64% decline in net sales to Rs 74,732.79 crore in Q3 FY20 over Q3 FY19. PBT surged 193.97% to Rs 1,733.01 crore YoY. Total tax expense surged 400.56% to Rs 472.38 crore during the period under review. The Q3 result was announced yesterday, 13 February 2020.
The company said its average gross refining margin (GRM) during nine months ended 31 December 2019 stood at $3.15 per barrel compared with $5.25 per barrel in the corresponding period of the previous year.
BPCL has accounted compensation towards sharing of under-recoveries on sale of sensitive petroleum products of Rs 233.77 crore by way of subsidy from Government of India during nine months ended 31 December 2019 compared with Rs 762.55 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Nestle India fell 0.83% to Rs 16281.05. The FMCG major reported a 38.41% rise in net profit to Rs 473.02 crore on a 7.45% rise in total income to Rs 3,193.99 crore in Q4 December 2019 over Q4 December 2018. Profit before tax surged 17.7% to Rs 614.62 crore Y-o-Y. Current tax expenses slumped 21.8% to Rs 144.41 crore during the period under review.
In Q4 FY19, total sales increased 8.8%. Domestic sales increased 10% through a combination of volume & mix. Export sales dropped 9.7% due to lower exports of coffee to Turkey. The board recommended a final dividend of Rs 61 per equity share. The Q4 figures were declared after trading hours yesterday, 13 February 2020.
HDFC added 0.04% to Rs 2404.10. The corporation has updated its existing medium-term note program for an amount of up to $2.8 billion to issue rupee/foreign currency-denominated bonds in international capital markets, subject to regulatory approvals.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 1.91% to Rs 523.05. The automaker clarified that the board of Ssang Yong Motor has approved a 3 years business plan which will lead to the profitability of the company in the year 2022. This plan requires outside funding of $380-$425 million over a period of three years. About half of this amount is to repay the existing loan and the remaining is to augment the capex required for new product development.
Adani Enterprises rose 1.93% to Rs 256.30. The company informed that Adani Ahmedabad International Airport, Adani Lucknow International Airport and Adani Mangaluru International Airport, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the company have signed the concession agreement on 14 February 2020 with Airports Authority of India for the operations, management and development of Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru airports respectively. The concession period is 50 years from the commercial operation date.
Bharti Airtel rose 4.22% to Rs 562.60. Vodafone Idea slumped 16.96% to Rs 3.72 while Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) tumbled 8.79% to Rs 3.32.
The Supreme Court directed telecom providers to pay their AGR dues to department of telecommunications (DoT) by the next court hearing on 17 March 2020. A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, Abdul Nazeer and M R Shah had assembled today to hear a batch of fresh petitions filed by telecom companies seeking more time for payment of AGR dues.
The court made scathing observations on the conduct of the telecom companies as well as the DoT for ignoring its 24 October verdict that had directed the firm to pay AGR dues to DoT by 23 January 2020. According to media reports, Vodafone Idea and Airtel owe Rs 1.47 lakh crore to DoT.
Vodafone Idea declared its third quarter earnings after market hours yesterday. On a consolidated basis, Vodafone Idea reported net loss of Rs 5,807.24 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against net loss of Rs 31,773.48 crore in Q2 September 2019. Net sales rose 2.18% to Rs 11,076.20 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q2 September 2019, primarily supported by strong 4G additions driving average revenue per user (ARPU) improvement. ARPU inched up to Rs 109 in December-end from Rs 107 at the end of September, supported by improved customer mix. The subscriber base declined to 304 million in Q3 December 2019 from 311 million in Q2 September 2019. Subscriber churn further reduced in Q3 December 2019, reaching 3.3% compared to 3.5% in Q2 September 2019 and 3.7% in Q1 June 2019.
SpiceJet surged 7.20% to Rs 90.80 after the company announced Q3 results during trading hours today, 14 February 2020. On a consolidated basis, SpiceJet's net profit rose 20.98% to Rs 77.96 crore on 46.93% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 3,656.36 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. On a standalone basis, net profit rose 32.93% to Rs 73.22 crore on 46.66% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 3,647.13 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. This profit is after a non-cash forex charge on account of IND-AS116 of Rs 75.90 crore without which the profit would have been Rs 149.10 crore. Revenue increased as the airline added more destinations and expanded its fleet of passenger and freighter aircraft.
Avenue Supermarts fell 4.29% to Rs 2433.35. The company's promoters offered to sell up to 2.28% stake through an offer for sale (OFS) that will fetch Rs 3,032.5 crore. The shares will be sold at a floor price of Rs 2,049. The OFS opened on Friday for institutional investors, while retail investors will be able to subscribe on Monday.
The OFS of Avenue Supermarts received bids for 3.57 crore shares today, 14 February 2020, as against 1.33 crore shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data at 15:15 IST. The issue was subscribed 2.69 times.
Hindustan Copper slumped 6.78% to Rs 38.50. The vertically integrated copper producer reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 95.61 crore in Q3 December 2019 as compared a net profit of Rs 34.53 crore in Q3 December 2018. Net sales slumped 80.3% to Rs 93.29 crore reported in Q3 FY20 as compared to Rs 474.22 crore reported in the same period last year.
Himadri Speciality Chemical fell 5.88% to Rs 55.25. The chemical maker reported 84% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.92 crore on a 27.3% fall in net sales to Rs 429.73 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018.
Page Industries tumbled 5.13% to Rs 22322.60. Standalone net profit slipped 14.60% to Rs 87.01 crore in Q3 December 2019 (Q3 FY20) as against Rs 101.89 crore reported in Q3 December 2018 (Q3 FY19). Revenue from operations jumped 7.51% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 793.79 crore in Q3 FY20. The Q3 earnings were announced after market hours yesterday, 13 February 2020. A temporary dip in PAT is entirely due to enhanced investments in sales and marketing, people and technology, which would drive sustainable growth in the years to come, the company said. EBITDA dropped 16.5% to Rs 135.30 crore in Q3 FY20 from Rs 162.10 crore in Q3 FY19. EBITDA margin stood at 17% in Q3 FY20 as against 22% in Q3 FY19.
Foreign Markets:
European markets were trading mostly higher while most Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors turned cautious following a surge in cases of a new virus in China. IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice has reportedly said that the organization remained confident in the resilience of China's economy, adding that the country "has the resources and the resolve to meet this challenge."
China is set to halve tariff rates on certain U.S. products worth about $75 billion with effect later on Friday, as previously announced by Beijing in early February. Retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods will be cut from 10% to 5%, and from 5% to 2.5% on others, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Finance earlier this month. The adjustments will take effect from 14 February.
US stock market declined on Thursday after a change in the methodology used by China resulted in a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The World Health Organization said Thursday that the total deaths from the outbreak stood at 1,369, while the total number of confirmed cases rose to 60,329. Traders are still trying to gauge the outbreak's effect on the economy.
Meanwhile, the US Fed said it would shrink repo operations starting with Friday's overnight offering. The Fed has been conducting repo offerings and Treasury-bill purchases in a bid to keep control of short-term interest rates and bolster bank reserves. The efforts had calmed markets since a September spike. Treasuries trimmed their gains for the day.
On the data front, US first-time claims for unemployment benefits inched up by less than expected in the week ended February 8th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
US consumer price index inched up by 0.1% in January after rising by 0.2% in December, with higher prices for food and shelter offsetting a steep drop in gasoline prices, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The uptick in consumer prices was primarily due to an increase in shelter costs, which climbed by 0.4% in January.
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