Key indices were trading lower on weak US stocks. At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 161.85 points or 0.40% at 40,561.64. The Nifty 50 index was down 58.95 points or 0.49% at 11,903.15.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down up 0.01%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.13%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 243 shares rose and 275 shares fell. A total of 25 shares were unchanged.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2020-21 today, 1 February 2020 amid high expectations of a personal tax rate cut as well as other measures to encourage demand amid a teetering economy. This would be her second budget under Modi government 2.0.
Q3 earnings impact:
Among stocks, Hindustan Unilever rose 1%. Hindustan Unilever reported a 12.95% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1631 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018, supported by improvement in margins and volume growth. The company reported that domestic consumer growth was at 4% with underlying volume growth at 5%. Margin expansion was driven by the company's saving agenda and leverage in other expenses.
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ITC was up 0.94%. ITC reported 29.13% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,975.54 crore on 6.01% rise in total income to Rs 13,960.50 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Revenue growth was driven mainly by Hotels, Agri Business and FMCG-Others (excluding the Lifestyle Retailing Business).
Power Grid Corporation of India fell 3.32%. Power Grid Corporation of India reported 13.90% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2672.03 crore in Q3 December 2019 as compared to Rs 2345.97 crore reported in the same period last year. Revenues rose 7.20% to Rs 9364.36 crore in Q3 December 2019 from Rs 8735.75 crore in Q3 December 2018. Revenues from the transmission segment stood at Rs 8857.92 crore (up 2.31% YoY), consultancy segment were at Rs 144.01 crore (up 205.88% YoY) and those of telecom segment stood at Rs 197.97 crore (up 0.91% YoY).
Castrol India advanced 0.41%. Castrol India reported 28.03% rise in net profit at Rs 271.30 crore on a 2.93% fall in total income to Rs 1028.00 crore in Q4 December 2019 over Q4 December 2018. The board of directors has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3.00 per equity share for the year ended 31 December 2019.
Vedanta fell 0.14%. Vedanta reported 49.17% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 2348.00 crore on a 11.54% fall in total income to Rs 22,175.00 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Revenues fell primarily due to subdued commodity prices and lower volumes in Zinc and Oil & Gas business, partially offset by past exploration cost recovery in Oil & Gas business and higher volumes at Iron Ore & Steel business.
Stocks in news:
Divi's Laboratories gained 0.90%. Divi's Laboratories informed that the company's Unit-II at Village Chippada, Bheemunipatnam District, Andhra Pradesh has had an inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) from 27 January 2020 to 31 January 2020. The inspection has been concluded with no "483" observations.
Wipro fell 0.55%. Wipro and Smart Energy Water (SEW) announced a multi-year global strategic alliance. This partnership aims to develop and deliver joint solutions, which will accelerate digital transformation for enterprise clients in the utilities space globally.
Global Markets:
In US, stocks tumbled on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 index recording their biggest one day falls since August, as fears that Chinese coronavirus epidemic would slow economic growth rattled Wall Street.
The January Chicago purchasing manager index slumped to 42.9, from the previous month's 48.9, an indication of the lingering weakness in manufacturing. This month's consumer sentiment index reading rose to 99.8, slightly above analysts' consensus forecast of 99.1.
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