Key benchmark indices dropped as weakness in Asian and European stocks hit sentiment on the domestic bourses adversely.. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally down 169.61 points or 0.82%, up about 30 points from the day's low and off close to 110 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative.
Indian stocks snapped four-day winning steak today, 20 February 2014.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in volatile trade. Another index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC dropped. Bank stocks fell across the board.
The market edged lower in early trade on weak Asian stocks. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday low in morning trade. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices weakened once again after trimming intraday losses in mid-morning trade. Weakness continued on the bourses in afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices trimmed losses soon after hitting fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. It extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in late trade.
Asian and European stocks edged lower on Thursday, 20 February 2014, after a Chinese manufacturing index dropped more than estimated this month and after US Federal Reserve minutes signaled stimulus cuts will continue.
As per provisional figures, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 169.61 points or 0.82% to 20,553.36. The index dropped 200.93 points at the day's low of 20,522.04 in late trade, its lowest level since 18 February 2014. The index fell 60.31 points at the day's high of 20,662.66 in mid-morning trade.
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The CNX Nifty was down 61.05 points or 0.99% to 6,091.70, as per provisional figures. The index hit a low of 6,086.45 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 18 February 2014. The index hit a high of 6,129.10 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.20 points or 0.02% at 6,375.74. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 9.20 points or 0.14% at 6,363. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1799 crore, higher than Rs 1676.81 crore on Wednesday, 19 February 2014.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,464 shares fell and 1,205 shares rose. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 26 stocks fell and rest rose. Hindalco Industries (down 1.72%), Bharti Airtel (down 2.08%) and Tata Steel (down 1.75%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Bank stocks fell across the board. Among private sector banks, ICICI Bank (down 2.01%), Yes Bank (down 1.76%), Federal Bank (down 1.95%), HDFC Bank (down 0.84%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 2.6%) and AXIS Bank (down 0.83%), declined.
Among PSU bank stocks, State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank shed 1.65% to 3.66%.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.99% at Rs 804.50. The scrip hit high of Rs 813.75 and low of Rs 803.40.
Another index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC dropped 1.45%.
ABB India fell 0.31%. The company said during market hours that it has won orders worth Rs 310 crore ($56 million) from Power Grid Corporation of India to supply power transformers and shunt reactors for substations being built to support the country's ultrahigh voltage transmission grid development. The orders were booked in the fourth quarter of 2013 and in the first quarter of 2014.
The stock had risen in prior two trading sessions triggered by company reporting strong Q4 December 2013 earnings early this week ABB India's net profit surged 249.37% to Rs 58.59 crore on 5.72% rise in total income to Rs 2204.56 crore in Q4 December 2013 over Q4 December 2012. The result was announced during trading hours on Tuesday, 18 February 2014.
The company said it generated a healthy operating cash flow in the midst of a tight liquidity in the market.
The company received orders worth Rs 1666 crore in Q4 December 2013, which was higher than the order intake of Rs 1579 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The order intake for the full year 2013 stood at Rs 6717 crore. Base orders from a wider spectrum of customers helped offset dearth of large projects in the market, ABB India said in a statement on Tuesday, 18 February 2014. The company said its exports grew, annulling the effect of a contraction in the domestic market opportunities. The company continued to tap sectors like renewable energy, data center, railways, grid stability, mining, oil and gas that look increasingly promising, the company said in a statement.
The company said it is well positioned with an order backlog of Rs 7709 crore as on 31 December 2013, providing necessary visibility to future revenue.
Rhodia Specialty Chemicals India rose by maximum permissible 10% upper limit to Rs 797.50 on BSE after Solvay SA, one of the promoter of the company, pegged an indicative offer price of Rs 675 per share to delist shares of the company. The company made the announcement after market hours on Wednesday, 19 February 2014.
Rhodia Specialty Chemicals India has received a communication from Solvay SA, pursuant to letter dated 19 February 2014 informing that, after considering the prevailing market conditions, the indicative price at which the acquirer may be willing to accept the equity shares tendered in the delisting offer is Rs 675 per equity share, Rhodia Specialty said in a statement.
On 14 November 2013, the company had determined the floor price of Rs 442.64 per share for the proposed delisting.
The company said, this indicative offer price should in no way be construed as a ceiling or maximum price for the purposes of the reverse book building process and the public shareholders are free to tender their equity shares at any price irrespective of the indicative offer price.
The promoter proposed to acquire up to 2.92 lakh equity shares, representing 8.673% stake, held by public shareholders in the company.
As on 31 December 2013, promoters held 91.33% stake in Rhodia Specialty Chemicals India. Of the total promoter holding, Rhodia UK held 72.93% stake and Solvay Participations France held 18.39% stake.
Opto Circuits (India) rose 3.57% after the company said its Powerheart G5 automated external defibrillator received market clearance from the US drug regulator. The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 20 February 2014.
Cardiac Science Corporation, a group company of Opto Circuits (India) and a global leader in automated external defibrillators (AEDs), announced that its Powerheart G5 AED has received 510(k) market clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), allowing the company to begin selling the AED later this year along with its successful Powerheart G3 product line, Opto Circuits (India) said in a statement.
"This news is a testament to the commitment shown by our employees who have spent many years of developing, testing and refining the Powerheart G5 so that seasoned and first-time rescuers will have the most reliable, easy-to-use AED in the U.S. marketplace," said Vinod Ramnani, Chairman and Managing Director, Opto Circuits (India). "Our product portfolio is now the envy of the AED industry."
The Powerheart family of AEDs is designed to enable rescuers to swiftly provide effective, life-saving therapy to aid a person who has suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), a condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating due to inregularities in its electrical system. The condition strikes as many as 360,000 Americans annually with the majority of cases being fatal, according to the American Heart Association, the company said.
However, the American Heart Association notes that at least 20,000 lives could be saved annually by prompt use of AEDs. Ultimately, with broad deployment of AEDs among trained responders, as many as 50,000 deaths due to SCA could be prevented each year-a cause Cardiac Science is firmly behind, the company said.
"Cardiac Science has been working to reduce SCA fatalities since we introduced the first fully automated external defibrillator," said Al Ford, Cardiac Science General Manager and Senior Vice President of Sales / Marketing. "The Powerheart G5 and G3 provide a one-two punch in our mission to provide every company, school and public place with a potentially life-saving AED."
The Powerheart G5 will be available for purchase in the United States later this year, the company said.
Cardiac Science designs, manufactures and markets Powerheart automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and related services that facilitate successful deployments. Its growing list of AED placements include Fortune 500 businesses, physician offices, schools, restaurants, malls, airports, sports fields and other public places to combat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the leading cause of the death in the United States.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar on concern inflows will slow after a Federal Reserve report on Wednesday, 19 February 2014, showed support for a plan to reduce monetary stimulus for the US economy. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 62.305, compared with its close of 62.20/21 on Tuesday, 18 February 2014. The Indian currency, bond and money markets were closed on Wednesday, 19 February 2014, for a holiday.
The Reserve Bank of India next undertakes monetary policy review on 1 April 2014. Citing price pressures, the Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending rates by 25 basis points after Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on 28 January 2014.
European stocks dropped on Thursday, 20 February 2014, as US Federal Reserve minutes signaled stimulus cuts will continue and as Chinese manufacturing shrank. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were off 0.48% to 1.26%.
Asian stocks edged lower on Thursday, 20 February 2014, after a Chinese manufacturing index dropped more than estimated this month. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were off by 0.07% to 2.15%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite rose 0.12%.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.18%. A Chinese manufacturing index fell to the lowest level in seven months in February, adding to challenges for Communist Party officials grappling with risks to the financial system from trust defaults and soured loans. The preliminary February reading of 48.3 for a Purchasing Managers' Index released today by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compares with January's final figure of 49.5. A number below 50 indicates contraction.
Japan's trade deficit widened more than expected to 2.79 trillion ($27.2 billion) in January, compared to December's 1.30 trillion, data released by the Japanese government today, 20 February 2014, showed. Imports rose 25% from a year earlier and outbound shipments gained 9.5%.
Singapore's economy expanded last quarter after a pick-up in manufacturing at the year end, with the government predicting an improvement in overseas demand in 2014 amid a global recovery. Gross domestic product rose an annualized 6.1% in the three months through December from the previous quarter, when it climbed a revised 0.3%, the trade ministry said in a statement today.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could drop 24 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 20 February 2014. US stocks edged lower on Wednesday, 19 February 2014, after data showed US housing starts sank last month by the most in almost three years and after the Federal Reserve indicated stimulus cuts will likely continue. Construction on new US homes tumbled 16% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000, with drops for single-family homes and apartments, according to Commerce Department. Building permits, a sign of future demand, fell to the lowest rate since August. US producer prices rose in January under the government's new formula for measuring wholesale inflation, the Labor Department said on Wednesday, 19 February 2014.
Federal Reserve policy makers backed away from their year-old commitment to consider raising interest rates when unemployment falls below 6.5%, according to minutes of their January meeting released on Wednesday, 19 February 2014. With joblessness falling faster than expected even as other labor-market indicators show weakness, policy makers agreed it would "soon be appropriate" to revise their guidance about how long the era of record-low interest rates will remain, the minutes showed. "Several" Federal Reserve officials said that in "the absence of an appreciable change in the economic outlook, there should be a clear presumption in favor of continuing to reduce the pace" of bond buying at each meeting, the minutes showed.
Ahead of the release of the Fed minutes, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart on Wednesday, 19 February 2014, said he expects a mid-2015 interest-rate hike.
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said last week that US growth has strengthened and that only a "notable change in the outlook" for the economy would prompt policy makers to slow the pace of cuts to the monthly bond-buying program.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review on 18-19 March 2014. After a monetary policy review, the FOMC on 29 January 2014 announced it will reduce monthly bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion.
The International Monetary Fund, in a staff report prepared for central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of 20, said Wednesday, 19 February 2014, that significant downside risks remain for the world economy. Risks of prolonged market turmoil in emerging markets and of deflation in the euro area are threatening the world's improved economic prospects, IMF staff wrote in the report. The ministers meet this weekend in Sydney.
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