Key equity indices settled with modest losses after a volatile session as investors shift their focus to Q4 March 2019 corporate earnings starting this week.
The Sensex fell 161.70 points or 0.42% to settle at 38,700.53. The index rose 179.02 points, or 0.46% at the day's high of 39,041.25. The index fell 341.27 points, or 0.88% at the day's low of 38,520.96.
The Nifty 50 index fell 61.45 points or 0.53% to settle at 11,604.50. The index rose 44.35 points, or 0.38% at the day's high of 11,710.30. The index fell 116.85 points, or 1% at the day's low of 11,549.10.
Domestic stocks nudged higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. A divergent trend was witnessed in morning trade as the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was trading with small gains while the Nifty 50 index was trading with tiny losses. Key indices dipped in negative zone in mid-morning trade. Stocks hovered in negative zone in early afternoon trade. Fresh selling in index pivotals dragged the key indices to intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. Stocks cut losses in late trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.72%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.39%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1067 shares rose and 1506 shares fell. A total of 189 shares were unchanged.
Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE IT index (up 0.97%), the S&P BSE Power index (up 0.4%) and the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.02%), outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Realty index (down 2.33%), the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (down 1.48%) and the S&P BSE Metal index (down 0.89%), underperformed the Sensex.
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Lakshmi Vilas Bank hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 97.35. Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance fell 4.90% at Rs 858.90.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank said it will amalgamate into Indiabulls Housing Finance, subject to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other regulatory and statutory approvals. The share-swap ratio for the merger has been fixed at 1:0.14, which means that for every 100 shares of Lakshmi Vilas Bank held by shareholders, they will be entitled to receive 14 shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 5 April 2019.
Shares of NIIT Technologies fell 3.59% at Rs 1301.05. Shares of NIIT surged 19.54% to Rs 114.10. Baring Private Equity Asia will acquire 30% stake in NIIT Technologies from NIIT and other promoter entities. The announcement was made on Saturday, 6 April 2019.
As on 31 December 2018, promoters held about 1.88 crore shares, or 30.58% equity, in NIIT Technologies. This includes about 1.44 crore shares, or 23.51% equity, held by NIIT.
Shares of three state-run oil marketing companies declined after Brent crude prices firmed up in international market. HPCL (down 3.95%), BPCL (down 1.94%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 3.86%) edged lower.
Higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of PSU OMCs on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.
HDFC Bank fell 0.56%. HDFC Bank announced after market hours on Friday, 5 April 2019, that its advances aggregated to approximately Rs 8,19,500 crore as of 31 March 2019 as compared to Rs 6,58,300 crore as of 31 March 2018 and Rs 7,81,000 crore as of 31 December 2018.
The bank's deposits aggregated to approximately Rs 9,23,000 crore as of 31 March 2019 as compared to Rs 7,88,800 crore as of 31 March 2018 and Rs 8,52,500 crore as of 31 December 2018. The bank's CASA ratio stood at around 42% as compared to 43.5% as of 31 March 2018 and 40.7% as of 31 December 2018. During the quarter ended 31 March 2019, the bank purchased loans aggregating Rs 1,924 crore through the direct assignment route under the home loan arrangement with Housing Development Finance Corporation.
Infosys rose 1.44%. Infosys announced after market hours on Friday, 5 April 2019, that it has strengthened its capabilities and presence in the turbomachinery and propulsion space with the opening of a new Infosys office in Baden, Switzerland. This office is part of Infosys' overall growth strategy of helping clients navigate their digital transformation journeys and will play an integral role in providing clients in the energy and aviation industries, the latest innovations in the fossil and renewable energy markets and aerospace.
HDFC fell 0.14%. HDFC announced after market hours on Friday, 5 April 2019, that during the quarter ended 31 March 2019, it assigned loans amounting to Rs 2,418 crore compared to nil in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Income from dividend for the quarter ended 31 March 2019 was Rs 537 crore compared to Rs 332 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. During the quarter ended 31 March 2019, the profit on sale of investments in subsidiary/associate companies was 314 crore compared to Rs 272 crore in corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Tata Motors fell 2.48%. Tata Motors during market hours today, 8 April 2019, said that Jaguar Land Rover total retail sales were 76,895 vehicles in March 2019, down 8.2% compared to sales in March 2018.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 0.51%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and its subsidiaries and/or associate companies during market hours today announced that INFUGEM (gemcitabine in sodium chloride injection), for intravenous use, is now commercially available in the U.S. INFUGEM, the first chemotherapy product that comes in a premixed, ready-to-infuse formulation, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2018 in combination with other drugs for the treatment of breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancers, and as a single agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president on Monday unveiled the party's manifesto, described as Sankalp Patra, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP said that it will provide short term new agriculture loans up to Rs 1 lakh at a 0% interest rate for 1-5 years on the condition of prompt repayment of the principal amount. The BJP said that India is no longer helpless against terror. Any destructive ideology that destroys the atmosphere of peace and unity is and will be given a being reply.
The BJP manifesto mentions the scrapping of the Article 370 which gives autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has also promised to scrap Article 35A which provides special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. BJP also reiterated its stand to draw a Uniform Civil Code.
The BJP said that its stand on Ram mandir remains the same. Further, the BJP said that it will achieve the goal of Clean Ganga by 2022. Meanwhile, the BJP government will ensure that every Gram Panchayat is connected through a high speed optical fibre network by 2022. Also, it said that the next BJP government will launch a massive Rural Road Upgradation Programme' to connect centres of education, healthcare centres, and markets with hinterlands to promote rural growth.
The 2019 Indian general election is scheduled to be held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May, and on the same day the results will be declared.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 69.63, compared with its close of 69.23 during the previous trading session.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for June 2019 settlement was up 25 cents at $70.59 a barrel. The contract rose 94 cents, or 1.35% to settle at $70.34 a barrel during the previous trading session.
Overseas, most European shares were trading higher while Asian shares ended on a mixed note on Monday, as investors prepare for US earnings season.
On the Brexit front, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is still searching for a new plan to secure a delay to Brexit from EU leaders at a summit on Wednesday. U.K. lawmakers have so far failed to approve a withdrawal agreement, with the world's fifth-largest economy set to leave the bloc on April 12.
U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, as investors cheered a solid jobs report and upbeat comments on prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal. Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said in a letter to US President Donald Trump that substantial progress had been made in U.S.-China talks over the past months and called for negotiations to be wrapped up as soon as possible.
March jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 196,000 new jobs. The Labor Department's official measure of unemployment held steady at 3.8%. Wage growth remained modest, with average hourly earnings rising 4 cents to $27.70, a year-over-year increase of 3.2%, down from 3.4% in February.
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