The benchmark indices hit fresh intraday low in morning trade, mirroring weakness in other Asian peers. The US China trade tensions weighed on the sentiment. Meanwhile, fresh developments in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) also sapped investors risk appetite.
At 10:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 637.37 points or 1.72% at 36,480.85. The Nifty 50 index was down 172.15 points or 1.57% at 10,825.20.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly held a crucial Cabinet meeting at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence along with the other members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) as tension continues to simmer in J&K over a looming uncertainty. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha at 11:00 IST when the House convenes. The Union Home Minister will then make a statement in the Lok Sabha, reports added.
Opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha will repotedly meet at 10:00 IST today. They are likely to discuss the ongoing situation in J&K.
Tensions have escalated in J&K ever since the administration called off the Amarnath Yatra and asked all tourists to leave the state immediately. Mobile internet has been suspended in the Valley while restrictions and night curfews were imposed in several districts of J&K. The government has imposed restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC in Srinagar district that came into effect on Sunday midnight.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.60%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 2.12%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 357 shares rose and 1458 shares fell. A total of 77 shares were unchanged.
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FMCG major Nestle India gained 2.57%. The company's net profit rose 10.8% to Rs 437.84 crore on 11.4% rise in net sales to Rs 2982.83 crore in Q2 June 2019 over Q2 June 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 2 August 2019.
Domestic sales increased by 13.1% in Q2 June 2019 largely driven by volume & mix while company's export dropped by 13.9% in Q2 June 2019 primarily due to lower coffee exports to Turkey.
The company also announced that it will start construction of its ninth factory in India. The factory for 'Maggi Noodles' will involve an initial investment of nearly Rs 700 crore over the next two years is located in Gujarat.
ITC fell 2.02%. The company's net profit rose 12.6% to Rs 3173.94 crore on 6% rise in net sales to Rs 11,361.35 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 2 August 2019.
On consolidated basis, ITC's consolidated net profit rose 12.8% to Rs 3355.01 crore on 6.7% rise in net sales to Rs 12532.31 in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018.
The company reported that it has posted a steady performance during the quarter amid sluggish demand conditions.
ITC's flagship cigarette business grew 6% to Rs 5433.4 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018.
The company's non-cigarette business which comprises of hotels rose 15% driven by robust performance of new properties, amidst relatively soft demand conditions. While segment EBITDA grew 18%, additional depreciation pertaining to new properties weighed on segment results.
Paperboards, paper & packaging segment revenue rose 13% in Q1 June 2019, driven by strong growth in value added paperboards segment and product mix enrichment. The company reported that packaging & printing business was impacted by slowdown in the FMCG industry and exports.
Reliance Industries slipped 3.12%. The company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings (RIIHL), has entered into an agreement for acquisition of equity shares of Shopsense Retail Technologies for a cash consideration not exceeding Rs 295.25 crore. RIIHL has an option to further invest an amount of up to Rs 100 crore which is likely to be completed by December 2021. The total investment will translate into approximately 87.6% of equity share capital in Fynd on a fully diluted and converted basis. The announcement was made on Saturday, 3 August 2019.
A foreign brokerage has reportedly downgraded the stock to 'Underperform' from 'Neutral' and cut price target to Rs 995 from Rs 1,350.
Lupin shed 1.09%. The pharma major announced the receipt of the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the U.S. FDA for its Aurangabad facility. The facility was inspected by the U.S. FDA between May 6, 2019 and May 15, 2019. Lupin's Aurangabad facility is involved in the manufacture of Oral Solid Dosage, Oral Liquid and Powder for Oral Suspension products for the US Market, WHO/Global Institution markets and the India market. The announcement was made during market hours today, 5 August 2019.
Adani Power fell 5.04%. The private sector thermal power producer, announced the completion of acquisition of GMR Chhattisgarh Energy (GCEL), which owns and operates a 1,370 MW (2 X 685 MW) supercritical power plant at Raikheda village, in Raipur District of Chhattisgarh. The acquisition of GCEL was concluded at an Enterprise Valuation of approx. Rs. 3.530 crore. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 2 August 2019.
Most auto stocks fell. Tata Motors (down 5.02%), Escorts (down 3.26%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.55%), Ashok Leyland (down 2.41%), Eicher Motors (down 2.19%), TVS Motor Company (down 2.15%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.28%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.05%) declined. Bajaj Auto was up 0.27%.
As per reports, according to industry body FADA, approximately two lakh jobs have been cut across automobile dealerships in India in the last three months as vehicle retailers take the last resort of cutting manpower to tide over the impact of the unprecedented sales slump.
Overseas, Asian shares were trading lower on Monday as a sharp escalation in the Sino-US trade war kept financial markets on edge.
US stocks ended at their lowest levels in a month on Friday as investors worried that President Trump's escalation of the trade war with China would impact economic growth. Stocks extended losses after China vowed to retaliate against President Trump's decision on Thursday to impose 10% tariffs on the remaining $300 million of imports from China not already subject to levies.
On the US data front, the U.S. economy added 164,000 jobs in July. The job gains pushed the size of the U.S. labor force to a record high. Wages rose 3.2% on a year-over-year basis.
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