Monday, December 23, 2024 | 12:41 PM ISTEN Hindi

Sensex ends 97 pts lower amid geopolitical tensions, rise in Covid-19 cases

All that happened in the markets today

SI Reporter New Delhi

The broader Nifty50 index slipped below 9,900 levels to end at 9,881, down 33 points or 0.33 per cent.

Indian equity markets ended Wednesday's volatile session with slight cuts as investors remained cautious amid geo-political tensions between India and China at the Ladakh border.

Further, a steady rise in Covid-19 cases, both in India and globally, also dented investor sentiment. READ MORE

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 97 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 33,508 points. The index shot up to 33,934 and fell as much as 33,333 intra-day in wild swings. Auto major Maruti Suzuki India (up over 4 per cent) ended as the top gainer on the index. Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and IndusInd Bank were next on the gainers' list.

On the downside, HDFC, M&M, ITC, and Power Grid slipped up to 2 per cent.

NSE's Nifty50 index slipped below 9,900 levels to end at 9,881, down 33 points or 0.33 per cent. The index hit a high of 10,003 intra-day.

The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was mixed, with Nifty Financial Services index, down 0.8 per cent, bleeding the most. On the other hand, Nifty Auto and Nifty Media indices ended 0.8 and 1.7 per cent higher, respectively.

The broader market fared better than the benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indexes were up 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

Global markets

Europe’s shares added to their best gains in almost a month as safety plays lost their lustre on Wednesday, with hopes of a rapid economic recovery standing firm against a resurgence of global coronavirus cases.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.5 per cent, after jumping almost 5 per cent on Tuesday for its biggest daily gain in three months. Chinese blue chips recovered from an early dip to finish steady.

In the overnight trade, the Dow ended Tuesday up 2.04 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 1.90 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.75 per cent.

In commodities, oil prices declined on Wednesday as data showed an increase in US crude and fuel inventories. Brent crude futures were down 29 cents, or 0.7 per cent, at $40.67 a barrel at the time of writing of this report, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 43 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $37.95 a barrel.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:05 PM

MARKET COMMENT:: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

"After another day of indecisive trades, brought by the threat of escalation in the border dispute with China, Indian benchmark indices ended slightly negative. The losses were mainly due to financial stocks. The major sectoral gainer was the Auto sector, led by gains in Maruti. FIIs have also been net sellers in equity this week which have impacted the markets. Volatility to remain."

3:44 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Auto, media stocks gain

3:42 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE:: Losers and gainers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:37 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 97 points or 0.29 per cent to end at 33,507.92 while NSE's Nifty ended at 9,881, down 33 points or 0.33 per cent.

3:22 PM

Coromandel Int'l surges 6%, hits record high; EID Parry nears 52-week high

Coromandel International hit a new high of Rs 720, up 6.2 per cent on the BSE today, surpassing its previous high of Rs 700 recorded on May 27, 2020. The fertilisers and crop protection products manufacturer reported a 91.9 per cent jump in profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 314.16 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (Q4FY20) as compared to Rs 163.71 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. READ MORE

3:15 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: ITC slips over 2% in the trade

3:04 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Bharti Airtel acquires strategic stake in Edtech startup Lattu Media

>> At over 500 mn, India has the second largest number of internet users in the world, driven by affordable smartphones and the lowest 4G data tariffs globally. This deep penetration of internet has also led to wide adoption of online learning tools. The COVID-19 pandemic and closure of schools has further accelerated the adoption of virtual classrooms and digitally enabled learning.

>> It is estimated that in India Edtech will become a USD 2 bn plus industry by 2021.

(Via BSE filing)

2:55 PM

Stocks that are dragging the market lower

2:49 PM

MARKET CHECK:: Sensex back in the red

2:45 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Wipro gains over 2%

2:44 PM

MARCH QUARTER RESULTS | Triveni Engineering posts 72.6% YoY rise in profit to Rs 137.6 crore

-- Revenue up 75 per cent YoY to Rs 1,494 crore

-- Ebitda up 59.2 per cent YoY to Rs 186.4 crore

-- Ebitda margin contracts 120 bps to 12.5 per cent

2:36 PM

'No merit in charging interest on interest' for deferred loan payments: SC

The apex court asked the Central government and Reserve Bank of India to review the matter and slated it for further hearing in the first week of August. Indian Banks Association (IBA) to see if new guidelines can be brought in force for moratorium issue, the top court said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, during the hearing today, said that the banks have to pay interest to depositors, and therefore waiving of interest is not easy. READ MORE

2:26 PM

Tata Communications: Surge in traffic, digitisation trends to power revenue

The Tata Communications (Tata Comm) stock was up 8 per cent in trade on Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected performance in the March quarter. Management commentary on achieving double digit growth for the data business on a consistent basis also boosted sentiment. READ MORE