MARKET WRAP: Indices end in the green but witness worst July in 17 years

Weak corporate earnings, economic slowdown and tax issues continued to weigh down investment sentiment.

Photo: Kamlesh Pednekar

The benchmark BSE S&P Sensex and broader Nifty50 gained nearly 450 points and 146 points respectively from lows to end in the green on Wednesday. Domestic indices traded lower for better part of the day but saw sharp surge during the last trading hour. Weak corporate earnings, economic slowdown and tax issues continued to weigh down investment sentiment.

The Nifty50 slipped to the lowest level since March 6, 2019 to hit an intra-day low of 10,999 mark. As per reports, markets witnessed the worst July in 17 years, managing to hold gains slightly better than the one seen in 2002. Sensex slipped 4.9 per cent, and Nifty50 shed 5.7 per cent in July 2019. Further, Sensex, Nifty, Nifty Bank and Midcap index posted biggest monthly fall in 2019. Nifty Midcap, too, logged its worst performance in 17 years.

The Sensex gained 84 points, or 0.22 per cent, to end the day at 37,481 levels with IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, YES Bank, and Hero MotoCorp being the top gainers. Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and NTPC, on the other hand, slipped the most during the day. The broader Nifty50, too, ended at 11,118 mark, up 32 points, or 0.29 per cent.

In the broader market, S&P BSE Mid-cap closed the day with gains of 97 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 13,643 mark. The S&P BSE Small-cap settled 42 points, or 0.34 per cent, higher at 12,692 levels.

Sectorally, only media, financial services and realty ended in the red. Nifty Metal index was the lead gainer, closing 2.42 per cent higher, followed by Nifty PSU Bank index, up 1.73 per cent. Nifty media slipped the most, down 2.92 per cent.

BUZZING STOCKS

Shares of Gujarat Gas zoomed 17 per cent to Rs 192 in Wednesday's early morning trade on the BSE in an otherwise weak market after the company reported a strong 92 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 234 crore in June 2019 quarter (Q1FY19) on the back of healthy volume growth. The stock, however, pared gains later in the day to settle at Rs 171.45, up 5 per cent. READ MORE

Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises, the parent company of India's largest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), hit lower circuit limit of 20 per cent for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, after news reports said the body of the company's founder VG Siddhartha has been found from the Nethravathi river. READ MORE

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GLOBAL CUES

Fresh trade war fears weighed on global stocks on Wednesday ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting with the dollar holding firm and Britain’s pound subdued amid rising fears of no-deal Brexit.

Japan's Nikkei ended 0.86 per cent lower while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.69 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite, too, shed 0.67 per cent at close.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Sectoral gainers and losers on the NSE

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Gainers and losers on the S&P BSE Sensex

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CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 84 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 37,481 levels while NSE's Nifty50 index ended at 11,118, up 33 points or 0.29 per cent.

3:29 PM

NEWS ALERT | DHFL says divestment of co's stake in DHFL Pramerica Asset Managers has been completed

3:23 PM

Anand Rathi Shares on HDFC Bank

RECOMMENDATION: BUY

TARGET PRICE: Rs 2,820

Considering the strong positioning, healthy balance sheet growth and superior asset quality & management, we believe the bank is well-poised to deliver consistently with margin leadership & robust return ratios. We continue to remain positive on the company over medium to longer term perspective and maintain our BUY rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 2,820 per share.

3:15 PM

Centrum Broking on Sanofi India

The stock has rallied recently which is driving us to cut our recommendation to Reduce from earlier add. We have valued Sanofi India (SIL) at 27x CY20E EPS of Rs 219, with a Reduce rating and target price of Rs 6,000. At Rs 6,022, the stock trades at 32.3x CY19E EPS of Rs 186.4 and 27.6x CY20E EPS of Rs 218.5. Key risks to our call include regulatory issues, any additions from key brands to National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) list and slowdown of the domestic pharma market.

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