Nifty down nearly 1% but holds 10,600; Sensex ends over 300 pts lower

All that happened in the markets today

4:09 PM

Tata Motors Q3 rises about 13-fold on higher JLR sales at Rs 12 bn

 

Tata Motors Ltd reported about a 13-fold rise in quarterly profit on Monday, driven by higher sales from its Jaguar Land Rover business after a particularly weak quarter a year earlier. READ MORE

3:36 PM

Sectoral Trends

3:35 PM

Sensex top gainers and losers

3:33 PM

Markets at close

Benchmark indices fell for a fifth straight session on Monday, with the broader NSE index hitting its lowest in a month, as Asian shares slumped, while worries remained that the Reserve Bank of India would turn more hawkish at its policy meeting later this week.

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,757, down 309 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,666, down 94 points.

3:20 PM

Boost non-tax revenue: Further fiscal slippage to dent Budget's credibility

 

In the run-up to the Union Budget, the primary concern for most observers was the state of the fiscal health. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did little to allay the apprehensions as he announced a slippage of 30 basis points (bps) in the fiscal deficit for FY18.

 

Worse, the fiscal deficit for the next year has been targeted at 3.3%, which is quite a distance from Mr Jaitley’s initial promise in 2014 to achieve the 3 per cent mark in three years. He has now postponed getting to 3% to 2020-21. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

3:10 PM

Indirect Tax: Budget on customs could have been more positive

 

The indirect tax Budget of 2018-19 was not expected to devote any time to GST. So the officers had all the time to achieve a meaningful improvement in the customs tariff. Only the sufferers know that the customs tariff has got 19 rates of duty. Then there are hundreds of exemptions and conditions and lists which make customs duty classifications quite complicated. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

3:00 PM

India 'might' achieve 3% fiscal deficit target by 2019-20: Finance ministry official

 

India 'might actually' be able to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3% of the GDP by 2019-20, a finance ministry official said on Monday, a year ahead of a stated goal of the government announced last week in the Union Budget. READ MORE

2:45 PM

Corporate governance issues: No respite for Vakrangee; stock down by half

 

The Vakrangee stock has shed 53% over the past 10 days, including 10% in trade on Monday on corporate governance issues. The company was reportedly being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for price and volume manipulation in the first half of 2017. The company has, however, indicated that the news is baseless and factually incorrect and they had not received any official communications from the regulator or the exchanges.

 

PC Jeweller also has slipped in a similar way before recovering and is now down 26% over the past week on the back of its links with Vakrangee. Vakrangee had invested Rs 1.12 billion out of its total treasury fund of about Rs 15 billion in PC Jeweller on January 25. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

2:33 PM

NEWS IMPACT: Sugar stocks rise 3-6% as food ministry proposes hike in import duty

Sugar stocks, such as KCP Sugar, Dhampur Sugar, Simbhaoli Sugar, are trading 3-6% higher on the BSE on reports that the food ministry has proposed doubling of the import duty on sugar to 100% to curb cheaper imports, check falling wholesale prices of sweetener and ensure timely payment to cane farmers

 

2:27 PM

Food ministry proposes hike in sugar import duty to 100% 

 

The food ministry has proposed doubling of the import duty on sugar to 100% to curb cheaper imports, check falling wholesale prices of sweetener and ensure timely payment to cane farmers, sources said.

 

Wholesale prices have fallen below the cost of production in view of estimated 6 million tonnes more production in the 2017-18 season (October-September). In retail market, sugar is being sold at Rs 40-42/kg.

 

According to the sources, a recommendation has been made to the finance ministry that import duty on sugar be raised from the current 50% to 100% to protect domestic sugarcane farmers.

(Source:PTI)

2:24 PM

Strong India sales help Suzuki Motor post 68% rise in Q3 profit

 

Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp on Monday announced a 68% jump in operating profit in the third quarter due to ongoing growth in automobile and motorcycle sales in India, its biggest market, as well as in Europe and at home.

 

Operating profit at Japan's No 4 automaker came in at 86.9 billion yen ($790.36 million) in October-December, jumping from 51.85 billion yen a year earlier and exceeding a median forecast of 77.49 billion yen from nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. READ MORE

2:15 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	34,627.15		-1.25%
Nifty 50	10,641.55		-1.11%
S&P BSE 200	4,624.40		-1.11%
Nifty 500	9,303.65		-1.13%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,419.44		-0.94%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,642.83		-1.15%

2:00 PM

Budget 2018: No material impact of slippage in fiscal deficit, says Moody's

 

The Budget for 2018-19 strikes a balance between fiscal prudence and growth, and a "slight" slippage in fiscal deficit has no material impact on overall economic strength. READ MORE
 

1:46 PM

United Breweries hits record high post Q3 results

 

United Breweries (UBL) hit a record high of Rs 1,243, up 9.5% on BSE in intra-day trade, after the company said on a year to date basis, volume grew 6% compared with industry growth of 3%.

 

The company gained market share in its important markets including Rajasthan, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal. READ MORE
 

1:31 PM

Smooth road ahead for Ashok Leyland; strong growth to drive earnings faster

 

The steps taken by Ashok Leyland (ALL) over the past few years, along with an improving industrial climate, are helping the company gain ground in its business and improve its financials. The quarter ended December 2017 (Q3) is evidence of that.

 

And the company’s management and analysts say the situation will be better. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY