Markets end flat as Jackson Hole meet gets underway; pharma stocks lead

All that happened in Thursday's trade

9:21 AM

Broader Markets

Broader markets were also trading flat, in line with the benchmark indices with BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap up 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.

9:20 AM

Markets at open

Benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday following Asian markets, which shrugged off comments from US President Donald Trump about a shutdown of his government if the US Congress fails to fund a Mexico border wall.

At 9:18 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 31,606, up 38 points while Nifty50 was ruling at 9,861, up 9 points.

 

9:10 AM

Fund Pick: L&T Midcap Fund 

 

Launched in August 2004, L&T Midcap Fund is classified under the small and mid-cap equity schemes of CRISIL Mutual Fund Ranking. It has featured in the top 30 percentile (CRISIL Fund Rank 1 or 2) in the five consecutive quarters ended June 2017. The fund's quarterly average assets under management (AUM) tallied at Rs 9,014 crore in June 2017 under the guidance of S N Lahiri. READ MORE

Photo: Shutterstock

9:04 AM

Top technical calls for the day :

LIC HOUSING FINANCE – BUY 

CMP: Rs 659.70       

TARGET: Rs 710        

STOP LOSS: Rs 625

 

RASHTRIYA CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS - BUY      

CMP: Rs 95.90       

TARGET: Rs 106      

STOP LOSS: Rs 90

 

DEWAN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION – BUY

CMP: Rs 467.75       

TARGET: Rs 500      

STOP LOSS: Rs 440

Click here for rationale

9:03 AM

Nifty View from Prabhudas Lilladher

 

The daily trend in Nifty has turned up after 3 days and as for now has taken support at 9,700 levels giving a bounce to close at 9,850. A move beyond 9,850 would take it further up to 9,880-9,900 levels, however, the support for the day is seen at 9,800 while resistance is seen at 9,900.

8:58 AM

Sebi to conduct fresh probe into Infosys-Panaya deal

 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will conduct a fresh probe into corporate governance complaints against Infosys in connection with the Panaya acquisition. 

 

Sources said the role of several board members of the information technology giant could also come under the market regulator’s scanner. 

 

In June, Sebi had conducted a preliminary probe into the allegations levelled by an anonymous whistle-blower on the acquisition of the Israel-based Panaya, which Infosys bought in February 2015 for $200 million. 

Click here for more

8:54 AM

Cabinet fast tracks merger of PSU banks

 

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a framework to speed up mergers of public sector banks, the first of which could take place by March.

 

The mergers will not involve any cash but only share swaps. The government also said there would be no job losses after any of the mergers.

 

The decision lifted banking stocks, but bankers said the decision should not be forced on them. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made it clear the process would be initiated by the boards of the banks. READ MORE

 

8:52 AM

Nandan Nilekani's may return to Infosys 

 

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani is likely to return to the helm of Infosys, sources familiar with the developments said. He could take the role of non-executive chairman, becoming a bridge between the board and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, who had suggested to Nilekani that he take on a role in Infosys, the sources said.

 

Nilekani, who quit Infosys as its chief executive officer in 2007 to head the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), had been maintaining his distance from Infosys, repeatedly stating he had no role to play at a company he built along with six other founders.

Click here for full report

Nandan Nilekani

8:52 AM

Equinomics Research on Sutlej Textiles

 

Our take is that the textile industry would change its prospects significantly in the next two to three years. Sutlej Textiles & Industries, with recent acquisitions and expansions is in a formidable position to grow its fundamentals substantially in this backdrop.  

 

We also expect the textile industry to expand its valuation multiple on the stock market significantly in the next two to three years along with anticipated recovery in the textile exports. We reiterate a BUY on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,220 (which is 10x it’s FY2019E EPS of Rs 122)

8:50 AM

Oil check

Oil prices rose after US crude inventories declined for the eighth straight week and as a storm approached the Gulf Coast with the potential to disrupt oil and refined products output

Representative Image

8:50 AM

Market outlook for the day

 

Today the markets are likely to open on flat note. All emerging markets are trading mixed. The coming session is likely to witness a range of 9750 on declines and 9950 on advances: SMC Global

8:47 AM

Trump's threat

Trump said at a rally in Arizona that he would be willing to risk a government shutdown to secure funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Those comments came ahead of a late-September deadline to raise the US debt ceiling or risk defaulting on debt payments.

8:45 AM

SGX Nifty

 

The Nifty50 futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange were trading 12.50 points higher at 9867.50 indicating a flat opening for the domestic market.

8:45 AM

Asian Markets

Asian stocks edged up on Thursday, shaking off the risk aversion that gripped financial markets overnight after US President Donald Trump's threat to shut down the government, though the dollar remained sluggish.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.15% in early trade while Japan's Nikkei pulled back 0.25% on a stronger yen.

8:44 AM

Wall Street falls as Trump threatens government shutdown

 

US stocks closed lower as investors grappled with a threat from President Donald Trump to shut down the government if Congress fails to fund a Mexico border wall.

 

Stocks managed to briefly pare losses after comments from US House Speaker Paul Ryan calling a government shutdown unnecessary.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 87.8 points, or 0.4%, to 21,812.09, the S&P 500 lost 8.44 points, or 0.34%, to 2,444.07 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 19.07 points, or 0.3%, to 6,278.41.