Sensex ends 85 points lower at 37,522; RBI hikes repo rate by 25 bps

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index ended 0.52% higher led by IDBI Bank and Punjab National Bank, while Nifty Auto index settled 0.76% lower due to fall in Exide and Motherson Sumi.

12:47 PM

Bajaj Auto sales up by 30% in July on strong domestic, export growth

Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported 30 per cent increase in sales at 4,00,343 units in July. The company had sold 3,07,727 units in the year-ago month, Bajaj Auto said in a statement. Domestic sales were at 2,37,511 units as against 1,86,497 units, up 27 per cent, it added. READ MORE

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12:29 PM

Paper stocks rally: JK Paper surges 13% on strong Q1 results

Shares of paper manufacturers were trading higher by up to 13% in otherwise subdued market on Wednesday after JK Paper reported a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended June 2018 (Q1FY19). READ MORE

12:15 PM

Centre likely to keep PIOs out of beneficial ownership restrictions

 

The government is likely to exclude persons of Indian origin (PIOs) and overseas citizens of India (OCIs) from beneficial ownership (BO) restrictions, which will come into effect for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in October.

 

According to the guidelines put out by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in April, non-resident Indians (or NRIs), along with PIOs/OCIs, cannot be beneficial owners of FPIs. READ MORE

12:00 PM

Mfg sector activity eases in July amid softer increase in output: PMI

 

The country's manufacturing sector activity moderated in July amid softer increase in output, new orders and employment, says a monthly survey. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) stood at 52.3 in July, down from 53.1 in June.

 

This is the 12th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. READ MORE

11:44 AM

11:30 AM

RIL, Bata India, Dabur, Nestle India, D-Mart, Graphite India hit new high

 

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), Avenue Supermarts (the operator of D-Mart), Dabur India, Nestle India, Exide Industries, Whirlpool of India and KPIT Technologies were among 18 stocks from the S&P BSE 500 index that hit their respective new highs on the BSE on Wednesday.

 

Footwear stocks Bata India and Relaxo Footwear, graphite electrode manufacturers HEG and Graphite India, financials companies Bajaj Finserve, Indiabulls Ventures and IndusInd Bank were also at record high levels today. READ MORE

11:15 AM

Vedanta results: Volatility in base metal prices can weigh on profitability

 

Vedanta's June quarter (Q1) show may look disappointing, with net profit falling short of expectations and key businesses putting up a weak show. But the shortfall was owing to a sharp fall in other income and surge in taxes.

 

As expected, one of its key businesses, zinc along with others such as iron, together with the closure of its Tuticorin copper smelter, weighed on its performance and affected consolidated numbers. READ MORE

11:00 AM

Market Check

INDEX	LATEST	PREVIOUS	CHANGE	CHANGE(%)
	37628.51	37606.58	21.93	0.06
	15354.98	15314.81	40.17	0.26
	16093.11	16013.44	79.67	0.50
	16663.43	16584.16	79.27	0.48
	4415.67	4406.94	8.73	0.20

10:50 AM

Anup Maheshwari to be IIFL MF's CIO, joint CEO with effect from mid-August

 

IIFL MF on Tuesday announced the appointment of Anup Maheshwari, ex-chief investment officer of DSP Blackrock MF, as the joint CEO and chief investment officer (CIO) with effect from mid-August 2018. Business Standard had earlier reported that the IIFL group was one of the options that Maheshwari was evaluating.

 

After spending close to two decades at DSP Blackrock MF in different roles, Maheshwari resigned from his position as CIO-equities in April. READ MORE

10:35 AM

Edelweiss on Vendanta

 

Going ahead, we believe Vedanta will benefit from: 1) sustained cost advantage at Al division from higher internally sourced bauxite; and 2) operating leverage at key divisions—oil & gas, Zn and Al. Factoring integration of Electrosteel Steels, but subdued performance of Zn-International, we keep our EBITDA estimates broadly unchanged. We retain our target price of Rs 293 implying an exit multiple of 5.0x FY20E EBITDA.

10:30 AM

RESULT IMPACT Tata Motors falls 4% after company reports loss in Q1

 

Shares of Tata Motors dipped 4% to Rs 248 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company reported a loss of Rs 18.63 billion in June quarter (Q1FY19) against profit of Rs 32 billion in year ago quarter.

 

Net revenue from operations during the quarter under review grew 12% year on year (YoY) at Rs 671 billion against Rs 598 billion in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. READ MORE

10:15 AM

JLR drives Tata Motors into 10 year-high loss of Rs 18.6 bn in June quarter

 

Tata Motors posted the worst bottom line performance in a decade during the April-June quarter. The company posted a loss of Rs 18.63 billion as sales at Jaguar Land Rover, its UK-based subsidiary sputtered, following a one-time regulatory issue in China, uncertainty around Brexit and poor demand for diesel vehicles in the UK and Europe.

 

The poor JLR show offsets the strong performance at the automaker’s India unit, which posted a net profit of Rs 11.88 billion. Weak JLR show meant results, including consolidated revenues, which came in at Rs 670 billion, were way below consensus estimates, which had pegged net profit at Rs 9.19 billion on revenues of Rs 709 billion. READ MORE

10:12 AM

Will the RBI hike rates today? HDFC Securities does not think so

In the last meeting on June-18 it hiked interest rate by 25bps first time in last 4 years but kept the stance “Neutral” which clearly indicated that further rate decision will be highly “data dependent”. Though the market expects a 0.25% hike by the RBI, we believe the Central Bank will this time hold its horses.

10:06 AM

Nomura on Dabur

Dabur’s 1QFY19 results were quite strong, surprising us positively on the growth front. The domestic consumer business witnessed a continuing surge in growth, aided by improving consumer sentiment.
 

This is the fifth straight quarter where Dabur has outpaced industry growth. Adjusted volume growth of 8.3% is the highest in the past 13 quarters. We think the growth outlook remains buoyant for the rest of FY19, as rural growth starts picking up.
 

Our earnings estimates remain unchanged, largely as PAT and are now building in revenue growth of 16% in FY19F. We are building in margin expansion of 20bp. There could be further upside to our and Street estimates, depending on the intensity of the rural growth pick-up.

10:00 AM

MUST READ PSU stocks underperform under NDA rule, index down 15% from 2014 peak

 

Central government-owned companies have been one of the biggest underperformers in the first four years of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule. The BSE PSU index, which gauges the share price performance of 60 sate-owned companies, climbed 50 per cent in three months between April and June 2014 on expectations that the new government’s economic policies would boost the financial performance across sectors.

 

Four year later, the index is now trading 15 per cent below its 2014 peak. A decline in investment demand has led to the underperformance, according to experts. READ MORE