North Korea tensions take Sensex 147 points down, Nifty settles at 9,916

All that happened in today's trade

1:52 PM

Apex Frozen Foods

Apex Frozen Foods is locked in upper circuit of 5% at Rs 234 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), with no sellers witnessed on the counter. The stock has frozen maximum upper limit of the day for third straight trading sessions since its listing on September 4, 2017. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

1:31 PM

BRNL's IPO not yet the road to travel

 

The portfolio of assets is large, with five operating and one under-construction project, totalling 1,622 km across Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. However, the initial public offering (IPO) is unattractive, due to weak financial performance in the past and the valuations. READ MORE

1:15 PM

Ashok Leyland signs MoU with Russian, Indian firms

 

Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS), part of Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation with Rosoboronexport (ROE), Russia, and an Indian firm ELCOM Group, to provide tracked vehicle solutions to Indian armed forces. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

1:01 PM

Raghuram Rajan on demonetisation: We may never know real cost and benefits
 

“We still have to wait for the full evolution of the data to understand what exactly the cost and benefits have been. It may be that we never know because we do not measure some of the areas where demonetisation had an impact because those were part of the informal economy,” said Rajan. He, however, said the cost of demonetisation has been quite substantial.

“What (the impact) is because of demonetisation, what is because of banking sector stress, what is because of anticipation of the goods and services tax... All three are happening at the same time. So I don’t think you can pinpoint and say exactly this much, but analysts have made an estimate — 1 per cent and 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of the growth cost,” said the former RBI governor. READ MORE

File photo of former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. (Photo: Reuters)

12:53 PM

Nifty FMCG cracks over 1% dragged by losses in Godrej Consumer Products, ITC and Dabur, down up to 2.4%'

Source: NSE

12:38 PM

Earnings Impact

Aegis Logistics surged 6% to Rs 196 on BSE after the company reported a healthy 47% year on year (YoY) growth in its consolidated profit after tax at Rs 47 crore in June quarter (Q1FY18). It had posted profit of Rs 32 crore in an year ago quarter.

 

Revenue grew 16% at Rs 858 crore during the quarter under review against Rs 740 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal year. This was primarily driven by increase in revenue from gas terminal division and liquid terminal division by 15.9% YoY and 13.4% YoY, respectively.

12:22 PM

Gravita gains 5%

 

Shares of Gravita India advanced 5% intraday as it increased Chittoor plant capacity to 28000 mtpa. 

 

The company raised capacity at the unit in Andhra Pradesh to 28000 mtpa from 12000 mtpa, making it the flagship plant of the Jaipur-based company.

12:06 PM

ITC slips on downgrades

ITC fell 1.98% to Rs 276.80 on BSE after a couple of brokerages reportedly downgraded their ratings on the stock.

 

On the BSE, 1.84 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 11.71 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 281 and a low of Rs 276.25 so far during the day. 

11:51 AM

BUZZING STOCK

 

Merck rose 3.77% to Rs 1,252.10 after the company said that its holding company is considering full or partial sale of its consumer health business.

 

On the BSE, 5,980 shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 4,720 shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 1,280 and a low of Rs 1,205 so far during the day.

11:29 AM

Bajaj Finance trades firm on QIP launch

 

Bajaj Finance was trading firm at Rs 1,811, up 1.3% in otherwise weak market after the company said that it has launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) offering up to Rs 4,500 crore from institutional investors. The company set the floor price at Rs 1,771.90 per share.

 

The stock has hit a high of Rs 1,816 and a low of Rs 1,780 on BSE so far. A combined 388,237 shares changed hands on the counter on BSE and NSE. in comparision, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 183 points or 0.57% at 31,627. READ MORE

11:10 AM

Natco Pharma's niche portfolio an opportunity

 

Natco Pharma, which had reported a strong June quarter performance, has seen a steep correction in its share price thereafter. The reason being an indication by marketing partner Mylan towards a delay in the launch of generic Copaxone, a drug used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. 

 

Mylan indicated that all major launches, including generic Copaxone, would be deferred to 2018, from 2017, looking at the ongoing challenges in the US and uncertain regulatory environment.  

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10:55 AM

Infosys delays Q2 results by two weeks to October 24

 

Infosys, India’s second-largest information technology (IT) services firm, has deferred announcing its second-quarter (Q2) results by nearly two weeks — the first time in recent years. 

 

The bellwether IT services firm generally discloses its quarter numbers within 15 days of the beginning of the next quarter but this time, however, it has set October 24 as the date of announcement. 

 

Infosys has attributed this delay to “logistics issues”. The following week has holidays on account of Diwali, resulting in a further delay by a week. READ MORE

10:42 AM

Debt mutual funds cut exposure to debentures issued by PSUs

 

Debt mutual funds (MFs), which account for the bulk of sectoral assets, have cut exposure to debentures issued by public sector undertakings (PSUs) by nearly 200 basis points (bps) since April. 

 

This comes amid deteriorating financial health of some of the state-owned institutions, particularly banks. At the end of March, exposure to PSU bonds and debt issuances stood at Rs 1.33 lakh crore or 11.7 per cent of the total of debt assets under management (AUM).

 

By July, fund managers had pruned it to Rs 1.26 lakh crore or 9.9 per cent of the AUM. READ MORE

10:29 AM

NDTV Zooms

New Delhi Television (NDTV) has rallied 9% to Rs 62.20 on Wednesday, extending its three-session long gains of over 50%  on BSE, in an otherwise weak market on back of heavy volumes.

The trading volumes on the counter nearly doubled with a combined 769,529 shares have already changed hands on BSE and NSE in first 10 minutes of trade.

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10:16 AM

Alternative investment funds gain traction, draw Rs 1 lakh cr

 

With buoyancy in the capital markets, investors are increasingly looking at Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which offer investment flexibility. 

 

According to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), investment commitments were worth Rs 1 lakh crore as of  June 2017, a fourfold jump from Rs 24,873 crore two years earlier. Market participants attribute the surge to stellar returns from existing funds and easing of the regulatory framework. 

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