Nifty ends below 10,500, Sensex down nearly 300 pts; PSU bank index dips 2%

All that happened in the markets today.

10:08 AM

Not into cryptos? Your phone may already be mining one without you knowing

 

There’s a chance your computer or phone is quietly producing a cryptocurrency called Monero. Criminals looking to commandeer massive processing power to unlock new Monero coins have unleashed an epidemic of malicious software that burrows deep into victims’ web browsers to surreptitiously run calculations READ MORE

10:08 AM

PNB Housing Finance to raise $400 million through issue of masala bonds

PNB Housing Finance (PNB HFL) is planning to raise $400 million through its maiden issue of masala bonds. The money will be utilised to finance retail buyers/developers of affordable housing as well as developers of green buildings. IFC proposes to invest upto $150 million in PNB HFL by subscribing to the company's 5-year Masala Bonds. READ MORE

10:06 AM

MUST READ Slowdown on the horizon: Why does inflation make stock prices fall?

 

Pundits have offered many reasons for the biggest stock market swoon in two years. One of the most frequently blamed culprits was the threat of inflation, which loosely means an increase in consumer prices over time CLICK HERE FOR MORE

10:05 AM

Edelweiss on Max India

 

Management is recalibrating its business model by restructuring certain practices: 1) stopping unsustainable short-term practices; 2) plugging leakages; and 3) improving overall compliance status. Hence, we anticipate FY19 to be a year of transformation wherein the company will sharpen focus on making structural changes to strengthen long-term business fundamentals. 

 

We feel this could impact short-term performance, but will improve long-term prospects. Even though we continue to perceive Max as a compelling bet on the tertiary care market in the NCR region, with potential upside from health insurance, we downgrade to ‘HOLD’. We revise down FY18/FY19E EBITDA by 20%/34% and roll forward to FY20 estimates, implying a price target of Rs 110

9:50 AM

Gitanjali tanks 20% for second straight day; PNB hits fresh 52-week low

Gitanjali Gems is locked in lower circuit for the second straight day, down 20% at Rs 37.55, its fresh 52-week low on BSE, after the media report suggested that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches and sealed some premises owned by the company and Nirav Modi in related to the Rs 114 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

9:44 AM

BSE smallcap gainers and losers

9:35 AM

PNB fraud: What India's biggest sham transaction means for banking sector?

 

India’s Punjab National Bank, the second-biggest state-run lender, stunned the country’s financial sector when it announced this week it had discovered fraudulent transactions worth $1.77 billion at a single branch in Mumbai.

 

The fraud, by far the biggest ever detected by an Indian bank, comes to light at a time when lenders - especially the state-run banks - are hobbled by $147 billion in soured loans on their books, a problem that has choked new lending and hurt the country’s economic recovery. READ MORE

9:32 AM

Sensex mid-cap gainers and losers

9:28 AM

PNB drifts lower in trade (Source: NSE)

9:26 AM

CLSA on Pakistan market

 

Pakistan is an interesting market. After rallying dramatically for more than eight years, it corrected in US dollar terms after entering the MSCI Emerging Markets Index at the beginning of June 2017. The country is a major beneficiary of China’s ambitious “One Belt One Road” strategy. The increasingly close relations between China and Pakistan were also evident from an announcement by the State Bank of Pakistan on 2 January allowing companies to use renminbi for denominating foreign currency transactions for bilateral trade and investment

 

(Source: GREED & fear, Chris Wood's weekly newsletter)

9:25 AM

Chris Wood of CLSA cuts weight on India

 

A further 1ppt each will be added to the weightings in Hong Kong and Malaysia in the Asia Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio, while a 1ppt allocation will be introduced in Pakistan. This will be paid for by reducing the overweight in India by a further 3ppt.

9:23 AM

Realty stocks continue to surge

9:21 AM

Sectoral Trend

9:20 AM

Sensex losers and gainers

9:19 AM

Market at open

 

At 9:18 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 34,504, up 207 points while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,593, up 47 points.