Key indices staged a mild recovery in early afternoon trade after an intraday slump. At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 295.78 points or 0.76% at 38,667.48. The Nifty 50 index was down 91.70 points or 0.78% at 11,620.55. Auto stocks fell. Asian stocks and US index futures dropped sharply as trade negotiations between the US and China appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
Domestic stocks opened on a weak note on negative Asian stocks. Stocks traded with weakness in morning trade. Weakness persisted on the bourses in mid-morning trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.62%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.49%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 735 shares rose and 1454 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.
Auto stocks fell. Tata Motors (down 5.06%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.28%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 1.32%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.95%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.78%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.64%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.33%) declined. Eicher Motors (up 0.24%) and Escorts (up 0.72%) rose.
Bharti Airtel rose 0.8%. With reference to news item captioned, "Airtel-Tata tele merger: TDSAT stays DoT call for Rs 9k crore guarantees," Bharti Airtel clarified after market hours on Friday, 3 May 2019, that it had duly intimated the exchanges about the transaction at the relevant junctures including upon the sanction of the subject schemes by National Company Law Tribunal, subject to the final approval of Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Further, the current order of TDSAT is subject to the final outcome and fulfilment of conditions, as is the case in all usual proceedings with reference to the final approval of DoT involving certain actions and compliances to be undertaken. Only after completion of the actions and submissions of the compliances, the final approval is issued.
Federal Bank rose 3.32% after the net profit rose 163.13% to Rs 381.51 crore on 20.33% increase in total income to Rs 3,444.04 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018. The result was announced on Saturday, 4 May 2019.
The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 3,260.68 crore as on 31 March 2019 as against Rs 3,361.23 crore as on 31 December 2018 and Rs 2,795.62 crore as on 31 March 2018. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 2.92% as on 31 March 2019 as against 3.14% as on 31 December 2018 and 3% as on 31 March 2018.
The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 1.48% as on 31 March 2019 as against 1.72% as on 31 December 2018 and 1.69% as on 31 March 2018. The bank's provisions and contingencies fell 52.15% to Rs 177.76 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018.
On the macro front, the Indian service sector lost momentum in April, with rates of new business and output growth both cooling to seven-month lows, data released today showed. Falling from 52 in March to 51 at the start of the 2019 financial year, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index pointed to the weakest upturn in output since last September. Moreover, the headline figure dipped below the average seen over 2018 (51.6). Growth was linked to greater bookings, improved facilities and effective marketing, though curbed by competitive pressures and the elections.
On the political front, the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls 2019 is underway today, 6 May 2019, with 51 Lok Sabha constituencies from 7 different states going to vote. The 2019 Indian general election, which is scheduled to be held in seven phases, kicked off on 11 April 2019. It will conclude on 19 May 2019. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May 2019, and on the same day the results will be declared.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading sharply lower as trade negotiations between China and the United States deteriorated suddenly.Activity in China's service sector expanded at a slightly faster pace in April, a private gauge showed Monday. The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index rose to 54.5 in April from 54.4 in March, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could slump 510 points at the opening bell today. US President Donald Trump announced Sunday that tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods will increase next week to 25% from 10%. He also reportedly threatened that the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on another $325 billion of Chinese goods. In response, China may reportedly withdraw from the next round of trade talks scheduled to begin Wednesday in Washington.
US stocks rose in a broad-based rally on Friday as stronger-than-expected job growth in April coupled with muted wage gains left investors upbeat about the outlook for the economy and interest rates. The Nasdaq registered a record high close, while the S&P 500 ended just shy of a record high finish.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
