Key equity benchmarks traded with modest losses in afternoon trade amid negative global cues. At 13:40 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 158.16 points or 0.38% at 41,301.63. The Nifty 50 index lost 47 points or 0.39% at 12,127.65.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.31%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was flat.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, shares 982 rose and 1,274 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.
Q3 2019 Results:
ONGC (down 1.57%), Spicejet (down 2.77%), Steel Authority of India (SAIL) (down 1.54%), Pfizer (down 0.95%), Muthoot Finance (up 0.52%), Lakshmi Vilas Bank (down 4.77%), Eveready Industries India (up 11.41%) and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.88%) are set to announce their Q3 December 2019 earnings today, 14 February 2020.
Top Gainers & Losers:
Yes Bank (up 4.84%), UPL (up 1.87%), Reliance Industries (up 1.25%), HCL Technologies (up 1.06%) and ICICI Bank (up 0.92%) advanced.
Bharti Infratel (down 5.41%), GAIL (India) (down 4.91%), Eicher Motors (down 2.42%), IndusInd Bank (down 2.38%) and PowerGrid Corporation of India (down 2.13%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) rose 2.30%. On a consolidated basis, BPCL's net profit surged 239.47% to Rs 1,776.35 crore on 5.95% decline in net sales to Rs 74,959.18 crore in Q3 December 2019 (Q3 FY20) over Q3 December 2018 (Q3 FY19). Profit before tax (PBT) surged 138.78% to Rs 2,434.01 crore year-on-year (YoY). Total tax expense rose 19.29% to Rs 382.58 crore during the period under review.
On a standalone basis, BPCL's net profit surged 154.60% to Rs 1,260.63 crore on 5.64% decline in net sales to Rs 74,732.79 crore in Q3 FY20 over Q3 FY19. PBT surged 193.97% to Rs 1,733.01 crore YoY. Total tax expense surged 400.56% to Rs 472.38 crore during the period under review. The Q3 result was announced yesterday, 13 February 2020.
The company said its average gross refining margin (GRM) during nine months ended 31 December 2019 stood at $3.15 per barrel compared with $5.25 per barrel in the corresponding period of the previous year.
BPCL has accounted compensation towards sharing of under-recoveries on sale of sensitive petroleum products of Rs 233.77 crore by way of subsidy from Government of India during nine months ended 31 December 2019 compared with Rs 762.55 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Nestle India fell 0.57%. The FMCG major reported a 38.41% rise in net profit to Rs 473.02 crore on a 7.45% rise in total income to Rs 3,193.99 crore in Q4 December 2019 over Q4 December 2018. Profit before tax surged 17.7% to Rs 614.62 crore Y-o-Y. Current tax expenses slumped 21.8% to Rs 144.41 crore during the period under review.
In Q4 FY19, total sales increased 8.8%. Domestic sales increased 10% through a combination of volume & mix. Export sales dropped 9.7% due to lower exports of coffee to Turkey. The board recommended a final dividend of Rs 61 per equity share. The Q4 figures were declared after trading hours yesterday, 13 February 2020.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) dropped 0.20%. The corporation has updated its existing medium-term note program for an amount of up to $2.8 billion to issue rupee/foreign currency-denominated bonds in international capital markets, subject to regulatory approvals.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 0.73% to Rs 529.35. The automaker clarified that the Board of Ssang Yong Motor has approved a 3 years business plan which will lead to the profitability of the company in the year 2022. This plan requires outside funding of $380-$425 million over a period of three years. About half of this amount is to repay the existing loan and the remaining is to augment the capex required for new product development.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel advanced 4.29%. Bharti Airtel said that Network i2i, a Mauritius based wholly owned subsidiary of the company, has successfully priced the additional issuance of $250 million 5.650%.
Telecom firm Vodafone Idea tumbled 16.52% to Rs 3.74 after weak Q3 results announced after trading hours on Thursday, 13 February 2020. On a consolidated basis, Vodafone Idea reported net loss of Rs 5,807.24 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against net loss of Rs 31,773.48 crore in Q2 September 2019. Net sales rose 2.18% to Rs 11,076.20 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q2 September 2019, primarily supported by strong 4G additions driving average revenue per user (ARPU) improvement.
ARPU inched up to Rs 109 in December-end from Rs 107 at the end of September, supported by improved customer mix. The subscriber base declined to 304 million in Q3 December 2019 from 311 million in Q2 September 2019. Subscriber churn further reduced in Q3 December 2019, reaching 3.3% compared to 3.5% in Q2 September 2019 and 3.7% in Q1 June 2019.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday (14 February) rejected the plea by mobile carriers seeking more time to settle adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. SC directed telecom providers to pay their AGR dues to department of telecommunications (DoT) by the next court hearing on 17 March 2020. The court made scathing observations on the conduct of the telecom companies as well as the DoT for ignoring its 24 October verdict that had directed the firm to pay AGR dues to DoT by 23 January 2020.
Foreign Markets:
European markets opened lower while most Asian stocks continued trading lower on Friday as investors turned cautious following a surge in cases of a new virus in China. IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice has reportedly said that the organization remained confident in the resilience of China's economy, adding that the country "has the resources and the resolve to meet this challenge."
China is set to halve tariff rates on certain U.S. products worth about $75 billion with effect later on Friday, as previously announced by Beijing in early February. Retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods will be cut from 10% to 5%, and from 5% to 2.5% on others, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Finance earlier this month. The adjustments will take effect from 14 February.
US stock market declined on Thursday after a change in the methodology used by China resulted in a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The World Health Organization said Thursday that the total deaths from the outbreak stood at 1,369, while the total number of confirmed cases rose to 60,329. Traders are still trying to gauge the outbreak's effect on the economy.
Meanwhile, the US Fed said it would shrink repo operations starting with Friday's overnight offering. The Fed has been conducting repo offerings and Treasury-bill purchases in a bid to keep control of short-term interest rates and bolster bank reserves. The efforts had calmed markets since a September spike. Treasuries trimmed their gains for the day.
On the data front, US first-time claims for unemployment benefits inched up by less than expected in the week ended February 8th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
US consumer price index inched up by 0.1% in January after rising by 0.2% in December, with higher prices for food and shelter offsetting a steep drop in gasoline prices, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The uptick in consumer prices was primarily due to an increase in shelter costs, which climbed by 0.4% in January.
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