A range bound movement was witnessed as key benchmark indices hovered in green in morning trade. At 10:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 68.37 points or 0.25% at 27,282.97. The 50-unit CNX Nifty was up 8.95 points or 0.11% at 8,247.10. The broad market depicted strength. There were almost two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,295 shares rose and 669 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.21%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.52%, outperforming the Sensex.
In overseas stock markets, Asian shares were mixed after the latest data showed that China's economy grew 6.9% in Q3 September 2015 from a year ago, lower than 7% growth registered in Q2 June 2015. China's industrial production rose lower-than-expected 5.7% in September 2015 over September 2014. Fixed-asset investment (FAI), a key driver of the economy, also registered a lower-than-expected 10.3% growth in the first nine months of the year. Retail spending alone bucked the trend, growing at an annual rate of 10.9%. Chinese economic data is closely watched amid fears that a China-led slowdown in global growth could prompt the Fed to delay hiking rates for longer. US stocks edged higher during the previous trading session on Friday, 16 October 2015, as investors appeared to shrug off lackluster corporate earnings and mixed economic data.
Most metal stocks edged higher. Vedanta (up 2.12%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.59%), JSW Steel (up 0.47%), Bhushan Steel (up 0.32%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.27%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.18%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.06%), edged higher. Tata Steel (down 0.42%), National Aluminium Company (down 0.50%) and NMDC (down 0.81%), edged lower.
FMCG stocks were in demand. Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 1.81%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 1.04%), Britannia Industries (up 0.93%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.71%), Dabur India (up 0.50%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.35%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.27%) and Marico (up 0.16%), edged higher. Tata Global Beverages (down 0.19%) and Nestle India (down 1.25%), edged lower.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) was up 0.25% at 786.60. The stock turned ex-dividend today, 19 October 2015, for dividend of Rs 6.50 per share for the year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016).
HCL Technologies dropped 1.94% to Rs 825. The company's consolidated net profit as per US GAAP after making adjustment for provisions for one particular project of a client rose 2.2% to Rs 1823 crore on 3.3% rise in revenue to Rs 10097 crore in Q1 September 2015 over Q4 June 2015. The announcement of Q1 results as per the US GAAP was made before market hours today, 19 October 2015.
HCL Tech's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 5.3% to Rs 2211 crore in Q1 September 2015 over Q4 June 2015. EBITDA margin edged up to 21.9% in Q1 September 2015 from 21.5% in Q4 June 2015.
HCL Technologies also said that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 19 October 2015 approved a Scheme of Arrangement between HCL Technologies and HCL Comnet (a wholly owned subsidiary of the company). As per the scheme, the India system integration business of the company would be transferred to HCL Comnet on a going concern basis with an objective to have simplified business structure with greater visibility in the performance of individual businesses.
National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) rose 1.08% to Rs 1,026.95 after the company won a project of civil works for estimated amount of Rs 126.33 crore. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 16 October 2015.
ONGC was down 0.34% at Rs 263.45. Saudi Arabia's state-run oil firm Saudi Aramco has reportedly said that an attempted fraud that targeted its trading unit Aramco Trading and ONGC had been foiled. Aramco said the attempted fraud has been foiled and did not have any financial impact on either the two companies or on trading relations between them. According to earlier media reports, cyber criminals had duped Aramco into making a payment for an order of naphtha from ONGC into their own bank account.
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