As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 148.82 points or 0.37% at 40,558.49. The Nifty 50 index lost 41.20 points or 0.35% to 11,896.45.
Domestic shares mirrored weakness in other global stock markets. Investor sentiment was hit after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday reportedly accused Democrats of being unwilling to craft an acceptable compromise on stimulus, following reports of progress earlier in the day.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.54% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.85%. Both these indices outperformed the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1424 shares rose and 1205 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.
Coronavirus Update:
The government has said that the country's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 88.81%. In the last 24 hours, more than 61 thousand COVID patients have recovered. Currently, India's case fatality rate is at 1.51%, which is one of the lowest globally.
India reported 715,812 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 116,616 deaths while 6,874,518 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 41,171,093 with 1,130,597 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index lost 0.67% to 21,433.30. The index has declined 1.20% in two sessions.
Info Edge India (down 2.57%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (down 1.44%), Coforge (down 1.27%) and Infosys (down 1.13%) declined while Mphasis (up 4.20%) and MindTree (up 1.84%) advanced.
Earnings in Focus:
SBI Cards and Payment Services declined 3.50% to Rs 863.45 after the company's net profit slumped nearly 46% to Rs 206.14 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 381 crore registered in the same period last year. Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 2413.4 in Q2 September 2020, rising 5.1% from Rs 2296.1 crore in Q2 September 2019.
Asian Paints slipped 0.69% at Rs 2099.75. On a consolidated basis, the paint major reported 1.16% rise in net profit to Rs 851.9 crore on 5.93% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 5,350.23 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
Bajaj Auto added 0.05% to Rs 3018. The company's consolidated net profit fell 21.62% to Rs 1,193.97 crore on 7.15% decrease in total revenue from operations to Rs 7,155.86 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
The company's total auto sales fell 10% to 10,53,337 units in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Domestic auto sales fell 9% to 573,586 units while auto exports declined 12% to 479,751 units during the period under review.
Bajaj Finserv fell 0.63% to Rs 5868.95. The company posted an 18.06% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 986.29 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 1,203.72 crore in Q2 September 2019. Total income rose 5.82% to Rs 15,051.59 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 14,224.22 crore in Q2 September 2019.
During the quarter, the group has made an expected credit loss (ECL) provision on standard (stage 1 and 2) assets of Rs 1,370 crore, in respect of aforesaid subsidiaries, taking the overall EGL provision on standard assets to Rs 5,099 crore as of 30 September 2020. The group continues to hold a management overlay of Rs 2,260 crore as part of its ECL provision for standard assets of Rs 5,099 crore as at 30 September 2020.
Syngene International tumbled 2.58% to Rs 538 after the company reported 34.3% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 84.10 crore on 11.8% rise in net sales to Rs 519.60 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20. EBITDA in the second quarter increased by 6% to Rs 169 crore from Rs 160 crore reported in the same period last year. EBITDA margin was at 32% in Q2 FY21 as compared to 33% in Q2 FY20.
GMM Pfaudler hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 3767.90 after the company reported 29.2% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 26.86 crore on 22.77% rise in total income to Rs 188.26 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.
JK Tyre & Industries surged 9.49% to Rs 66.35. The company's consolidated net profit dropped 35.4% to Rs 108.91 crore on 5.6% increase in net sales to Rs 2,274.84 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 368 crore.
Meanwhile, the board has appointed Anshuman Singhania as managing director (MD) of JK Tyre & Industries effective 21 October 2020.
KPIT Technologies dropped 5.60% to Rs 105.40. The IT firm reported a 12.09% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 27.15 crore on a 1.47% decrease in revenue from operations to Rs 485.45 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q1 June 2020. EBITDA margin improved to 14.3% in Q2FY21 as compared with 13.4% in Q1FY21.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Vedanta advanced 2.96% to Rs 104.25 after the company said its board will consider first interim dividend on 24 October 2020.
Aurobindo Pharma tumbled 2.61% to Rs 784.30. The company's wholly-owned step-down subsidiary, AuroLife Pharma LLC, received a warning letter from the US drug regulator for its oral solid manufacturing facility situated at Dayton, New Jersey. This letter follows the earlier letter dated 4 June 2020 issuing a Official Action Indicated (OAI) status for this facility. The company assured that the existing business from this facility will not be impacted. The company also said it will be engaging with the regulator and is fully committed in resolving this issue at the earliest.
Hemisphere Properties India (HPIL) hit a lower circuit of 5% at Rs 100.70, following its debut on the stock exchanges today (22 October 2020). HPIL was formed as part of the disinvestment exercise carried out by the Government of India in respect of its holdings in the erstwhile VSNL (currently known as Tata Communications).
Dr Reddy's Laboratories shed 0.33% to Rs 5030. The company said that it has isolated all data center services to take required preventive actions in the wake of a cyber attack.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones futures were currently down 71 points, indicating a flat to mildly negative start to equities on Wall Street today.
European markets declined while Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday as the uncertainty over U.S. coronavirus stimulus continued.
The IMF on Wednesday downgraded its forecast for Asia-Pacific to a negative 2.2% in 2020. Jonathan D. Ostry, IMF's acting director of the Asia and Pacific Department, said: Our latest Regional Economic Outlook shows that a recovery started in the third quarter, but growth engines are not all firing with the same power across countries, leading to a multispeed recovery.
The US stock market finished lacklustre session lower on Wednesday, 21 October 2020, as investors weighed the latest developments in reaching a stimulus agreement. Rising coronavirus cases on both sides of the Atlantic and a busy earnings day were also grabbing investor attention.
Traders kept an eye on the latest developments in Washington, as lawmakers try to reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to reach a deal before a Tuesday deadline and now aim to finalize a proposal before the weekend.
Wall Street's fear gauge touched a one-month high earlier on Wednesday as the U.S. election campaign enters its final stretch. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will face off in their second and final debate on Thursday night where Trump will attempt to change the trajectory of a race that Biden is leading, according to national polls.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
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