A bout of volatility was witnessed in mid-afternoon trade as key benchmark indices pared intraday gains after scaling fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 177.36 points or 0.52% at 34,333.31. The Nifty 50 index gained 59.50 points or 0.53% at 10,557.05. Firmness in global stocks supported gains on the bourses.
Indices opened higher on firm global cues. Stocks extended gains and hit intraday highs in morning trade. The market held firm till early afternoon trade before once again hitting fresh intraday highs in afternoon trade. Stocks pared gains in mid-afternoon trade.
Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.31%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.9%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 1,782 shares declined and 941 shares advanced. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.
Most auto stocks gained. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was up 0.13%, Eicher Motors 0.99%, Maruti Suzuki India 0.35%, Bajaj Auto 1.44% and TVS Motor Company gained 0.08%. However, Ashok Leyland was down 0.04% and Hero MotoCorp dropped 1.33%.
Pharma stocks were mixed. Dr Reddy's Laboratories was up 0.82%, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals 0.04%, Pfizer 0.16%, and Piramal Enterprises gained 0.64%. Lupin dropped 0.64%, Cipla 0.89%, Divi's Laboratories 0.55%, and Aurobindo Pharma was down 0.73%.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 0.44%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 75.17% to Rs 365.39 crore on 16.04% decline in total revenue from operations to Rs 6653.23 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours yesterday, 14 February 2018.
Sun Pharma's bottom line in Q3 December 2017 was adversely impacted by one-time deferred tax adjustment of Rs 513 crore related to changes in US tax rates.
Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharma, said that the company's Q3 performance reflects a gradual improvement in profitability over the first half of this year, despite a challenging US generic pricing environment. Sun Pharma continues to evaluate opportunities in the specialty segment to further enhance this business, he said.
Shree Cement rose 3.27% after the company said it commissioned new cement grinding unit (namely Bangur Cement Unit) having capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Village Rohi Udaipur Udasar, district Sriganganagar in Rajasthan. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 15 February 2018.
Welspun Enterprises advanced 4.2% after net profit jumped 105% to Rs 34.40 crore on 336% surge in total income to Rs 298.10 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours yesterday, 14 February 2018. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin expanded to 15.5% in Q3 December 2017 from 14.9% in Q3 December 2016.
Balkrishna Industries fell 1.23% after net profit rose 2% to Rs 190 crore on 26% rise in total income to Rs 1161 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours yesterday, 14 February 2018. EBITDA margin contracted to 30.3% in Q3 December 2017 from 33.4% in Q3 December 2016.
On the macro front, the government announced that inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased to 2.84% (provisional) for the month of January 2018 as compared to 3.58% (provisional) for the previous month and 4.26% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.3% compared to a build-up rate of 4.55% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Overseas, European stocks gained tracking firm global peers. France's unemployment rate fell below 9% at the end last year for the first time in almost nine years, the country's statistics agency Insee said. France's unemployment rate fell to 8.9% at the end of 2017 from 9.6% at the end of the previous quarter, Insee said.
Asian stocks gained taking cues from the rally on Wall Street overnight following the release of stronger-than-expected US inflation data. The consumer price index in US rose 0.5% last month, topping the forecast. Other economic data released overnight included US retail sales for the month of January, which missed expectations. Retail sales decreased 0.3% last month.
It is a shortened week for greater China markets, with mainland China markets remaining closed from 15 to 21 February 2018 and Hong Kong markets shut from 16 to 19 February 2018 for the Lunar New Year. Markets in South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are closed today for the Lunar New Year holiday.
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