Key benchmark indices extended initial losses and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade as weakness in Asian stocks dampened sentiment on the bourses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 123.07 points or 0.55%, off close to 140 points from the day's high and up about 5 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive.
JSW Steel reversed direction after hitting 52-week high. IT stocks rose as rupee edged lower against the dollar.
The market edged lower in early trade. It extended initial losses and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade.
Asian stocks declined on Friday as investors await data on US jobs growth later in the global day today, 4 April 2014.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 717.39 crore on Thursday, 3 April 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 10:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 123.07 points or 0.55% to 22,386. The index declined 130.58 points at the day's low of 22,378.49 in morning trade. The index rose 16.14 points at the day's high of 22,525.21 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 33.10 points or 0.49% to 6,703. The index hit a low of 6,699.25 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 6,741.85 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was unchanged at 7,170.43. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 3.19 points or 0.04% to 7,210.64. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 925 shares gained and 676 shares fell. A total of 63 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 stocks declined and rest of them rose. GAIL (India) (down 2.2%), ONGC (down 1.55%) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (down 2.16%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
IT stocks rose as rupee edged lower against the dollar. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. HCL Technologies (up 0.61%), Infosys (up 0.24%), TCS (up 0.48%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.51%) and Wipro (up 0.95%) gained.
JSW Steel fell 0.69% to Rs 1051. The stock reversed direction after hitting 52-week high of Rs 1063 in intraday trade. The company early this week said it has reduced prices for its two steel products -- hot rolled coil and wire rod with effect from 1 April 2014. The quantum of the cut will be Rs 500-750 per tonne for HRC and Rs 500 for Wire rod, the company said after trading hours on Tuesday, 1 April 2014.
Usher Agro rose 6.22% after the company said it has commenced commercial production of its new pulse milling, pulse flour and multigrain flour facilities at Chhata in Uttar Pradesh. The company made the announcement after market hours on Thursday, 3 April 2014. Usher Agro has commenced commercial production of its new pulse milling, pulse flour and multigrain flour facilities at Chhata, district Mathura, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) as part of the company's on-going capacity expansion project. Trial runs of the said facilities are completed successfully and now commercial production has been started with effect from 31 March 2014. After successful commissioning of the above project the company has forwarded another step to emerge as complete basic food processor, the company said.
Nelco surged 5.87% after the company said its board has approved the restructuring of the company's Industrial Security & Surveillance Solutions business. The announcement was made after market hours on Thursday, 3 April 2014. Nelco's board of directors at its meeting held on Thursday, 3 April 2014, inter alia, has approved the restructuring of the company's Industrial Security & Surveillance Solutions business (ISSS business), by restricting operations and reducing expenditure with a view to minimize losses. This will be subject to necessary approvals/consents/permissions, Nelco said. However, the company will continue to focus on building its position in the Network Systems business, Nelco said.
GM Breweries was locked at 10% lower circuit at Rs 148.20 on BSE after the company said its board has recommended a bonus issue of shares in the ratio of 1:4 i.e. one share of Rs 10 each for every four shares of Rs 10 each. The announcement was made after market hours on Thursday, 3 April 2014. GM Breweries' net profit surged 59.78% to Rs 6.04 crore on 1.14% decline in total income to Rs 75.02 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013.
GM Breweries' net profit jumped 68.23% to Rs 21.50 crore on 0.3% growth in total income to Rs 288.73 crore in the year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) over the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013). The company announced the results after market hours on Thursday, 3 April 2014.
GM Breweries' board of directors at its meeting held on Thursday, 3 April 2014, recommended dividend of Rs 2.50 per share for the year ended 31 March 2014.
The dividend payment and issue of bonus will be subject to approval of members of the forthcoming AGM on 6 May 2014, GM Breweries said.
BS hit an upper circuit limit of 20% at Rs 15.04 on BSE after the company announced that it has won several orders to the tune of Rs 722 crore from power utilities. The company made the announcement after market hours on Thursday, 3 April 2014. These orders are for turnkey/EPC contracts for 220 kilovolt (KV) and 132 KV transmission lines and associated substation in Madhya Pradesh. The projects funded by Asian Developments Bank are for strengthening the grid and enhancing transmission capacity, bringing much-needed electricity to the region to meet growing domestic and industrial demand.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar on weakness in domestic bourses. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 60.36, compared with its close of 60.16 on Thursday, 3 April 2014.
On the political front, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, 3 April 2014, said that the party will release its poll manifesto on 7 April 2014, the day the 9-phase Lok Sabha election begins. The party on Thursday, 3 April 2014, issued its manifesto for the North East region, wherein it stated that it will develop the area as a BPO hub if voted to power. The BJP has already released a Delhi-specific manifesto wherein it has made an array of promises like granting full statehood, reducing power tariff by 30% and controlling price rise within one month if BJP is voted to power. The party, which had lost all the seats in the national capital to Congress in 2009 Lok Sabha polls, said it will set up a helpline for the national capital to receive complaints of corruption. It also promised to bring police, DDA and other land-owning agencies under one roof to streamline governance in the national capital.
On economic front, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next undertakes monetary policy review on 3 June 2014. The RBI left its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8% after a monetary policy review on Tuesday, 1 April 2014.
The next major trigger for the stock market is Q4 March 2014 and year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) corporate earnings. Investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the results to see if there is any revision in their future earnings forecast of the company for the year ending 31 March 2015 (FY 2015) and/or for the year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016). Indian companies will start reporting their Q4 and full year results from mid-April 2014. The result season will conclude in end-May 2014.
A major near term trigger for the stock market is the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha elections will be held between 7 April 2014 and 12 May 2014 in nine phases. The counting of votes will take place on 16 May 2014. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31. Along with the Lok Sabha election, Andhra Pradesh (AP), including the regions comprising Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect new assemblies. AP, Odisha and Sikkim assemblies come to end on June 2, June 7 and May 7 respectively.
Business activity across emerging markets fell for the fourth straight month in March, with output contracting in three of the four biggest economies, a survey showed on Friday. HSBC's composite emerging markets index of manufacturing and services purchasing managers' surveys slipped to 50.3 from 51.1 in February, teetering on the 50 threshold that marks the difference between expansion and contraction.
Most Asian stocks declined on Friday as investors await data on US jobs growth later in the global day today. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Taiwan Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore were down 0.19% to 0.74%. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.36%.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 18 points at the opening bell on Friday, 4 April 2014. US stocks slipped on Thursday, as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.
On the economic front, the US trade deficit unexpectedly widened in February to $42.3 billion as exports hit a five-month low, suggesting that first-quarter growth could be much weaker than initially expected.
A bright spot came from the services sector, where growth accelerated in March after being hampered by unusually cold weather, according to the Institute for Supply Management's services-sector index.
The influential US non-farms payroll data for March 2014 will be released today, 4 April 2014.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review at a two-day meeting on 29-30 April 2014. The Federal Reserve on 19 March 2014 said after the conclusion of a monetary policy review that it will trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion. The Federal Reserve will end its bond-buying program before the end of the year with an interest-rate increase likely to follow in "around six months," Chair Janet Yellen said on 19 March 2014. Quarterly Fed forecasts on 19 March 2014 showed more officials predicting that the benchmark interest rate, now close to zero, will rise to at least 1% by the end of 2015 and 2.25% a year later.
In Europe, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.25%, 0.75% and 0.00% respectively.
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