A bout of volatility was witnessed in early afternoon trade as key benchmark indices trimmed losses from their four-week low. Indian stocks fell today, 26 September 2017 tracking weakness in Asian stocks. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 81.18 points or 0.26% at 31,545.45. The Nifty 50 index declined 25.20 points or 0.26% at 9,847.40.
Market opened with small gains and soon slipped into the red and hovered near the flat line in morning trade. Stocks extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, hit their lowest level in four weeks. Indices trimmed losses in early afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.25%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.46%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,321 shares rose and 979 shares fell. A total of 137 shares were unchanged.
Metal & mining stocks gained on bargain hunting after recent losses. JSW Steel (up 1.73%), Bhushan Steel (up 2.02%), Vedanta (up 2.38%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.35%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.83%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.42%), Tata Steel (up 1.43%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 0.26%), National Aluminum Company (up 0.94%) and NMDC (up 1.08%) gained. Hindustan Copper declined 0.09%.
Meanwhile, High Grade Copper for December 2017 delivery was currently up 0.61% at $2.9550 per pound on the COMEX.
IT stocks declined for the sixth straight session. HCL Technologies (down 0.26%), TCS (down 0.91%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.4%), MphasiS (down 0.43%) and Wipro (down 0.55%) edged lower.
Infosys fell 0.06%. The company said that it has launched a private cloud solution in collaboration with Micro Focus SUSE, a pioneer in open source software, providing software-defined data center infrastructure and application delivery solutions.
This solution will help businesses significantly accelerate their digital transformation journey by being hardware agnostic, enabling faster time to market through rapid adoption, providing faster delivery of services, and greater infrastructure agility and control. The announcement was made during market hours today, 26 September 2017.
JK Lakshmi Cement rose 1.76% to Rs 393.80 after Templeton Mutual Fund increased its stake in the company via purchase of bulk shares in the open market yesterday, 25 September 2017. Goldman Sachs India Fund sold 13.64 lakh shares of JK Lakshmi Cement at Rs 387.5 per share in a bulk deal on the BSE on 25 September 2017. Templeton Mutual Fund bought 10.93 lakh shares. Goldman Sachs India held 1.2% and Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund owned 2.66% stake in JK Lakshmi Cement as on 30 June 2017.
Edelweiss Financial Services rose 1,55% after the company said that its board approved raising up to Rs 2000 crore. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 26 September 2017.
The board approved raising funds by issuing securities, including equity shares/American depository receipts (ADRs)/global depository receipts (GDRs)/any other securities convertible into equity shares/non convertible debentures with or without warrants, through further public offer/qualified institutions placement (QIP)/preferential issue/rights issue or through any other permissible mode or a combination thereof.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up a economic advisory council, the government said yesterday, 25 September 2017, as concerns grow about a slowdown in Asia's third largest economy. The new council, headed by Bibek Debroy, a member of Modi's federal think tank Niti Aayog, will address issues of macroeconomic importance and present its views to the prime minister.
Overseas, most Asian stocks dropped taking cues from weak close in US stocks overnight hurt by fresh threats from North Korea and weakness among key technology stocks.
On Wall Street, a sharp selloff in technology stocks dragged down the Nasdaq Composite index by around 1% yesterday, 25 September 2017, with North Korea's latest warnings to Washington adding to the downbeat mood. North Korea's foreign minister said President Donald Trump had declared war on the country and that it reserves the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down US bombers even if they are not in its airspace.
Meanwhile, Developing Asia is on track to grow faster this year and next, the Asian Development Bank said, buoyed by a pick-up in world trade and China's expansion, but it flagged risks from tightening US monetary policy. Developing Asia is expected to grow by 5.9% and 5.8% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, the Manila-based lender said. India's growth was seen at 7% and 7.4% for this year and next, weaker than the July forecasts of 7.4% and 7.6%.
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