The benchmark indices ended with significant losses on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 index fell below the 11,850 level. Losses in ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys and HDFC overshadowed gains in Reliance Industries and TCS. Sentiment was affected due to weak domestic economic data and negative global cues.
The barometer index, the BSE Sensex fell 229.02 points or 0.57% to close at a 40,116.06, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 73 points or 0.61% to 11,840.45, as per the provisional closing data.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.77% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 1.13%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 969 shares rose and 1602 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.
Domestic Macro:
India's industrial production shrank for the second consecutive month in September, its worst performance in the series that began April 2012. As per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), factory output contracted 4.3% in September 2019 as compared to September 2018. The contraction was mainly due to poor performance in the manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) in its report predicted a 4.2% GDP growth for India in the second quarter. The bank attributes it to low automobile sales, deceleration in air traffic movements, flattening of core sector growth and declining investment in construction and infrastructure. The growth forecast for FY20 has now come down to 5% from 6.1% earlier, the report said. India's GDP was at a six-year low of 5% in Q1.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index tumbled 2.16% to 2,553.60. The index has fallen 3.96% in three sessions from a recent closing high of 2,659.05 on 7 November 2019.
Jindal Steel & Power (down 5.67%), National Aluminium Company (down 5.21%), Steel Authority of India (down 4.17%), Hindustan Copper (down 3.33%), Vedanta (down 2.79%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.07%), JSW Steel (down 0.93%) and Tata Steel (down 0.49%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ICICI Bank fell 2.12% to Rs 486.40. Axis Bank slipped 3.17% to Rs 710.35. Infosys lost 1.89% to Rs 691.15.
HDFC declined 1.13% to Rs 2209.65.
Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.85% to Rs 1468.50.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 3.82% to Rs 2179.85. TCS announced an expansion of its long-term partnership with Phoenix Group, Europe's largest life and pensions consolidator, to drive the growth and transformation of the Standard Life business and meet the future needs of its customers, workplace clients and their advisers.
The expanded partnership will result in the digital transformation of Standard Life's pensions and savings operations onto the TCS BFSI Digital Platform, powered by TCS BaNCS. The transformation is expected to take approximately three years to complete, with a number of Standard Life employees transferring to TCS by the end of that period.
Coal India fell 1.38% to Rs 206.95. The company's consolidated net profit rose 14.21% to Rs 3,522.70 crore on 6.27% fall in total income to Rs 22,012.94 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Hindalco Industries slipped 3.77% to Rs 192.85. The company's net profit fell 74.8% to Rs 78 crore on 8.1% fall in net sales to Rs 9,965 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) fell 4.37% to Rs 370.60. On consolidated basis, APSEZ reported a 10.9% rise in profit before tax (PBT) to Rs 886.34 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
The profit after tax (PAT) of APSEZ jumped 72.44% to Rs 1059.20 crore in quarter ending September 2019 as against the corresponding quarter of the previous year. PAT was supported by one time tax gain of Rs 319 crore in Q2 2019 over Q2 2018. Revenue from operations rose 8.17% to Rs 2821.16 crore in Q2 2019 from Rs 2608.01 crore in Q2 2018.
Britannia Industries surged 4.48% to Rs 3256 after consolidated net profit rose 32.90% to Rs 402.73 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 303.03 crore in Q2 September 2018. The biscuit maker's total revenue from operations in Q2 September 2019 stood at Rs 3048.84 crore, up by 6.25% from Rs 2869.59 crore the company clocked in the year ago period.
NMDC fell 3.03% to Rs 100.65. The iron-ore producer reported a 10.5% rise in net profit to Rs 703.27 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. NMDC reported an 8% drop in net sales to Rs 2241.76 crore in quarter ending September 2019 over September 2018.
Hindalco Industries fell 3.57% to Rs 193.30. The company's consolidated net profit slumped 32.73% to Rs 974 crore on 8.76% fall in net sales to Rs 29,657 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Mahanagar Gas advanced 3.39% to Rs 1002.5. The natural gas distribution company reported 98.6% increase in net profit to Rs 270.62 crore while net sales rose by 12.5% to Rs 783.58 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Indian Hotels Co jumped 7.03% to Rs 156.80. The company announced consolidated net profit of Rs 71.31 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against net loss of Rs 5.21 crore in Q2 September 2018. The hospitality chain reported a 4.4% rise in net sales to Rs 1007.44 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Hindustan Aeronautics rose 4.88% to Rs 802.60 after consolidated net profit surged 116.41% to Rs 621.66 crore on 32.20% surge in net sales to Rs 3,451.07 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Adani Enterprises tumbled 5.78% to Rs 198.70 after consolidated adjusted net profit fell 0.9% to Rs 179.23 crore on 7.5% decline in net sales to Rs 8,464.19 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Sheela Foam rose 2.33% to Rs 1270. On a consolidated basis, net profit jumped 142% to Rs 59 crore on a 7.1% decline in net sales to Rs 497 crore on a YoY basis. EBITDA for Q2 September 2019 increased 66.67% to Rs 70.5 crore from Rs 42 crore in corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Foreign Markets:
Overseas, shares in Europe and Asia edged lower as conflicting signals over the extent of progress made in US-China trade talks and concern about intensifying unrest in Hong Kong hurt demand for risky assets.
The moves in Hong Kong came after political turmoil in the embattled city escalated this week. Leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that protestors 'paralyzing' the city were selfish. On Monday, protests that started nearly six months ago took another violent turn.
Hong Kong Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung told reporters Tuesday that the city's society "has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown," according to media reports.
The US stock market finished modest higher on Tuesday, 12 November 2019, spurred by gains in trade-sensitive technology stocks, after President Donald Trump suggested signing a "phase one" trade deal with China could happen soon but did not offer clarity on a rollback of import tariffs.
Markets were keenly focused on trade negotiations between the U.S. and two of its major counterparts, Europe and China. At the Economic Club of New York, President Donald Trump gave an update Tuesday afternoon on trade negotiations with China, saying both sides are close to a "phase-one" deal, but that he would only accept it if the agreement worked to the advantage of U.S. workers and businesses. News reports also suggested Trump may put off for another six months a decision on whether to place tariffs of up to 25% on European auto imports, ahead of the Wednesday deadline.
US-China are looking to hammer out the first phase of an agreement that would ease some tariffs but details of a potential deal remain in flux. The U.S. is pushing for more open markets and the elimination of intellectual property theft. China, for its part, wants Washington to drop some $250 billion in tariffs imposed since the trade war began.
Attention now will shift to back-to-back testimony on Wednesday and Thursday by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
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