Weakness continued on the bourses in mid-morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 152.58 points or 0.67%, off close to 80 points from the day's high and up about 10 points from the day's low. Weakness in Asian stocks and overnight steep slide in US stocks hit sentiment on the domestic bourses adversely.
Pharma stocks bucked weak market as rupee edged lower against the dollar. Cairn India and NMDC hit 52-week high.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market was positive.
The Sensex edged lower in early trade as Asian stocks fell after overnight steep slide in US stocks. The Sensex languished in negative terrain in morning trade. Weakness continued on the bourses in mid-morning trade.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 342.75 crore on Thursday, 10 April 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The stock market remains closed on Monday, 14 April 2014, on account of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.
Asian stocks edged lower on Friday, 11 April 2014, as a selloff in US biotech, Internet and other high-growth stocks on Thursday, 10 April 2014, cut demand for riskier assets.
At 11:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 152.58 points or 0.67% to 22,562.75. The index declined 166.59 points at the day's low of 22,548.74 in early trade, its lowest level since 9 April 2014. The index fell 73.28 points at the day's high of 22,642.05 in opening trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 42.65 points or 0.63% to 6,753.75. The index hit a low of 6,743.15 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 9 April 2014. The index hit a high of 6,773.55 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 25.68 points or 0.35% at 7,356.96. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 42.33 points or 0.57% at 7,516.21. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,157 shares rose and 1,030 shares fell. A total of 105 shares were unchanged.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 1.56%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.64%) and HDFC (down 2.14%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Pharma stocks bucked weak market as rupee edged lower against the dollar. Weakness in rupee could boost sales of pharma companies in rupee terms as pharma firms derive substantial revenue from exports. Cipla (up 1.36%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.66%), Lupin (up 0.18%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 1.51%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.14%), Strides Arcolab (up 3.57%), Wockhardt (up 3.64%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.74%) gained.
Cairn India rose 0.81% to Rs 362.25. The stock hit 52-week high of Rs 363.95 in intraday trade.
NMDC rose 2.47% to Rs 153.35. The stock hit 52-week high of Rs 153.65 in intraday trade.
GTL Infrastructure was locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs 1.90 after the company said it has allotted 18.55 lakh equity shares upon conversion of FCCBs at a conversion price of Rs 10 per share. The announcement was made after market hours on Thursday, 10 April 2014. GTL Infrastructure said that the Committee of the company at its meeting held on Thursday, 10 April 2014, allotted 18.55 lakh equity shares consequent upon conversion of 342 foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) of $1,000 each (Conversion A Bonds) at a conversion price of Rs 10 per share, in terms of the Offering Circular dated 17 October 2012 for issue of $111,740,000 Zero Coupon Compulsorily Convertible Bonds (ZCCBs) due 2017 (Series A Bonds).
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar on global risk-off sentiment. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 60.2925, compared with its close of 60.07/08 on Thursday, 10 April 2014.
On the macro front, the government unveils industrial production data for February 2014 after trading hours today, 11 April 2014. Industrial production rose a muted 0.1% in January 2014.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday, 10 April 2014, said in a media interview in Washington that India is prepared for potential financial fallout if the US Federal Reserve increases interest rates before April 2015. "Nobody is prepared for every eventuality, but for most eventualities, we are prepared. For us, the specific timing matters less than that it should happen when US growth is strong," Rajan said. The Fed is "mostly" right in how it is managing monetary policy, Rajan said during a panel discussion at George Washington University, adding the central bank needs to improve communications because measures it is taking now will affect what emerging markets do in the future. Still, he said he doesn't expect a US rate increase by April 2015.
Rajan, in Washington to attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, also said the IMF needs to play a larger role in promoting global stability and offering liquidity to emerging markets, which often face "substantial stigma" when they approach the lender. If emerging markets are again pushed to a sustained bout of exchange-rate intervention and reserve accumulation, that will be detrimental to global demand, said Rajan, a former chief economist of the IMF.
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 1 April 2014, as consumer-price inflation eased to a two-year low and as the rupee firmed up against the dollar.
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, with Infosys announcing its results on 15 April 2014. The results 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. Voting for the lone Lok Sabha constituency and an Assembly by-poll in Mizoram began today, 11 April 2014. The 36 days long voting process began on 7 April 2014 and will conclude on 12 May 2014. The results will be declared on 16 May 2014 after which India will get a new government. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on 1 June and the new House has to be constituted by 31 May.
Asian stocks edged lower on Friday, 11 April 2014, as a selloff in US biotech, Internet and other high-growth stocks on Thursday, 10 April 2014, cut demand for riskier assets. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were off 0.14% to 2.34%. In Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite index was up 0.44%.
A report today, 11 April 2014, showed Chinese consumer prices rose 2.4% in March from a year earlier, after gaining 2% in February. The nation's producer price index retreated 2.3% following the previous month's 2% drop.
China will ease restrictions on overseas investments by local firms and deals below $1 billion will no longer need approval, the country's economic planner said in another step to cut red-tape and facilitate the growth of private investment. Starting from May 8, Chinese firms planning to invest less than $1 billion will only need to register with authorities rather than seek approvals from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the commission said in a statement late on Thursday. 10 April 2014.
The NDRC said the new rules do not apply to investment projects in "sensitive countries, regions or sectors."
Currently, overseas resource-related investments above $300 million are subject to approvals by the NDRC, while the threshold for deals in other sectors is capped at $100 million.
Deals of above $1 billion will still need the approval by the NDRC, while those valued at $2 billion and above will need the approval of the State Council, China's cabinet, according to the new regulations.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could advance 5 points at the opening bell on Friday, 11 April 2014. US stocks tumbled on Thursday, 10 April 2014, with the Nasdaq Composite Index falling the most since 2011, as a technology selloff resumed amid concern valuations may be too high at the start of earnings season.
A government report on Thursday showed the fewest number of Americans since before the last recession filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, pointing to more progress in the labor market.
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 decided after the conclusion of a monetary policy review to trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion.
In Europe, the Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record low after a monetary policy review on Thursday, 10 April 2014, as policy makers try to gauge the amount of spare capacity in the economy. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also kept its asset-purchase program on hold at 375 billion pounds ($629 billion), according to a statement released in London by the central bank.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
