Taking cues from weakness in European stocks, key equity benchmark indices in India edged lower. The barometer index, the S&P Sensex, fell below the psychological 29,000 mark. The Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit two-week low. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was negative. The Sensex was provisionally off 133.56 points or 0.46% at 28,866.58. European stocks dropped as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings and closely followed developments in Greece's debt negotiations.
Key benchmark indices dropped for the fourth trading session in a row today, 4 February 2015.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan reportedly said in a conference call with analysts today, 4 February 2015, that inflation was still a concern. Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, 3 February 2015, said that the priority of the government is growth and to create jobs. Meanwhile, the outcome of a monthly survey released today, 4 February 2015, showed expansion in India's services sector activity in January 2015.
Power generation stocks were mixed. Tata Power jumped after turnaround Q3 results. Metal shares rose. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) edged higher after Q3 results.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 264.35 crore yesterday, 3 February 2015, as per provisional data.
In overseas market, European shares dropped as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings and closely followed developments in Greece's debt negotiations. Asian shares edged higher after overnight rally for US stocks. US stocks surged yesterday, 3 February 2015, as equities kept pace with surging crude-oil prices.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar.
Brent crude oil futures edged lower after a sharp surge during the preceding trading session. The recent rebound in global crude oil prices will raise concerns pertaining to India's fiscal deficit, current account deficit and fuel price inflation. The rebound in crude oil prices comes after a steep slide in prices over the past few months. India imports about 80% of its crude oil requirements.
As per provisional closing, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 133.56 points or 0.46% to 28,866.58. The index fell 175.46 points at the day's low of 28,824.68 in late trade, its lowest level since 21 January 2015. The index jumped 133.48 points at the day's high of 29,133.62 in mid-morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was fell 32.85 points or 0.38% at 8,723.70, as per provisional closing. The index hit a low of 8,704.40 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 21 January 2015. The index hit a high of 8,792.85 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 26.85 points or 0.25% at 10,741.38. The decline in the index was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 5.62 points or 0.05% at 11,432.40, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was negative. On BSE, 1,561 shares declined and 1,337 shares advanced. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4202 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 4737.88 crore during the previous trading session.
Power generation stocks were mixed. Jaiprakash Power Ventures (up 2.80%), GMR Infrastructure (up 2.62%), Adani Power (up 1.20%) and Reliance Power (up 0.31%), edged higher. Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.07%), Torrent Power (down 0.29%), CESC (down 0.4%), NTPC (down 0.76%) and JSW Energy (down 3.93%), edged lower.
Tata Power rose 3.09% at Rs 90. The stock hit a high of Rs 91.90 and a low of Rs 87.80. On a consolidated basis, the company reported net profit of Rs 197.74 crore in Q3 December 2014 compared with net loss of Rs 74.91 crore in Q3 December 2013. Total income rose 8.31% to Rs 9321.34 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013.
Metal shares rose. Hindalco Industries (up 4.30%), Sesa Sterlite (up 3.06%), Tata Steel (up 2.38%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.93%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.41%), JSW Steel (up 1.26%) and Steel Authority of India (up 0.54%), edged higher. Bhushan Steel fell 0.65%.
Jindal Steel & Power was up 1.31% to Rs 154.20. The stock hit a high of Rs 159.15 and a low of Rs 149.90 in intraday trade. Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) reported consolidated net loss of Rs 1618.78 crore in Q3 December 2014 compared with net profit of Rs 561.51 crore in Q3 December 2013. The company's total income fell 1.38% to Rs 5078.93 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013. The company's performance during Q3 was negatively impacted due to combination of several adverse developments which interalia include imposition of additional duty on the coal extracted since the start of mining operations in its captive mines, low demand of steel in the domestic as well as export markets and the consequent decline in market price levels, continued suspension of iron ore supplies for its major supplier SMPL and non-availability of coal for its Tamnar phase-II, 600 megawatts power plants. The company announced Q3 results after market hours yesterday, 3 February 2015.
The company's profit before tax was adversely affected due to unfavourable market conditions and high cost of raw materials. The results was also affected by substantially higher costs on account of depreciation and interest which for the consolidated operations during Q3 December 2014, increased by Rs 528 crore compared to Q3 December 2013. As a result of Supreme Court's decision to impose additional levy retrospectively, JSPL was forced to pay lumpsum amount of Rs 3089 crore which caused it to post a loss.
In its future outlook, the company said with economy gradually picking up, JSPL is targeting a double digit growth in turnover in both standalone and consolidated level starting from Q1 June 2015. It is also expecting its raw material issues to be resolved by the end of Q4 March 2015. With all the new production facilities fully operational, JSPL is fully geared to meet any enhanced demand opportunities in the market.
NMDC was down 0.92%. The company announced during trading hours that it has awarded a contract worth Rs 356.85 crore on water packages relating to the company's 3 million tonnes per annum steel plant at Nagarnar, Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. All the awarded works in respect of the integrated steel plant are being taken up on war footing so that the timelines for commissioning of plant can be met. The contracts are very crucial as this will provide water linkage for operation of the plant, NMDC said.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was down 1.53% at Rs 1,696.40. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,731.05 and a low of Rs 1,691.95.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.84, compared with its close of 61.68 during the previous trading session.
Brent crude oil futures edged lower in volatile trade. Brent for March settlement was off 75 cents at $57.16 a barrel. The contract had jumped $3.16 a barrel or 5.8% to settle at $57.91 a barrel during the previous trading session.
The outcome of a monthly survey released today, 4 February 2015, showed expansion in India's services sector activity in January 2015. The HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index edged up to 52.4 in January 2015, from 51.1 in December 2014. According to survey responses, the latest increase in the services activity reflected further growth of new business during the month. Indian service providers were the most upbeat regarding the 12-month outlook for activity since mid- 2014. Panel members attributed optimism to anticipated improvements in demand and new commercial initiatives. Input costs faced by Indian services firms rose for the second straight month in January, having fallen for the first time in more than five-and-a-half years in November. The rate of cost inflation picked up to the sharpest in six months, although it remained muted in the context of historical data. Prices charged in the Indian service economy also increased for the second consecutive month in January.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, 3 February 2015, said that his priority was for India to establish global benchmarks in areas such as governance, transparency and taxation. Interacting over dinner with participants of the BlackRock India Investor Summit, he said that the priority of the government is growth and to create jobs. The Prime Minister said infrastructure development is one of the best routes to create jobs for the youth. He said India requires both expansion and upgradation of its infrastructure. He said the Railways could become a growth engine for the economy. The Prime Minister said the goal of Affordable Housing for all by 2022, would in itself, provide a huge boost for the economy. In terms of the education system, he said the best in the world should be there in India as well. The Prime Minister said he believes in a fair, predictable and consistent tax system, and in economic policies that will drive growth.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan reportedly said in a conference call with analysts today, 4 February 2015, that inflation was still a concern. Rajan said that the deflationary global environment provides the central bank some elbow room with monetary policy. The RBI left its benchmark lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 7.75% after a monetary policy review yesterday, 3 February 2015, as the central bank awaits further evidence to gauge whether the disinflationary process is continuing. Earlier, the RBI had surprised financial markets by announcing a cut in the repo rate by 25 basis points in an unscheduled monetary policy review on 15 January 2015, citing easing of inflationary pressures in the economy.
European shares edged lower today, 4 February 2015, as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings and closely followed developments in Greece's debt negotiations. Key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were off 0.19% to 0.40%.
The new government in Greece remained in the spotlight today, 4 February 2015, as the country's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis continued their separate European tours to drum up support for a debt deal with greater leniency on repayments. Tsipras met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on his first trip to Brussels after taking office last week. Meanwhile, Varoufakis discussed the bailout terms with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, saying they had a fruitful conversation, according to media reports. Varoufakis will meet German counterpart Wolfgang Schauble in Berlin tomorrow, 5 February 2015. Varoufakis revealed today, 4 February 2015, that Athens has started talks with the International Monetary Fund one of the country's international lenders on a debt-swap deal that would see some of the existing government debt exchanged with bonds linked to future growth, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is set to decide whether it will continue the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to Greek banks that was granted in January ahead of the general election. Without this financing, the banks could feel a liquidity squeeze due to an increase in deposit outflows.
The final composite purchasing managers index for the eurozone rose to a six-month high in January, coming in at 52.6. That was better than the flash estimate of 52.2 and a gain of 51.4 recorded in December.
Asian share markets tracked US market higher today as revived risk sentiment dented the US dollar and sovereign bonds. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by 0.28% to 1.98%.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.96%. The HSBC China services purchasing managers index fell to a six-month low at 51.8 in January from 53.4 in December, HSBC Holdings PLC said Wednesday, pointing to a slowdown outside the nation's factory sector. Despite the fall in the index, service activity was still expanding from the previous month, although at a slower rate.
The HSBC Hong Kong Purchasing Managers Index contracted in January, a signal of the city's deteriorating output at the start of 2015 amid China's economic slowdown. HSBC said Wednesday that January's manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 from 50.3 in December. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing, while a reading above that indicates an expansion.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow may slide 26 points at opening bell today, 4 February 2015. US market ended higher for second day in a row on Tuesday, 3 February 2015, led by energy shares as oil prices extended their recent rally, while higher-than-expected January car sales also bolstered the advance.
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