The market was trading with small gains in afternoon trade. At 13:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 71.86 points or 0.19% at 37,880.77. The Nifty 50 index was up 26.35 points or 0.23% at 11,380.60.
Local stocks were trading with small gains in early trade. A bout of volatility was seen as the key indices extended gains in morning trade. Stocks hovered in positive zone in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.71%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.25%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1284 shares rose and 1189 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.
Vedanta (up 2.17%), NTPC (up 1.70%), State Bank of India (up 1.62%), Asian Paints (up 1.47%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.46%), were the major Sensex gainers.
Infosys (down 1.78%), TCS (down 1.2%), ITC (down 1.08%), HDFC (down 0.63%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.57%), were the major Sensex losers.
Larsen & Toubro was down 0.46%. L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, has won a large order from Tawfiq Coke Products-Oman. The contract scope includes selection of technology licensor, FEED & EPC for a 2 x 225,000 TPA plant of calcined coke from green pet coke. Process facilities include material handling, rotary kiln and cooler, combustion chamber, gas separation and associated offsite & utilities packages. The company said the order fall under "large" category which ranges between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore as per its classification of contracts. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 26 March 2019.
Bharti Airtel rose 0.37%. Bharti Airtel announced new ISD call charges for Bangladesh and Nepal as part of its endeavour to simplify tariffs and add to customer convenience. The new ISD call charges, which are currently available to Airtel prepaid mobile users, are the most affordable in the industry and eliminate the need for buying additional ISD packs to make calls to Bangladesh and Nepal. Airtel mobile customers can now enjoy the most competitive ISO tariffs with their regular recharge packs and bundles. Calls to Bangladesh will now be charged at only Rs 2.99/minute (versus Rs. 12 per minute earlier) representing a reduction of 75%. Calls to Nepal will now be charged at Rs 7.99 per minute (versus Rs 13 earlier) representing a reduction of approximately 40%. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 25 March 2019.
Grasim Industries rose 0.67%. Grasim Industries said it has challenged the order of Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) dated 14 March 2019, raising demand of sum of Rs 5872.13 crore on account of dividend distribution tax (including interest) before the Bombay High Court. The company has submitted that the order passed by the DCIT is wholly unsustainable in law and the department has sought time to file reply. The company has received order dated 22 March 2019 from the Bombay High Court. The High Court, while granting time to the Department for filing reply, has granted stay against the recovery of demand. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 25 March 2019.
Jet Airways (India) rose 9.12% after the company said Naresh Goyal stepped down as chairman. As part of the proposed solution, the company's board approved the conversion of Re 1 of lenders' debt into equity by the issuance of 11.40 crore equity shares, in accordance with the RBI Circular of 12 February 2018. With this, the consortium of Indian lenders, led by State Bank of India (SBI), will become the majority shareholders of Jet Airways. As part of the resolution plan, the lenders will also begin the process of sale/ issue of shares to new investors which is expected to be completed in the June quarter. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 25 March 2019.
The board also approved its reconstitution by resignation of promoter, Mr Naresh Goyal, Mrs. Anita Goyal, and Mr. Kevin Knight, nominee director of Etihad Airways from their positions on the company's board. The two nominees of the promoter and one nominee of Etihad Airways will continue on the board. Two lender nominees will be inducted to its board, subject to the receipt of requisite approvals.
As part of the resolution plan, the lenders will provide an immediate interim funding support of Rs 1500 crore to Jet Airways. The company will also engage with payment intermediaries for release of trapped cash. The airline will leverage the funding to partly clear pending dues towards lessors, vendors, creditors and employees in a phased manner. The move will see Jet Airways re-deploy several of its grounded aircraft back into its network, helping renew many of the routes it had temporarily suspended, which will help restore normalcy of operations, aiding the airline's long term transformation to continue expansion and to regain its position as a global player.
Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading higher. US stocks closed mostly lower Monday after data showing weakness on the global economic front triggered heavy losses at the end of last week while investors continued to fret over the inversion of the yield curve. However, the Dow bucked the trend to rise as shares of Boeing Co. rallied after recent losses.
Meanwhile, the markets showed little reaction to the end of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
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