Volatility ruled the roost in mid-afternoon trade as the key equity benchmarks once again dropped soon after erasing almost entire intraday losses. At 14:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 96.75 points or 0.29% at 33,748.11. The Nifty 50 index was down 27.60 points or 0.27% at 10,369.85. Weakness in global stocks weighed on sentiment. Most pharma shares gained. Most realty stocks edged higher.
Trading could be volatile for the last hour of trade or so as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month February 2018 series to March 2018 series. The February 2018 F&O contracts expire today, 22 February 2018.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the last meeting of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held on 6-7 February 2018 showed that monetary policy committee members were concerned about accelerating inflation as well as uncertainty about the strength of an economic recovery.
Domestic stocks nudged lower in early trade on negative Asian stocks. Stocks hovered in negative zone in morning trade. Key benchmark indices continued to trade in a small range in negative zone later during the day so far.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.31%, underperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.21%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 1,557 shares fell and 1,037 shares rose. A total of 179 shares were unchanged. Breadth was weak till morning trade. It turned negative in mid-morning trade.
Most pharma shares gained. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.84%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.46%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.32%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.9%), Wockhardt (up 0.4%) and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.29%) rose. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 3.02%), Cadila Healthcare (down 1.81%), Cipla (down 0.98%) and Lupin (down 0.76%) fell.
Most realty stocks edged higher. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 3.56%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (up 0.2%), D B Realty (up 0.46%), Godrej Properties (up 0.55%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 2.68%) and Oberoi Realty (up 2.39%) advanced. DLF (down 0.18%), Unitech (down 4.17%) and Sobha (down 0.91%) declined.
Reliance Infrastructure rose 0.39% after the company said it has won an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for Rs 3647 crore from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for balance of plant (BOP) package and allied civil works for 2x800 megawatts (MW) supercritical coal-based Uppur Thermal Power Project at Ramanathapuram District in Tamil Nadu. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 22 February 2018.
The contract entails design, engineering, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of BOP package and allied civil works on EPC basis. The project is to be commissioned in 36 months. With this contract, Reliance Infrastructure's EPC order book now stands at over Rs 15000 crore. Reliance Infrastructure said it is targeting EPC opportunities worth Rs 2 lakh crore and increase the EPC order book to Rs 50,000 crore by FY 2019.
Astra Microwave Products rose 2.06% to Rs 91.75, with the stock recovering on bargain hunting after hitting a 52-week low in intraday today, 22 February 2018. Shares of Astra Microwave Products had slumped 16.29% in the previous five trading sessions to settle at Rs 89.90 yesterday, 21 February 2018, from its closing of Rs 107.40 on 14 February 2018.
K P R Mill rose 3.35% to Rs 717 after the company said its board approved the proposal to buyback not exceeding 13.35 lakh equity shares of the company, representing 1.81% of the paid-up share capital, at Rs 810 each. The total buyback size will not exceed Rs 108.13 crore, which is 10% of the fully paid-up equity share capital and free reserves of the company as on 31 March 2017. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 22 February 2018.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on 6.-7 February 2018 released yesterday, 21 February 2018, showed that though prices eased in December, the winter seasonal food price moderation was less than usual. Domestic pump prices of petrol and diesel rose sharply in January, reflecting lagged pass-through of the past increases in international crude oil prices. Considering these factors, inflation is now estimated at 5.1% in Q4, including the house rent allowance (HRA) impact. The RBI had kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6% in the last meet.
The MPC noted that the inflation outlook is clouded by several uncertainties on the upside. There is, therefore, need for vigilance around the evolving inflation scenario in the coming months, it added.
Overseas, European stocks opened lower while US equity futures dropped in reaction to minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.
Most Asian shares slipped as speculation of faster hikes in US interest rates soured risk appetite globally. US stocks ended a tumultuous session yesterday, 21 February 2018 firmly lower after minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy-setting meeting sparked a fresh wave of volatility. Minutes of the January 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that officials saw a stronger economy than at the end of 2017 and that more rate increases were in the offing.
An index that tracks US manufacturers rose to a nearly 3-year high in February and a gauge for service-oriented companies hit a six-month peak, according to IHS Markit's flash PMI. The manufacturing index rose to 55.9 from 55.5. The services barometer climbed to 55.9 from 53.3.
Meanwhile, trading of US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 84 points at the opening bell today, 22 February 2018.
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