Nifty ends below 8550, Sensex falls 106 points; Infosys, TCS drag

15 Jul 2016

3:30 pm Market closing: After a lot of struggle, the market has ended lower. the Sensex is down 105.61 points or 0.4 percent at 27836.50, and the Nifty fell 23.60 points or 0.3 percent at 8541.40. About 1000 shares have advanced, 1681 shares declined, and 197 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, HDFC twins and Adani Ports were top gainers while Infosys, TCS, Wipro, NTPC and Coal India were top losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm PSU capital infusion? The Finance Ministry is likely to soon clear the first round of capital infusion in public sector banks that has been slated for the current financial year.

The proposal for capital infusion is expected to get approval from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley shortly, sources said, adding that the first tranche is likely to be less than Rs 20,000 crore.

After the fourth quarter results, each bank made a detailed request for fresh fund infusion taking into account issues pertaining to non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans and growth projections. Based on the suggestions, the Department of Financial Services finalised the first tranche of fund infusion, sources said.

3:00 pm H1B visa on IT cos: IT industry body Nasscom today dispelled fears about the possible damaging prospects of the new US immigration Bill which proposes to restrict issuance of H1B visas to Indian companies.

"Such visas will not be any showstopper in this era of technology," Chairman of Nasscom CP Gurnani told.

He said in this age of technology, companies would use the tool to get products and services delivered.

"The companies and the US Senate can be at odds with each other. The US corporations realise that 70 percent of their work were being outsourced from outside," he said on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave.

2:30 pm Macro data: WPI inflation is expected to rise and average around 0.6 percent this year, while the pace of increase will remain slow amid weak demand conditions, says a Nomura report.

According to the Japanese financial services major, the year-on-year WPI inflation is expected to rise on waning base effects and average 0.6 percent in 2016 from (-)2.7 percent in 2015.

Wholesale Price Index-based (WPI-based) inflation accelerated for the third straight month in June hitting 1.62 percent on costlier food and manufactured items.

2:20 pm Infosys launches ESOPs: Infosys has relaunched its employee stock option plan (ESOP) for junior to middle level management staff as it looks to rein in rising attrition that stood at 21 per cent in the April-June 2016 quarter.

However, the company is not "unduly concerned" about the jump in attrition, which read 17.3 per cent in the March quarter and 19.2 per cent in the year-ago period.

"Today, we relaunched our ESOP programme after a gap of 10-years plus, after about 13 years. We are rewarding about 7,500 of our employees from junior to middle level management with restricted stock options and we will extend it to middle management to senior leaders and title holders subsequently," Infosys Chief Operating Officer U B Pravin Rao said.

He added that the company continues to focus on reskilling employees and has also revamped its leadership development programmes.

ESOPs allow employees to own equity in the company, which is seen as a morale booster for them.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks recouped losses in afternoon trade with the Nifty getting back above 8550 level, supported largely by index heavyweights HDFC, HDFC Bank and L&T. On the other side, Infosys, which fell more than 8 percent post earnings, weighed on the market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 50.24 points at 27891.87 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 9.25 points to 8555.75. About 1499 shares declined against 1023 advancing shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

TCS and Wipro were down 2-3 percent while HDFC Bank, L&T, Tata Motors, HDFC, Axis Bank and M&M gained 1-2 percent.

Crude futures dipped in Asian trading on renewed concerns about a global oil glut, but losses were capped by slightly better than expected Chinese economic data reflecting government efforts to stabilise growth. Brent crude futures were down 58 cents at USD 46.79 a barrel. On Thursday they rose 2.4 percent, supported by short covering, and were on track to rise about 0.3 percent this week.

1:55 pm Result: State-run housing finance company LIC Housing Finance 's first quarter (April-June) profit grew by 6.7 percent to Rs 407.8 crore compared with Rs 382.1 crore in year-ago period, impacted by provisions for bad loans. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, jumped 25.1 percent to Rs 824.5 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 from Rs 659 crore in year-ago period, which matched analysts' estimates. Profit missed analysts' expectations of Rs 447 crore while net interest income was expected at Rs 807 crore for the quarter, according to consensus estimates.

State-run housing finance company LIC Housing Finance 's first quarter (April-June) profit grew by 6.7 percent to Rs 407.8 crore compared with Rs 382.1 crore in year-ago period, impacted by provisions for bad loans. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, jumped 25.1 percent to Rs 824.5 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 from Rs 659 crore in year-ago period, which matched analysts' estimates. Profit missed analysts' expectations of Rs 447 crore while net interest income was expected at Rs 807 crore for the quarter, according to consensus estimates.

The Rs 3,000-crore issue of unsecured rupee-denominated bonds bears a fixed semi-annual coupon of 7.875 percent per annum and has a tenor of 3 years and 1 month, HDFC said in a statement.

The all-in annualised yield to the investors is 8.33 percent per annum, it said, adding this rate is five basis points lower than the last domestic issue by HDFC on July 12, 2016.

1:30 pm Exclusive: Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reached out to private equity players for stake sale, reports CNBC-TV18, quoting sources. The stake sale of 25 percent is said to be valued at Rs 400-500 crore. The PE players in the fray are TPG, Multiples, Carlyle, CX Partners. Sources said that the bank expects a valuation of around Rs 2,000 crore.

The market has recovered marginally supported by auto and PSU banks. The Sensex is down 41.04 points or 0.1 percent at 27901.07, and the Nifty down 6.50 points at 8558.50. About 1023 shares have advanced, 1442 shares declined, and 169 shares are unchanged.

Tata Steel is up 4 percent while Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Adani Ports and M&M are top gainers while Infosys, Wipro, TCS, NTPC and Coal India are losers in the Sensex.

Gold prices fell by 0.30 percent to Rs 31,330 per ten gram in futures trade today as speculators trimmed positions, tracking a weak global trend.

Analysts attributed the fall in gold futures to a weak global trend where the precious metal was on track for the first weekly drop since May as risk appetite returned and investors turned away from haven assets including bullion and the yen, amid record highs for US shares.

12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks recovered some of the losses in afternoon trade. The Sensex declined 114.05 points to 27828.06 and the Nifty fell 27.15 points to 8537.85.

12:40 pm Europe opens: European stocks opened lower as investor sentiment was dampened by an attack in France in which a man drove a truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day, killing at least 80 people.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.38 percent.

Late on Thursday, a man drove a truck through a crowd in Nice, in the South of France, during Bastille Day celebrations, leaving at least 80 dead and around 18 in critical condition. The attacker was killed. French President Francois Hollande extended the state of emergency in France for another three months.

12:35 pm Stake sale: Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reached out to private equity players for stake sale, reports CNBC-TV18, quoting sources.

The stake sale of 25 percent is said to be valued at Rs 400-500 crore.

The PE players in the fray are TPG, Multiples, Carlyle, CX Partners.

Sources said that the bank expects a valuation of around Rs 2,000 crore.

12:20 pm Syndicate Bank fundraising: Syndicate Bank today said it has raised Rs 930 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds.

"In respect of invitation pertaining to series III, potential investors have placed bids for Rs 1,800 crore (1.95 times) and the bank decided to exercise the green shoe option and retain the total amount of Rs 930 crore and alloted on pro rate basis," it said in a regulatory filing.

Syndicate Bank has invited bids for issue size of Rs 500 crore with green shoe option of Rs 430 crore limiting the aggregate issue size to Rs 930 crore. The issue closed on July 14.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained under pressure with the Nifty struggling below 8550 level, dragged majorly by Infosys that lost nearly 9 percent after first quarter revenue missed analysts' expectations and full year guidance reduced. Its peers TCS and Wipro also fell over 2 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 161.97 points or 0.58 percent to 27780.14 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 40.85 points or 0.48 percent to 8524.15 while the broader markets were mixed with the BSE Midcap rising 0.4 percent.

About 1420 shares declined against 910 advancing shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports and Tata Steel gained 2-4 percent.

11:55 am FII view: Sakthi Siva of Credit Suisse says, "With most investors rather sceptical of the rally in cyclicals, we thought it maybe pertinent to highlight defensives seeing EPS cuts."

In an environment where cyclicals are upgrading earnings, there has been earnings per share (EPS) cuts over the last three months ranging from 13 percent for Chularat Hospital to 17 percent each for Cipla and United Spirits to 23 percent for Reliance Communications to 24 percent for Indosat to 25 percent for Tingyi and 32 percent for China Unicom.

11:45 am Anit-dumping duty: The government has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to USD 64.35 per cubic meter on imports of a specific type of fibre board, reports CNBC-TV18. The anti-dumping duty is in the range of USD 14.7-64.35 per cubic meter for fibre board with thickness of 6 mm and above.

The anti dumping duty has been imposed on fibre board imported from Vietnam and Indonesia. Reacting to the news, Shobhan Mittal, Joint MD, Greenply Industries says this action taken by the government would help them become more competitive against foreign imports but not necessarily enable them to hike prices.

11:30 am New IPO: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is likely to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) by noon today, sources say. The company plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore via Initial Public Offering (IPO), a first by any insurance company in the country. The IPO will be managed by BofA-ML and ICICI securities. Other bankers for the IPO include Deutsche Bank, UBS and CLSA.

The market is struggling with IT index falling over 5 percent. The Sensex slips 148.67 points or 0.5 percent at 27793.44, and the Nifty down 36.65 points or 0.4 percent at 8528.35. About 910 shares have advanced, 1319 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, M&M, Tata Motors, HUL and Tata Steel are top gainers. Infosys falls 9 percent while TCS, NTPC, Wipro and ICICI Bank are losers in the Sensex.

IT major Infosys started off the financial year on a tepid note as it missed analysts' expectations on topline front for the quarter ended June 2016 while the bottomline was in-line. Profit in Q1 declined 4.5 percent sequentially to Rs 3,436 crore while revenue increased 1.4 percent to Rs 16,782 crore.

Revenue in dollar terms grew by 2.2 percent to USD 2501 million and constant currency dollar revenue growth stood at 1.7 percent compared with preceding quarter.

10:35 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended selling pressure after Infosys' quarterly earnings. The Sensex fell 102.39 points to 27839.72 and the Nifty slipped 26 points to 8539.

The market breadth was negative as about 1196 shares declined against 856 advancing shares on BSE.

10:25 am Earnings: IT major Infosys missed analysts expectations on topline front while bottomline and operational numbers matched estimates for the quarter ended June 2016. Profit in Q1 declined 4.5 percent sequentially to Rs 3,436 crore while revenue increased 1.4 percent to Rs 16,782 crore.

Revenue in dollar terms grew by 2.2 percent to USD 2,501 million and constant currency dollar revenue growth at 1.7 percent compared with preceding quarter.

Major disappointing news for the stock, which lost 10 percent intraday, was that the country's second largest IT services exporter lowered its constant currency revenue growth guidance to 10.5-12 percent from 11.5-13.5 percent. This is slightly similar to NASSCOM's industry guidance of 10-12 percent.

Profit was estimated at Rs 3,447 crore (down 4.2 percent) on revenue of Rs 17,089 crore (up 3.25 percent) for the quarter. Dollar revenue was expected at USD 2,547 million, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

10:15 am FII View: JP Morgan has an overweight stance on India with expectations of double digit returns as the index moves towards 9,000 level. Strong earnings are expected in 2017, he says.

"I would rather own domestically focused business than owing software services company," Mowat says adding that IT firms will get move affected by global events like Brexit.

On the Goods and Services Tax (GST), expected to see light in upcoming Monsoon session, Mowat says that expectations are already low. If the GST doesn't go through, negative impact will be low.

10:00 am Market Check
The market continued to consolidate for the third consecutive session, though the Sensex reclaimed 28000 level. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap index rising half a percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 22.09 points at 27964.20 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 8.70 points to 8573.70.

Adani Ports topped buying list on Sensex, up nearly 3 percent followed by ITC, Infosys, HUL, M&M and Bharti Airtel while HDFC, TCS, HDFC Bank, L&T and ICICI Bank were losers. NTPC lost nearly 3 percent.

Asia markets traded higher, following another record close in US stocks, and as investors digested a data deluge from China. Japan's Nikkei gained 1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.6 percent.

9:55 am Buzzing: Shares of Titan Company rose 5 percent intraday as it is going to acquire 61 percent stake in Carat Lane Trading.

The company has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 61 percent in Carat Lane Trading for a cash consideration of Rs 357.24 crore. The said acquisition is expected to be completed within 14 business days subject to completion of pre-closing conditions. The company is going to acquire 1,91,42,545 equity shares representing approximately 62 percent of Carat Lane share capital.

9:45 am Poll: IT major Infosys' first quarter (April-June) profit is likely to fall 4.2 percent sequentially to Rs 3,447 crore due to weak operational performance while revenue growth may be continued, similar to same quarter last year. Earnings will be announced on July 15. Revenue in Q1 is expected to grow 3.25 percent to Rs 17,089 crore and dollar revenue may increase 4.1 percent to USD 2,547 million compared with preceding quarter, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Overall, it is expected to be a good quarter for the company. Dollar revenue growth is likely to be supported by currency tailwinds of 50-60 basis points, hence constant currency growth may be around 3.5 percent for the quarter.

9:30 am Market climbs: The Sensex is up 64.78 points or 0.2 percent at 28006.89, and the Nifty up 17.70 points or 0.2 percent at 8582.70. About 853 shares have advanced, 355 shares declined, and 55 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, ITC, M&M, Hero and Bharti are top gainers. NTPC, TCS, HDFC, Coal India and Axis Bank are losers in the Sensex.

The market has opened on a earnings heavy day. The Sensex is up 5.85 points at 27947.96, and the Nifty is up 0.45 points at 8565.45. About 309 shares have advanced, 84 shares declined, and 26 shares are unchanged.

ITC, M&M, Hero Moto, Adani Ports and Cipla are top gainers while NTPC, HDFC, Tata Motors and Axis Bank are losers. TCS lost 2 percent post its Q1 earnings.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 66.88 per dollar on Friday versus previous close of 66.91. The pound maintained gains after the Bank Of England unexpectedly held interest rates.

Bhaskar Panda of HDFC Bank said, "In the last few trading sessions, the USD-INR pair has moved down keeping with the trend in Asia."

Asian shares rose to eight-month highs on Friday, on track for solid weekly gains, as record highs on Wall Street offset the impact on sentiment of an attack in France that lifted the safe-haven yen.

An attacker killed at least 73 people and injured scores when he drove a truck at high speed into a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice late on Thursday.

US equities closed at new record levels after the Bank of England hinted at looser monetary policy next month and as earnings season kicked into full gear. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high for the third consecutive day, ending the day up 134.2 points, with Goldman Sachs, IBM and Apple contributing the most gains. Earlier, the blue-chips index rose more than 160 points.

The S&P 500 had its fourth consecutive record close, ending half a percent higher, led by financials. The Nasdaq composite had its sixth positive day of gains in seven, closing half a percent higher as Apple shares gained more than 2 percent.

The pound maintained gains after the Bank of England unexpectedly held interest rates. Crude prices declined on weak US demand, Brent crude is below USD 46 per barrel. Gold prices slipped to two-week low.