Sensex closes over 100 points lower, Nifty below 10,900; IT stocks gain

04 Dec 2018

Market at Close: Shares have closed lower, amid caution ahead of RBI’s monetary policy committee meeting outcome on Wednesday. Uncertainty over US-China trade truce has also weighed on indices.

Among sectors, weakness was visible among automobiles, banks, consumption and infrastructure names, while IT and pharma index ended in the green. The Nifty Midcap index was lower by around one-third of a percent.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex closed down 106.69 points or 0.29% at 36134.31, while the Nifty was lower by 14.30 points or 0.13% at 10869.50. The market breadth is negative as 1154 shares advanced, against a decline of 1393 shares, while 143 shares were unchanged.

ONGC, Wipro, and BPCL were the top gainers, while Sun Pharma and M&M lost the most.

Ramco System Jumps 4% On Collaboration With KPMG Malaysia

Ramco System shares climbed 4.4 percent intraday after the company joined hands with KPMG Malaysia to offer HR & payroll business platform as a service (BPaaS).

"Ramco and KPMG Management & Risk Consulting Sdn Bhd will collaborate to use Kuala Lumpur as a springboard to offer advanced cloud-based human resources (HR) and payroll solutions for growth companies across the region," the enterprise software specialist said in its filing.

KPMG said it would use Ramco's HR and Global Payroll Platform as the cloud-based architecture to roll out its Business Platform as a Service.

Tata Motors Plans Large-scale Overhaul Of Its Sales Network

Auto major Tata Motors is planning a large-scale overhaul of its sales network across the country over the next one year as it prepares to bring in new products, including premium SUV Harrier, a top company official Tuesday said.

The company, which plans to have all its future products on just two platforms -- Omega and Alpha, currently has around 790 dealerships across the country.

"We acknowledge that our showrooms and workshops need complete overhauling and accordingly we have hired a global consulting agency to look into upgrading all our showrooms," Tata Motors President Passenger Vehicles Business Unit Mayank Pareek told PTI in an interview.

Govt Not To Participate In LIC's Open Offer In IDBI Bank

IDBI Bank said government will not participate in LIC's open offer to acquire 51 percent stake in the bank.

LIC's open offer to purchase 26 percent shares of IDBI Bank opened on December 3 and will close on December 14.

In October, LIC announced an open offer for acquiring 26 percent of equity in IDBI Bank at a price of Rs 61.73 per share, entailing total payout of over Rs 12,602 crore.

"IDBI Bank is in receipt of letter dated December 03, 2018 from Government of India confirming that Government of India will not participate in the open offer made by LIC," IDBI Bank said in a regulatory filing.

IL&FS New Board Says Group-level Resolution For Crisis, Debt Unlikely

The Uday Kotak-led board of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) had informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Monday that

a single group-level resolution for the crisis and the Rs 91,000 crore debt seems tough and it will focus on vertical as well as asset-level resolution.

Through the group-level resolution, the board was looking at a significant capital infusion from strong investors.

"Based on an outreach conducted by the FTA, the initial assessment seems to indicate that currently, the group-level resolution option is unlikely to materialise," the board said in its second report on progress and way forward submitted to the NCLT. Source: PTI

LIC's Open Offer

IDBI Bank Tuesday said government will not participate in LIC's open offer to acquire 51 percent stake in the bank.

LIC's open offer to purchase 26 per cent shares of IDBI Bank opened on December 3 and will close on December 14.

In October, LIC announced an open offer for acquiring 26 per cent of equity in IDBI Bank at a price of Rs 61.73 per share, entailing total payout of over Rs 12,602 crore. Source: PTI.

HCL Technologies Expands Strategic Relationship With Barclays

In addition to HCL being named as Barclays' preferred partner for IT infrastructure services, the two companies will commit to building the partnership globally, with particular opportunities regarding digital workplace services, the country's third largest IT services company said in its filing.

HCL will leverage its significant investments in AI and automation, including its award-winning automation platform DryICETM, to transform the user experience for more than 80,000 Barclays employees across 26 countries.

The company said the contract between HCL and Barclays is yet to be executed pending banking regulatory notification; both companies hope to conclude the deal during the first quarter of 2019.

Market Update: Equities are off their low points, with the Nifty trading around 10,850-mark.

IT stocks continue to be the big gainers, while banks and infrastructure stocks are the top losers. The Nifty Midcap index is trading flat.

The Sensex is down 126.61 points or 0.35% at 36114.39, while the Nifty was down 24.70 points or 0.23% at 10859.10. The market breadth was negative as 1,043 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,151 shares, while 136 shares were unchanged.

Wipro, Infosys, UPL and Indiabulls Housing were the top gainers, while HDFC and Bharti Airtel lost the most.

India, US Agree To Accelerate Defence and Security Ties

India and the US have agreed to accelerate defence and security ties as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her American counterpart James Mattis, who described India as a "stabilising force" across the Indo-Pacific and the globe.

US Defence Secretary Mattis welcomed Sitharaman to the Pentagon on Monday for the fourth set of talks the two defense leaders have held this year.

Sitharaman, the first woman defence minister of India, is currently on a five-day maiden trip to the US. From here, she will travel to California to visit the Defense Innovation Unit of the Department of Defense and the Indo-Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii.

Citi Says Sell Ashok Leyland

Ashok Leyland shares declined nearly a percent intraday as global brokerage house maintained its sell call on the stock after November sales data.

The research house expects the stock to fall by 6.7 percent to hit a target price at Rs 100 as it sees significant downside risks to estimates if weakness continues.

Citi expects commercial vehicle (CV) sales to peak in FY20, with FY21 being a down-year.

The country's second largest commercial vehicle maker sold 13,121 units in November 2018, lower by 9 percent compared to 14,457 units sold in same month last year.

Buzzing: Shriram EPC shares rallied nearly 5 percent in morning on Tuesday on winning orders from Jharkhand government.

"We received two separate orders worth Rs 166.16 crore and Rs 59.55 crore from Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company," the engineering and construction company said in its filing.

Investec on Rallis India: Global investment firm Investec has reiterated its buy call on Rallis India as valuation of 13x FY20 EPS versus 5-year average of 20x is attractive. The stock gained nearly 4 percent in morning on Tuesday.

The research house believes strategic steps taken by the company have started yielding results and the company should be able to deliver EPS growth of 20 percent CAGR over FY18-21.

Market Update: Benchmark indices are continue to trade lower on Tuesday with Nifty is hovering around 10,850 level, while Sensex is down nearly 150 points.

At 10:53 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 147.02 points at 36093.98, while Nifty is down 29.30 points at 10854.50. About 982 shares have advanced, 922 shares declined, and 110 shares are unchanged.

Buzzing: Shares of Shankara Building Products continues its downtrend as share is down 9 percent intraday Tuesday after ending at 10 percent lower circuit on Monday. The share touched a 52-week low of Rs 569.95.

IDFC Securities had downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral and cut target price to Rs 525 from Rs 1,065 per share.

Yes Bank arm get SEBI approval: Comapny shares gained 2.5 percent in morning on Tuesday after its asset management company received approval for launch of mutual fund schemes.

"Pursuant to the final regulatory approval (Certificate of Registration) from the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to commence its mutual fund business, YES Asset Management (India), the wholly owned subsidiary of the bank has received SEBI approval to launch two mutual fund schemes," the lender said in its filing.

Emkay Global on Gulf Oil: Shares of Gulf Oil Lubricants India rose about 5.4 percent in early trade today after Emkay Global initiated coverage on the stock.

The brokerage has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,150.

"Margins likely to recover with proactive pricing, premiumisation and softer base oil prices," Emkay Global said in its research note.

Market Opens: Benchmark indices started the day on the flat note with Nifty is trading below 10,900.

Yes Bank, Asian Paints, HUL, Sun Pharma, M&M, NTPC, HDFC are trading higher, while Tata STeel is trading lower.

At 09:17 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 2.63 points or 0.01% at 36243.63, and the Nifty up 1.20 points or 0.01% at 10885. About 363 shares have advanced, 361 shares declined, and 45 shares are unchanged.

Market at pre-opening: Benchmark indices are trading firm in the pre-opening trade with Nifty is above 10,900 level.

At 09:01 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 103.07 points or 0.28% at 36344.07, and the Nifty up 19.50 points or 0.18% at 10903.30.

Sun Pharma up 5% after clarification made by the management, JSW Steel, Tata Steel are other major gainers.

Market Headstart: Nifty likely to open flat; 3 stocks that could return 7-8%

The Nifty is likely to open flat on Tuesday following a muted trend seen in other Asian markets. The index closed 7 points higher at 10,883 on Monday.

Asian markets trade lower: Asian shares fell in early trade on Tuesday as a relief rally sparked by a truce in the US-China trade war gave way to doubts on whether the two countries are able to resolve their differences before a 90-day deadline.

US markets close higher: Wall Street's major indexes rallied on Monday following a truce between the United States and China in their trade dispute, which has clouded the outlook for the stock market for much of the year.

SGX Nifty: Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat start for the broader index in India, a fall of 10.50 points or 0.10 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,928-level on the Singaporean Exchange.