Sensex ends 27 points down; Nifty closes up 1.80 points

Closing bell

The BSE Sensex ended marginally lower on losses in banking stocks as investors turned cautious after the release of minutes of RBI’s latest policy meeting highlighted growth concerns.

The Sensex ended 26.87 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 35,871.48 against the previous close of 35,898.35. The major loser was Kotak Mahindra Bank, falling down by 3.71 per cent and closed at Rs 1,241.05. The other stocks trading in red were HDFC Bank, Reliance, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance.

While the top gainers were YES Bank, Vedanta Ltd, Tata Motors, NTPC and M&M. Sectorally, the BSE bankex and finance indices fell up to 0.43 per cent. Energy and consumer durables too ended in the red.

BSE metal, auto, realty, power and oil and gas indices gained up to 1.62 per cent. Broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap index gaining 0.38 per cent and the small-cap gauge rising 0.77 per cent.

The broader 50-share NSE index Nifty ended higher by 1.80 points or 0.02 per cent at 10.791.65 against the previous close of 10,789.85.

The top gainers were IOC, Hindustan Petroleum, JSW Steel, BPCL and Vedanta Ltd, while the major losers were Kotak Mahindra Bank, GAIL, Reliance, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance.

According to traders, despite positive global cues, investor sentiment turned weak after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meet. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee noted the “weakened growth momentum” amidst inflation cooling off as the reason for the surprise rate cut earlier this month.

In his debut policy review as RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das argued that there was a need to look at growth concerns. “Growth impulses have weakened and there is a need to spur private investments and strengthen private consumption, especially in the wake of slowing global growth,” Das argued and voted for a rate cut.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 202.10 crore, and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) also bought shares worth a net Rs 55.48 crore on Thursday, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 5 paise to 71.19 against the US dollar intra-day.

(With inputs from PTI)

Bullion market

Gold prices fell by Rs 330 to Rs 34,500 per 10 gram at the bullion market here, tracking a weak trend overseas amid subdued demand from local jewellers, according to the All India Sarafa Association. Silver also followed suit and weakened by Rs 300 to Rs 41,360 per kg, owing to reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Read the bullion market report here

Reliance Group stocks rise

Shares of Anil Ambani-led Reliance group companies surge on Friday, with Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) climbing as much as 20.5 per cent to its highest since February 4.

Sluggish start to M&A deal activity

In the absence of big-ticket deals in January, the overall Merger & Acquisition (M&A) values fell 85 per cent in the month, recording $2.3 billion across 36 transactions. The focus in the current month was primarily on pharma, healthcare and biotech, manufacturing, IT and ITES, and banking and financial sectors for M&A transactions. Click here to read more on the merger & acquisition activity in January 2019

Top gainers and losers

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NSE

 

Broker's call

Anand Rathi

Gujarat Fluorochemicals (Buy)

CMP: ₹850.85

Target: ₹1,133

Gujarat Fluorochemicals (GFLC) has reported a growth of 27.9 per cent in its standalone revenues at ₹6,737 million in Q3-FY19 as against ₹5,268 million in Q3-FY18. We believe GFLC is on path to create a niche for itself in its fluorochemicals business and is better poised to explore markets for more value added products while continue to gain from its other diversified businesses. Read the Broker's call on GFLC here

Markets update

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was trading at 35,874, lower by 24.35 points or 0.07 per cent. The top loser was Kotak Mahindra Bank, trading lower by 3.41 per cent at Rs 1,244.95.

The broader NSE index Nifty was marginally down by 4.05 points or 0.04 per cent at 10,785.80.

Gold prices

Gold on path for second straight weekly gain. File Photo

Gold inched up as optimism over US-China trade talks pressured the dollar, but signs that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again this year kept prices below a 10-month high hit earlier this week. Meanwhile, palladium was up 0.3 per cent to $1,472.50 per ounce, having surpassed the key $1,500 level for the first time on February 20. Read the bullion market report here

Nifty Call

The Nifty 50 futures contract is finding it difficult to gain momentum beyond 10,800. The price action on the intraday chart leaves the possibility high for the contract to fall towards 10,740 or 10,720 in the near term. Go short with a stop-loss at 10,825. Read our Nifty Call for February futures here

Top gainers and losers

BSE

NSE

 

Markets update

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was trading at 35,837.04, lower by 61.31 or 0.17 per cent. The stock of Kotak Mahindra Bank was the major loser, trading lower by 3.41 per cent at Rs 1,244.95. The other stocks that dragged the index down were Reliance, HDFC Bank, ITC and IndusInd Bank.

The top five gainers were YES Bank, Vedanta Ltd, M&M, ONGC and Maruti. Sectorally, the realty stocks were lending support to the index, trading higher by 1.50 per cent, followed by auto and oil & gas.

The broader NSE index Nifty was trading at 10,779.05, lower by 10.80 points or 0.10 per cent. The top five gainers were IOC, Hindustan Petroleum, YES Bank, Vedanta Ltd and IBUL Housing Finance. The major losers were Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance, HDFC Bank, Cipla and UPL.

Brexit deal or no deal, the pound suffers

Against a stronger euro, the pound traded up 0.1 per cent at 88.58 pence after suffering its biggest daily decline.

Whether Theresa May gets her Brexit agreement or not, the pounds troubles look far from over. Even as the United Kingdom (UK) government makes a frantic push to secure a pact to ensure an orderly withdrawal from the European Union (EU), another threat is emerging for the currency: Britains faltering economy. Read more on the Brexit's impact on the UK economy and its currency pound

Jet Airways EGM

Jet Airways is yet to announce the outcome of the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Thursday, but minority shareholders are already raising questions on the company’s proposal to allow lenders to take control of the debt-laden airline.

The stocks of Jet Airways was trading at Rs 238.71, higher by 1.64 per cent in the BSE index Sensex

Broker's call

JMFL

Varun Beverages (Buy)

CMP: ₹806.3

Target: ₹900

Varun Beverages reported another strong quarter with domestic organic volume growth of 28 per cent, partly aided by phasing of festive season sales on a low base. The experts are excited about the company’s announcement of the acquisition of PepsiCo-operated territories of South & West India for a consideration of ₹1,850 crore; the deal is expected to close by March 19. Read our Broker's call on Varun Beverages here

Markets update

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was trading lower by 51.24 points or 0.14 per cent at 35,847.11. The index were primarily let down by the scrips of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance, HDFC Bank, HDFC and ITC. The positive zone was led by ICICI Bank, Maruti, M&M, TCS and Vedanta Ltd.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd sank to a three-week low after reports of a stake sale by ING Group. ING Group is looking to sell a 1.21 percent stake in the private-sector lender for over 28 bln rupees ($393.43 mln) via a block deal, BloombergQuint reported, citing bankers involved in the deal. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares posted their worst intraday fall since Dec. 10, giving up nearly 5 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, the oil and gas stocks were trading higher by 1.32 per cent followed by the telecom, realty and auto stocks were trading over 1.10 per cent (1.14, 1.12 and 1.18 per cent respectively).

The 50-share NSE index Nifty was trading lower 7.50 points or 0.07 per cent at 10,782.35. The top gainers were IOC, Hindustan Petroleum, Vedanta, BPCL, IBUL Housing Finance, while the scrips of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance, Cipla, HDFC Bank and Asian Paint were in the negative zone.

The two-day rally was just a pull-back and now the downtrend is back. It is more of a stock-specific movement on Friday as there are no fixed triggers now, said A.K. Prabhakar, head of research, IDBI Capital in Mumbai.

Financials accounted for half the losses on the NSE index due to a plunge in Kotak Mahindra shares, while energy shares also lost some momentum.

Reliance Industries Ltd was among the top laggards on the index, declining as much as 1.5 percent. Bucking the broader trend, shares of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance group companies rose, with Reliance Communications Ltd surging as much as 20.5 percent.

Anil Ambani is planning to use a payment from his elder brother's company and the sale of real estate assets to pay what he owes to Sweden's Ericsson following a court ruling this week, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

(With inputs from Reuters)

US stocks

Chip stocks hurt by Samsung warning, curb tech gains.

Weak economic reports pressured US stocks on Thursday after the market's recent run of gains, and a drop in healthcare shares added to the bearish momentum. A sharp slowdown in global growth, especially in China and Europe, along with fading fiscal stimulus and trade tensions have fuelled recent worries about the economy. Read the US stock market report here

Top losers and gainers

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NSE

 

Kotak Mahindra Bank at 3-week low

Shares in Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd fall nearly 5 per cent. File Photo

Shares in Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd fall nearly 5 per cent to Rs 1,225, its lowest in over three weeks. The stock posts biggest intraday fall since December 10; over 73 mn shares traded vs 30-day avg of 2.5 mn. More on the stock activity of Kotak Mahindra Bank here

ING Group is looking to sell 1.21 per cent stake  in the private-sector lender for over Rs 2,800 cr ($393.43 mn) via a block deal, sources said citing bankers involved in the deal.

Forex market

Dollar steady versus sterling, euro. File Photo

The dollar held gains against its peers, bolstered by a rise in US yields, while the Aussie clawed back some of its recent plunge on upbeat central bank comments and easing concerns about China's ban on Australian coal imports. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was little changed at 96.582 after edging up about 0.15 per cent overnight. Read the forex market report here

Markets update

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was trading at 35,891.22, lower by 7.13 points or 0.02 per cent. The major loser was Kotak Mahindra Bank, falling over 3 per cent in the early trade.

The top gainers were ICICI Bank, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, TCS and M&M while the major losers include HDFC Bank, Reliance, HDFC and ITC.

Among the sectoral indices, the auto stocks, oil & Gas, telecom and realty were trading over 1 per cent.

The 50-share NSE index Nifty was trading marginally higher by 2.85 points or 0.03 per cent at 10,793.60. The top gainers were IOC, IBUL Housing Finance, Hindustan Petroleum, BPCL and ONGC while the losers pack was led by Kotak Mahindra Bank, followed by Titan, Cipla, Hindalco and JSW Steel

Top gainers and losers

BSE

NSE

 

Commodities market

The IEA left its demand growth forecast for 2019 unchanged from its last report in January at 1.4 million barrels per day. File Photo

Oil prices fell after the US reported its crude output hit a record 12 million barrels per day (bpd), undermining efforts by the West Asia dominated producer club, OPEC, to withhold supply and tighten global markets. US crude oil production reached 12 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time last week. Click here to read more on the commodities market report here

Currency market

The near-term outlook remains negative for the rupee

The Rupee inched up 2 paise to 71.22 against the US dollar in early trade amid a dip in crude oil prices and fresh foreign fund inflows. At the forex market, the local unit opened almost flat at 71.23 and stayed in a narrow range. More on the rupee market report here

Markets update

Benchmark indices started on a negative note as investors turned cautious after the release of the minutes of RBI’s last policy meet, in which governor Shaktikanta Das argued the need to look at growth concerns. Besides, subdued cues from other Asian markets too weighed on investor sentiment here

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was trading lower by 65.87 points or 0.18 per cent at 35,832.48. The index was majorily dragged down by the stocks of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance, L&T and ITC. While the top gainers were ICICI bank, YES Bank, Hindustan Unilever, IndusInd and Maruti.

Sectorally, the telecom stocks were trading higher by 1.05 per cent, followed by realty stocks.

The broader index Nifty was trading lower by 20.30 points or 0.19 per cent at 10,769.55.

The top gainers were IBUL Housing Finance, IOC, Hindustan Petroleum, BPCL and YES Bank while the major losers were Kotak Mahindra Bank, JSW Steel, L&T, GAIL and NTPC.

According to traders, investor sentiment turned weak after the RBI released the minutes of its last monetary policy meet. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has noted the “weakened growth momentum” amidst inflation cooling off to lower the key policy rates to create a “congenial environment” for growth as the reasons for the surprise rate cut earlier this month.

In his debut policy review as RBI governor Shaktikanta Das argued that there was a need to look at growth concerns.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 202.10 crore, and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) also bought shares worth a net of Rs 55.48 crore on Thursday, provisional data available with BSE showed. Domestic investors also tracked weak cues from global markets, traders said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Asian markets

Early in the Asian trading day, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up less than 0.1 per cent. File Photo

Shares in Asia were flat in early trade following a fall on Wall Street, with a deteriorating global economic outlook outweighing more signs of progress in trade talks between China and the United States. Early in the Asian trading day, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up less than 0.1 per cent. Read the Asian markets report here

Stocks in focus

Torrent Power on Thursday said that Life Insurance Corporation has reduced its stake in the company by 2.04 percentage points. Following the sale, the holding of LIC has come down to 3.808 per cent from 5.848 per cent. The sale took place between December 18, 2018 and February 20, 2019. As of end of December 2018, LIC had 5.47 per cent stake in the company, while 154 FPIs held 7.06 per cent. The Government of Gujarat holds 1.47 per cent in Torrent Power.

Ashoka Buildcon on Thursday said its subsidiary Ashoka Concessions has emerged as the lowest bidder at ₹1,382 crore for an NHAI project in Karnataka. The bid is for a road project to build a 56-km highway stretch under the hybrid annuity mode. While the government will provide 40 per cent of the project cost to start the work, the remaining investment will be brought in by the developer. Shareholders will monitor the execution of the project.

Hinduja Global Solutions may remain in focus at the bourses, as Fidelity has accumulated its shares from the open market. Bulk deal data with the BSE and the NSE showed Fidelity Funds for its Asian Smaller Companies Pool bought 1.56 lakh shares and 1.20 lakh shares, respectively, at ₹591 a share. The identity of the sellers was not known immediately. Currently, 76 FPIs hold 8.37 per cent in the company. Among them is Bridge India Fund that holds 2.28 per cent.

Opening bell

The 30-share BSE index Sensex opened in red at 35,844.32, lower by 54.03 points or 0.15 per cent against the previous close of 35,898.35. The broader NSE index Nifty also opened in red at 10,766.30, lower by 23.55 points or 0.22 per cent

Day Trading Guide

Given below are supports and resistances for Nifty 50 futures and seven key stocks that can help in your intra-day trading:

₹2115 • HDFC Bank

₹733 • Infosys

₹274 • ITC

₹147 • ONGC

₹1246 • Reliance Ind.

₹267 • SBI

₹1912 • TCS

10804 • Nifty 50 Futures

S1, S2 : Support 1 & 2; R1, R2: Resistance 1 & 2.

Today's Pick

(file photo)

We recommend a buy in the stock of Ashoka Buildcon at the current levels of ₹121.1. The stock has breached its 21-DMA and has alsoclosed above the key resistance level of ₹120. It has potential to trend upwards and reach the price targets of ₹126 and ₹129 in the upcoming sessions. Read our stock recommendation and the stock activity of Ashoka Buildcon here

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