Sensex slumps 430 points as bank stocks drag

Markets close :  The BSE benchmark Sensex saw a sudden plunge in last hour of trade and nosedived nearly 430 points to close at a nearly three-month low of 33,317 after bank stocks came under heavy selling pressure despite positive global cues. The NSE Nifty too fell over 109 points to 10,249.25, erasing all its early gains.

Bank shares felt the heat following reports that ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive Chanda Kochhar and her Axis Bank counterpart Shikha Sharma have been summoned by the SFIO in the PNB fraud matter.

Banking stocks led by SBI, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Federal Bank and Yes Bank fell as much as 2.77 per cent.

Sentiment was further dampened after the RBI yesterday said it had imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Axis Bank for violation of NPA classification norms and Rs 2 crore on Indian Overseas Bank for not complying with the KYC regulations.

The 30-share index Sensex commenced on a strong note at 34,047.43 and advanced to a high of 34,060.13, tracking a firm trend in other Asian markets. It, however, slipped into a negative zone towards the fag-end to hit a low of 33,209.76 as participants booked profits at improved levels. The gauge finally settled 429.58 points, or 1.27 per cent, lower at 33,317.20.

This was the lowest closing for the Sensex since December 14 when it had finished at 33,246.70 and also the biggest single day fall since February 6, when it had lost 561.22.

Overall, in the last five straight sessions, the index has lost nearly 1,129 points.

The NSE Nifty after reclaiming the key 10,400-mark touched a high of 10,441.35 in early trade but later slipped into negative zone to hit a low of 10,215.90. It finally settled at 10,249.25, showing a sizeable loss of 109.60 points, or 1.06 per cent.

Barring Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HeroMotoCorp and Coal India, all the Sensex constituents ended in the red. Sun Pharm (-3.19%), SBI (-3.15%), ICICI Bank (-2.71%), M&M (-2.57%), Axis Bank (-2.42%), Bharti Airtel (-2.18%), Maruti (-2.03%) and Reliance (-1.96%) were the top losers. All the BSE sectoral indices ended down with losses of up to 1.68 per cent.

On the NSE Nifty, 41 stocks declined against 9 that advanced.

Meanwhile, Asian markets turned positive today and Europe too opened higher amid easing of concerns over a potential trade war triggered by the comments of US President Donald Trump with regard to tariffs on steel and aluminum.  -- Agencies

Jubilant FoodWorks has entered into a joint venture agreement with Golden Harvest QSR Ltd to launch Domino’s Pizza in Bangladesh.  Jubilant FoodWorks is a master franchise holder of Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts brands in India. It also has exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza brand in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The company will hold 51 per cent stake in the joint venture entity -- Jubilant Golden Harvest Ltd -- while Golden Harvest QSR Ltd, a part of the Golden Harvest Group, will own the remaining stake. At about 3 pm, Jubilant Foodworks  shares were quoting 0.11 per cent higher at Rs 2,003.70 on the BSE.

CT12_DOMINOS

Private sector lender Bandhan Bank has received markets regulator SEBI’s go ahead to raise an estimated Rs 2,500 crore through an initial share sale. The Kolkata-based bank had filed draft papers with SEBI on January 1 and obtained “observations” from the regulator on February 28, as per the latest update with the markets watchdog. Read more

The government will tomorrow pitch for a sovereign rating upgrade with global agency Fitch, highlighting reform push in taxation and PSU banks and its plans to gradually lower government debt. According to sources, representatives from Fitch are scheduled to meet Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and other finance ministry officials on March 7. Read more

Fiel photo of the Fitch Ratings logo.

The domestic share indices succumbed to selling pressure and slipped into negative territory in late afternoon trade. At about 2.15 pm, the Sensex was trading down 0.18 per cent or 59.93 points at 33,686.85. Similarly, the NSE Nifty too was down  9.25 points or 0.09 per cent at 10,349.60.  Selling in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, TCS and M&M dragged the Sensex down. HDFC, IndusInd Bank and Infosys lent some support.  Among BSE sectoral indices, Realty (-0.45 per cent), Bankex (-0.32 per cent) and Auto (-0.25 per cent) were the top losers.  On the Nifty, 24 stocks advanced against 26 that declined.

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in Mumbai is set to quiz top honchos of private lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank for their loan exposure to Gitanjali Group, which is controlled by fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi. Read more

The Gitanjali Group office at MIDC Andheri in Mumbai (File photo)

Bharti Airtel and Gulf Bridge International (GBI), a cloud provider for the West Asia and Europe, on Tuesday have agreed to unlock the capacity on GBI’s India-West Asia-Europe submarine cable system. Read more

The various issues under the much touted MCLR structure had led the RBI back to the drawing board, looking at plausible external benchmark rates, in place of bank-specific benchmarks. Citi India is now the first to launch a home loan product linked to the 3-month Government of India Treasury Bill benchmark rate. Read more

Nifty 50 March Futures (10,403)

The Nifty 50 futures, after bouncing back from a low of 10,320 on Monday, opened with a wide gap-up today, easing downside pressure further. With this upward reversal, the broader 10,300-10,650 sideways range within which the index futures has been trading for a month, remains intact. Read more

Shares edged higher and were headed for their first winning session in five, tracking stronger Asian equities, with gains spread across most sectors. Asian markets rebounded from near three-week lows as concerns eased over Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.3 per cent.

“Global cues are taken into consideration, but markets are generally consolidating,” said Rakesh Tarway, head of research at Reliance Securities.

“Markets have already discounted most domestic fundamental triggers the Nifty is rangebound at 10,300 - 10,700 in the near-term. The next point is the March-quarter corporate results which is expected to be good.”

The broader NSE index was up 0.44 per cent or 45 points at 10,403.95 at about 12.45 pm, while the benchmark BSE index was 0.31 per cent or 105.15 points higher at 33,851.93

NSE index was trading below the 100-day exponential moving average, having closed below it for the first time in six sessions on Monday. However, it is above the 200-day exponential moving average of 10,100.37.

The Nifty Metal index surged as much as 2.4 per cent, recouping some of Monday's losses. At about 12.45 pm, the index was up 1.13 per cent. Jindal Steel was up 2.44 per cent and was the top gainer on the Metal index.

Steel and aluminium stocks climbed, with National Aluminium Co Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd rising as much as 3.05 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively, recovering some of their losses in the previous session.

Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index fell 0.56 per cent, with Bank of India down 2 per cent. IOC and BPCL were trading over 2.5 per cent during the session. 

(with inputs from Agencies)

DSP BlackRock Trustee Co has trimmed its stake in apparel brand Indian Terrain Fashions by 1.70 per cent after selling 6.46 lakh shares in the open market. As per a BSE filing, DSP BlackRock Trustee Co, on behalf of various schemes of DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund, decreased its shareholding in the company on March 1.  Read more

The number of women managers may be small in the industry, but they have generated solid returns, according to a study by Morningstar India. Read more

The CBI today detained Vipul Chitalia, the Vice-President of Gitanjali Group of Companies, as a part of its probe into the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, an official said. Chitalia was apprehended at Mumbai airport and brought to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office at the Bandra-Kurla Complex here for questioning, he said, but did not divulge any other details about Chitalia’s alleged role in the PNB fraud. Read more

The Sensex and the Nifty continued to trade in positive territory in late morning trade, but off their morning highs.  At about 11.20 am, the Sensex was up 94 points or 0.28 per cent at 33,840.83. Similarly, the NSE Nifty was up 35.30 points or 0.34 per cent at 10,394.15.

Bank Nifty was trading flat with half the constituents trading down. Losers included Canara Bank (-1.25%), SBI (-0.80%), Bank of Baroda (-0.58%), ICICI Bank (-0.43%), PNB (-0.15%), and HDFC Bank (-0.09%).  IndusInd Bank and YES Bank gained by up to 2 per cent.

Sensex 30 shares at 11.20 am on March 6

The Nifty Metal index was up 0.76 per cent. Tata Steel rose by 1.83 per cent. Nalco was up 1.49 per cent. Vedanta (+1.36%) and Jindal Steel (+1.26%).

A Reuters report today said BPCL has bought 2 million barrels of crude for April.  The state-owned company bought 1 million barrels of Russian Urals and 1 million barrels of Iraqi Basra Light for April delivery in a tender that closed last week, the report said. Price details and sellers were not immediately known. BPCL last bought BPCL last bought 1 million barrels of Urals and 2 million barrels of Basra Light for April earlier this month. BPCL  shares were quoting at Rs 442, up Rs 7.65 or  1.76 per cent.

Shares of Gitanjali Gems cracked another 5 per cent in morning trade on bourses today after the CBI said that the PNB fraud was going on since 2010. The CBI, on Monday, said the violation of norms for issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) to benefit billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had been going on since 2010. Read more

Shares of Gitanjali Gems slumped 5 per cent, to hit its 52-week low of Rs 19.30.

The ₹44-crore buyback offer of Gandhi Special Tubes (GST) opens for subscription today and closes on March 19.  Read more

The number of companies in which promoters pledged their shares increased to 3,062 at the end of February, from 2,991 in January, according to BSE data. However, the value of shares pledged by promoters of BSE-listed companies declined 6.88 per cent to ₹2.54 lakh crore (₹2.72 lakh crore), mainly due to a sharp fall in the share prices of most companies. In February, the BSE 500 index fell by 4.3 per cent. Read more

At about 10.10 am, the Sensex was trading 175 points or 0.52 per cent higher at 33,921.70. Similarly, the NSE Nifty was up 52.10 points or 0.5 per cent at 10,410.95.

The 30-share index had lost 698.97 points in the previous four sessions.

Among the Sensex 30, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, YES Bank and Dr Reddy's were the top gainers.

The top Sensex losers were:

All the BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green. Metal and consumer durables led the rally with gains of up to 1.41 per cent.

According to brokers, value buying in beaten-down stocks and a firm trend at other Asian bourses aided gains in key indices after four days of losses. Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 154.20 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold shares of Rs 366.60 crore yesterday.

The rupee rose by 17 paise to 64.95 against the US dollar in opening trade today on mild selling of the greenback by exporters and a higher opening in the domestic equity market. At about 9.50 am, the rupee was quoting at 64.98, up by 14 paise.

Read more

The dollar gained against most major global currencies as concerns over a global trade war eased

Currency outlook

Strong dollar continues to keep the rupee under pressure. The US dollar index surged, breaking above the key resistance level of 90.55 and tested 91 last week. The dollar index, however, fell back from the high to below 90.55 again after US President Donald Trump announced import tariffs on steel and aluminium.  Read more

Rupee trading levels

Today's Pick

Investors with a short-term view can sell the stock of JSW Steel at current levels. The medium-term uptrend that began in December 2017 low of ₹237 encountered resistance at ₹320 in late February this year.  Read more

The daily price rate of change indicator is featuring in the negative territory implying selling interest.

Day Trading Guide for March 6

[Click on link to read full view]

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

10365 • Nifty 50 Futures

₹1872 • HDFC Bank

The delisting offer to the shareholders of Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols (from Ganpatraj L Chowdhary, promoter) opens on Tuesday and closes on March 12.  Read more

The Sensex opened 300 points higher at 34,047.43 on the back of firm Asian trend.  Similarly, the NSE Nifty gained 61.50 points to open at 10,420.50.

On Monday, the NSE Nifty dropped 99.50 points to close at 10,359 following a sharp selling mainly in metal, energy, auto and FMCG counters.

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