Closing bell: Equity benchmark Sensex plunged over 1,700 points at the end of trade on Wednesday as global markets failed to hold on to early gains and resumed their downward spiral.

The rupee too receded from morning highs depreciating 5 paise to 74.29 against US dollar.

Investor gloom returned despite signals of massive stimulus packages by federal governments, traders said.

The 30-share index ended 1,709.58 points, or 5.59 per cent, lower at 28,869.51. The BSE index hit an intra-day low of 28,613.05 and a high of 31,101.77.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty dropped 425.55 points to end at 8,541.50. During the day, the bourse hit a low of 8,407.05 and a high of 9,127.55.

In the Nifty pack, Zee, Yes Bank, ITC, Tata Steel and TCS ended up to 26.22 per cent higher. On the other hand Bajaj Finserve, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Bharti Infratel and IndusInd Bank shedded up to 24.58 per cent.

The market breadth was negative as 1,989 shares declined against advance of 392 shares, while 151 shares were unchanged.

According to traders, domestic equities failed to hold on to early gains as concerns over an economic recession continued to hammer investor sentiment.

Market participants were on edge as slowdown fear is leading company heads to plead for billions in government help to prevent them going under, experts said.

Sectoral indices at close

Karur Vysya Bank enters into bullion biz

Private lender Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) on Wednesday announced its entry into the bullion business.

The bank in a statement said that the gems and jewellery business is an important part of India’s economy and KVB is now in a position to enhance its support to this important industry.

As a trial base, the bank delivered its first shipment to clients in Chennai and Coimbatore recently. It is now in the process of ramping up the business to fully extend support to its existing set of customers across the nation, it said.

IndusInd Bank scrip down over 31 per cent; lender says it is well capitalised

The IndusInd Bank scrip fell by over 31 per cent in intra-day trade on BSE on Wednesday amidst investor concerns over small and mid-sized private sector lenders, in the wake of the YES Bank crisis.

The scrip, down 31.86 per cent, was trading at Rs 411.75 apiece in afternoon trade. Read more here

Investment via SIP rises 5.2% to over Rs 8,500 cr in February

The mutual fund industry garnered over Rs 8,500 crore through systematic investment plans (SIPs) in February, a rise of 5.2 per cent from the year-ago period, even as the broader market witnessed heavy volatility amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus pandemic.

With this, the total SIP contribution in the first 11 months of the current financial year rose to Rs 91,443 crore as compared with Rs 84,638 crore in April-February 2018-19, according to the latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).

Cipla and CSIR-IICT to develop drugs to treat Covid-19

Pharmaceutical company Cipla has come forward to engage with CSIR-IICT to take up manufacture of three promising chemical compounds with anti-viral properties, to treat Covid-19.

It has sought the help of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology to make the active pharma ingredients (APIs) for manufacturing them. Read more here

Covid19 scare: As cancellations rise, future looks grim for hospitality

The coronavirus pandemic has greatly impacted the Indian hospitality industry, with cancellations going up to 75 per cent. The overall business and summer holiday bookings are likely to be impacted by 25 per cent on a year-on-year basis, according to industry estimates.

According to Megha Tuli, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Hotelivate, the hospitality industry is likely to see an impact of “20-25 per cent the business on an annualised basis.”

Nifty Call: Sell on rallies with a fixed stop-loss

Taking bullish cues from the US markets and the positive opening of the Asian markets, the domestic indices - the Sensex and the Nifty -- started the session with an upward gap. But, eventual decline in the Asian markets, have triggered a sell-off and the Sensex and the Nifty have slumped over 4 per cent each so far. The Nikkei 225 index has declined 1.6 per cent and Hang Seng index has plunged 3.6 per cent in today's session.

The market breadth of the Nifty is towards declines. The India VIX has gained 1.2 per cent at 63.7 levels. Both the Nifty mid and small-cap indices have plummeted 5.8 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively. All the sectoral indices are trading in the negative territory, dragged by Nifty private bank index which has nose-dived 7.7 per cent.

NIFTY BANK CHART

NIFTY INDEX CHART

Snowman Logistics ties up with global e-commerce giant for perishable FMCG delivery

Snowman Logistics has partnered with a global e-commerce giant for the delivery of FMCG perishables including vegetables, fruits, eggs, frozen food and groceries. Read more here

India TV shipments rise 15% to 15 million units in 2019

Driven by rising demand for affordable smart television sets, shipments of TVs in India grew 15 per cent annually to reach the highest-ever level of 15 million units in 2019, according to a report by Counterpoint’s TV Tracker service.

This was mainly driven by budget smart TVs, with 32-inch TVs leading the segment and penetrating sub-$150 price bands. Read more here

RBI may cut key interest rates by 175 bps in FY21: Fitch Solutions

Fitch Solutions on Wednesday said it expects the Reserve Bank of India to cut key interest rates by 175 basis points during the fiscal year starting April 1, up from earlier estimate of 40 bps reduction, to combat the economic shock from the coronavirus outbreak.

It forecast India’s real GDP growth to pick up slightly to 5.4 per cent in 2020-21, from its estimate of 4.9 per cent in the current fiscal.

“We at Fitch Solutions now expect the RBI to cut its key policy rates by 175bps by end-FY2020/21 (April-March), versus 40bps previously,” it said.

Altico lenders approve SSG Capital’s resolution plan

The lenders to Altico Capital India Ltd (ACIL) have unanimously approved Hong Kong-based SSG Capital’s resolution plan. The offer includes an upfront cash offer of ₹2,754 crore and certain security receipts/pass through certificates.

The resolution process, led by SBI Capital Markets as advisor and SBI as lead bank, envisages the recovery of around 78 per cent of debt, said SBI Cap. Read more here

Markets update: Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 500 points in opening session on Wednesday as global markets turned positive on hopes of stimulus packages by governments world over to cushion the economic blow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, invertors began booking profits pushing the BSE barometer in the red. At 10 am , the index pared all gains to trade 477.82 points or 1.56 per cent lower at 30,101.27 after jumping 522,68 points at open.

Similarly, after spiking over 160 points, the NSE Nifty was at 103.75 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 8,863.30.

In the previous session, the Sensex closed 810.98 points or 2.58 per cent lower at 30,579.09, while the Nifty slumped 230.35 points or 2.50 per cent to finish at 8,967.05.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 4,044.69 crore on Tuesday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, Kotak Bank, and Bajaj Finance were the top laggards, while YES Bank, Zee, Sun Pharma, Vedanta, and Infosys were among the gainers.

FII activity: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 4,044.69 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Granules to turn ex-date for buyback

Shares of Granules India will turn ex-date on Thursday for the proposed ₹250-crore buyback. The Hyderabad-based company plans to buy back up to 1.25 crore shares at ₹200 apiece.

As the buyback is proposed to be made to all existing shareholders as on the record date (March 20) on proportionate basis under the tender offer route, shareholders wishing to participate in the buyback need to own the company’s shares by Wednesday. Shares of Granules closed at ₹150.

S&P lowers India’s growth forecast to 5.2% in 2020

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday lowered India’s economic growth forecast to 5.2 per cent for 2020, saying the global economy is entering a recession amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency had earlier projected a growth rate of 5.7 per cent during the 2020 calendar.

Asia-Pacific economic growth in 2020 will more than halve to less than 3 per cent as the “global economy enters a recession”, S&P said in a statement.

Broker's call: Strides Pharma (Hold)

Strides Pharma science is an R&D-focussed, vertically integrated pharmaceutical company with an experienced management team and presence across multiple therapeutic segments.

Strides posted a 22 per cent growth in revenues in Q3FY20 (excluding Australia business which was shut down in FY19), led by strong performance in the US. Read more on recommendation here

Opening bell: The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, opened the week in the green. At 9.16 am, the Sensex was quoted at 30,950.59, up 371 points or 1.21 per cent. The Nifty was up 153 points or 0.29 per cent at 9,120.35.

Day Trading Guide for March 18, 2020

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

₹975 • HDFC Bank

₹555 • Infosys

₹149 • ITC

₹60 • ONGC

₹1008 • Reliance Ind.

₹214 • SBI

₹1658 • TCS

8915 • Nifty 50 Futures

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

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (₹216.9): Buy

Investors with a short-term perspective can buy Hindustan Petroleum Corporation at current levels. The stock has advanced 6 per cent accompanied by above average volume on Tuesday, breaching a key immediate resistance at ₹213 and its 21-DMA decisively. Read more here