August F&O expiry: Sensex slips 33 pts; ADAG stocks rally, Rupee at 70.82/$

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto index settled nearly 0.5 per cent lower due to a fall in share prices of Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors.

4:26 PM

MARKET COMMENT Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking

Nifty ended flat amid volatility on the F&O expiry day, while rollover and unwinding of derivatives positions kept the participants busy. In line with the benchmark index, sectoral indices also remained volatile and ended mixed.

We expect consolidation in Nifty ahead. However, there'll be no shortage of opportunities on stock-specific front. In absence of any major event on domestic front, global cues would dictate the market trend in near future. Traders should continue with stock-specific trading approach and prefer banks, auto and pharma for fresh buying.

3:38 PM

Nifty sectoral gainers and losers of the day

3:36 PM

BSE Sensex: RIL, Maruti Suzuki, IndusInd Bank among top losers of the day

3:34 PM

Market at close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,690, down 33 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,677, down 15 points.

3:15 PM

ITI surges 20% on work order win of Rs 66.34 billion from BSNL

Shares of ITI surged 20% to Rs 112 on the BSE after the company said it has received an advance work order (AWO) worth of Rs 66.34 billon from BSNL. READ MORE

3:04 PM

Broadband, OTT challenge for media companies; Cable firms to be hit most

The Nifty Media is the second worst performing index among sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), falling nine per cent over the past year. In comparison, the general benchmark Nifty 50, trading at all-time highs, has gained 18 per cent during the period. READ MORE

3:02 PM

Kotak Institutional Equities maintains SELL on Reliance Industries

Our reverse valuation exercise suggests that investors have not only priced in a robust energy segment performance in RIL’s current valuations, but also ascribed the EV of leading players in key sectors that are being targeted by RIL’s platform narrative—Bharti’s India business (telecom), Avenue Supermarts (retail), Flipkart (e-commerce) and key players in the media sector (content ecosystem). The recent sharp rally leaves limited scope for disappointment on that narrative, which may not be ruled out given well-funded competition in key segments. Reiterate SELL.

RIL is valued at $91 billion (Rs 6 lakh crore)

2:46 PM

Gold edges down as rate hike views dent appeal

Gold prices inched lower on Thursday as the dollar firmed amid expectations of higher US interest rates, but the precious metal continued to hold above a key support level of $1,200.

 

Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $1,202.02 an ounce, while US gold futures were down 0.3 per cent at $1,207.80 an ounce. READ MORE

2:29 PM

Bosch hits over 10-month high; stock surges 16% in two days

Shares of Bosch hit an over 10-month high of Rs 21,881, up 9% on Thursday in intra-day trade, extending its Wednesday’s 6.5% rally on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market. READ MORE

2:16 PM

IL&FS group plans to shed 37% debt, board approves asset divestment plan

Faced with overleverage and tight liquidity conditions, the IL&FS group has firmed up plans to shed its debt by 37.5 per cent, or by Rs 300 billion, to Rs 500 billion by divesting 25 projects over 12-18 months. The board of directors has approved the specific asset divestment plan, the company said. Two-third of debt will be from IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd (ITNL). READ MORE

2:02 PM

Market Check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	38,643.17	-79.76	-0.21
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	12,216.34	-24.25	-0.20
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	35,511.14	+164.10	+0.46
S&P BSE 100	11,997.48	-11.66	-0.10
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,736.26	+18.04	+0.49

(Source: BSE)

1:44 PM

NBCC: Analysts awaiting a pick-up in project execution and share price

NBCC has seen its market capitalisation erode by nearly half since November 2017 highs, despite a healthy and growing order book. The key reason for the weak Street sentiment is that execution has not matched the rising order book, which is also reflecting in the firm’s flat revenues and earnings growth for fiscal year 2018. READ MORE

1:31 PM

HDFC Bank shares lose flavour as FPIs preferring other private lenders

HDFC Bank, once the most popular stock among foreign investors, seems to be losing ground. The stock had opened for fresh foreign portfolio investor (FPI) buying in June this year, as allotment of employee share options (Esops) created a 140 basis points (bps) headroom in the share. READ MORE

1:16 PM

Is your mutual fund too expensive? Avoid paying above-average fees

At the Business Standard Fund Café 2018, U K Sinha, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said that the mutual fund industry in India is one of the most expensive globally and it must bring down the cost of investing. READ MORE

1:04 PM

Select PSU banks gain; Dena Bank, UCO Bank up over 5%

Shares of select public sector undertaking (PSU) banks were trading higher by up to 11% on the BSE on the report that the government has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare a list of suitable banks for merger. READ MORE

12:46 PM

Margin pressure and rich valuation near-term concerns for Pidilite

Pidilite Industries (Pidilite) posted good numbers in the June quarter (Q1), with comparable consolidated topline and net profit growing 23 per cent and 6.3 per cent year-on-year, to Rs 18.2 billion and Rs 2.4 billion, respectively. READ MORE

12:32 PM

Top losers in BSE 500:

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)
UFLEX	306.20	-16.10	-5.00
KWALITY	20.99	-1.10	-4.98
SECURITY & INTEL	1058.95	-45.80	-4.15
INTERGLOBE AVIAT	932.50	-37.05	-3.82
SPICEJET	78.40	-2.90	-3.57

12:13 PM

JSW Steel hits new high; market-cap nears Rs 1-trillion

Shares of JSW Steel hit a new high of Rs 409, up 2%, extending its Wednesday’s 9% surge on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the announcement of its entry in Nifty 50 index from September 28. READ MORE

12:00 PM

Markets at noon

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	38,684.02	-38.91	-0.10
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	12,227.68	-12.91	-0.11
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	35,541.90	+194.86	+0.55
S&P BSE 100	12,008.42	-0.72	-0.01
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,730.96	+12.74	+0.34

11:45 AM

Hindustan National Glass zooms 53% in three days on debt resolution plan

 

Hindustan National Glass & Industries was locked in upper circuit of 20% for the second straight session at Rs 127 on the BSE after the company announced the resolution plan/compromise offer for the settlement of dues.

 

In the past three days, the stock has zoomed 53% from Rs 83 on August 27, 2018, as compared 0.5% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ MORE

11:30 AM

Nifty Bank index falls over 0.5%; top losers in the pack

11:15 AM

Greaves Cotton to acquire electric vehicle company Ampere; stock surges 12%

 

Shares of Greaves Cotton hit a 52-week high of Rs 165 per share, up 12% on the BSE in an otherwise rang bound market after the company said it will acquire a majority stake in Coimbatore-based electric vehicle (EV) company Ampere Vehicles.

 

The stock was trading close to its all-time high of Rs 178 touched on May 4, 2017, on the BSE in intra-day trade. READ MORE

11:00 AM

IDBI Bank to file insolvency case against Reliance Naval with NCLT

 

IDBI Bank will file insolvency applications against Reliance Naval and Engineering (R-Naval) with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bench in Ahmedabad in the next few days.

 

This is a sequel to the Reserve Bank of India’s 180-day general deadline to resolve around 70 large stressed corporate accounts having ended this Monday, said two sources. READ MORE

10:45 AM

Airline shares extend fall as oil prices rise

 

Shares of airline companies have fallen up to 5% on the BSE in early morning trade on Thursday, extending their Wednesday’s decline on rise in crude oil prices.

 

InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo), Jet Airways and SpiceJet were trading in the range of 3% to 5%, as compared to a marginal 0.1% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. All these stocks are trading near to their respective 52-week lows, had fallen up to 6% on yesterday. READ MORE

10:30 AM

UTI MF case: T Rowe Price shares reason to hold back court petition for now

 

The US-based asset manager T Rowe Price withdrew its writ petition in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday with the right to re-file it at a future date.

 

In a response to Business Standard, Edward Giltenan, official spokesperson for T Rowe Price, said, “We now have increasing confidence that they (PSU shareholders) are taking steps to comply with Indian law and regulations regarding divestment of their stakes in UTI and moving towards an eventual IPO of the firm.” READ MORE

10:15 AM

ICICI Bank tells Sebi it was unaware of conflict of interest

 

ICICI Bank has denied charges of violation of disclosure norms levelled against it by the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Responding to a Sebi show cause notice issued on May 23, the bank said it was not aware of the alleged conflict of interest situation and hence couldn’t make any disclosures required under the listing regulations, it is learnt. READ MORE

10:00 AM

Maket check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	38,679.32	-43.61	-0.11
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	12,224.54	-16.05	-0.13
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	35,393.13	+46.09	+0.13
S&P BSE 100	11,998.14	-11.00	-0.09
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,722.97	+4.75	+0.13

9:45 AM

Analysts cautious on road construction stocks despite govt's infra push

 

Construction of roads across the country has yet again assumed importance with the latest Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) annual report for 2017 – 18 expecting the Indian economy to look up further going ahead, aided partly by infrastructure spending.

 

The government’s focus over the past few years, according to A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, has been on infrastructure, especially roads and rail. Companies, he says, have also benefitted from the new contract awarding system – the hybrid annuity model (HAM) – that ensures the capital is not stuck for a long duration in a particular project. READ MORE

9:30 AM

INTERVIEW OF THE DAY Few stocks going up due to flight to safety, says MD of Sundaram MF

 

Inflows into equity mutual funds (MFs) have continued to remain strong in recent days. Sunil Subramaniam, MD of Sundaram MF, says fund managers are deploying incremental liquidity into select large caps. Subramaniam spoke to Samie Modak ahead of the launch of the new fund offer (NFO) of Sundaram Services Fund. Read full interview here

(Photo courtesy: myrokra.com)

9:20 AM

Nifty sectoral trend