Nifty settles December F&O expiry below 10500, Sensex ends marginally lower

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3:44 PM

Top Sectoral gainer: Nifty Realty

Source: NSE

3:43 PM

Sectoral trend

Source: NSE

3:40 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

Source: BSE

3:38 PM

Broader Markets

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smacap indices ended 0.1% and 0.3% higher

3:37 PM

Markets at Close

Benchmark indices ended marginally lower on Thursday on expiry of derivatives contracts and on lingering concerns over government borrowing exceeding target, but metals stocks such as Vedanta rose tracking global commodity prices.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 33,848, down 63 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,477, down 12 points

3:23 PM

Stake Buy

Steel Strips Wheels said Kalink Company had acquired 13,015 equity shares of the company during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 through open market under foreign portfolio investment. The date of purchase of shares was November 30.

 

Kalink is also holding 2,09,525 equity shares in the company, which had been subscribed under foreign direct investment on June 10, 2016.

3:15 PM

Buzzing stock

Monnet Ispat shares jumped nearly 13% intraday after a media report indicated that Aion Capital and JSW Steel submitted a Rs 3,500-crore resolution plan.

 

Monnet Ispat, which has debt worth more than Rs 10,000 crore, is among the first 12 cases identified by the Reserve Bank of India under insolvency and bankruptcy code.

3:06 PM

TCS faces class-action suit in US over alleged anti-American bias

 

Information technology (IT) services major Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) is facing a legal trial in the US over claims of its alleged biased against American workers, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

 

According to the report, TCS' request to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit that accused it of violating anti-discrimination laws by favouring South Asians was rejected by a federal judge in California. Further, in an additional setback for the company, on behalf of American workers who lost their jobs at TCS offices in the US, the federal judge expanded the case into a class-action suit, the report added.  READ MORE

2:54 PM

Buzzing in trade

Nahar Capital & Financial Services fell 7.44% to Rs 204 on BSE on profit booking after a recent rally.

 

On the BSE, 44,000 shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 48,000 shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 227 so far during the day, which is also a record high for the counter. The stock had hit a low of Rs 200.55 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 88.65 on 5 January 2017.

2:30 PM

RCom rally continues

Reliance Communications surged 16 percent now, taking total three consecutive days' gains to more than 105%. The rally is after Anil Dhirubhai Ambani announced mega debt restructuring plan for the company that has debt of Rs 45,000 crore.

2:17 PM

Metals rise

Metals stocks climbed as copper prices extended gains to hit a near four-year high after a jump in China’s imports of the metal boosted expectations of stronger demand from the top consumer.

 

Vedanta rose as much as 2.7%, and was on track for a third straight session of gains.

2:01 PM

Market Check at 2 pm

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	33,970.74	+58.93	+0.17
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,960.27	+22.36	+0.20
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	36,755.15	+111.01	+0.30
S&P BSE 100	11,008.76	+24.25	+0.22
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,778.58	+0.35	+0.01

1:45 PM

What top global brokerages forecast for Indian markets in 2018:
 

With the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty rising over 30% each in 2017, most global brokerages are of the view that the bull run would continue in 2018. They forecast the benchmark Nifty to deliver returns of 10-15% by December 2018 on supportive global economic growth, and gradual improvement in business sentiment. The returns will mostly be in line with growth in corporate earnings in the 2018 calendar year, they suggest.

 

Top global brokerage Goldman Sachs is of the view that the Nifty50 will touch 11,600 by December 2018. It pegs earnings growth at 18% and 17% for CY18 and CY19, respectively.

 

Click here to find out what top brokerages’ forecast for Indian markets in 2018

1:30 PM

In Q4, SBI to raise Rs 8,000-cr capital via AT1 bonds

 

State Bank of India plans to raise capital worth Rs 8,000 crore through additional tier-I bonds (AT1 bonds) by March 2018.

 

The board of directors of the country’s largest lender has given a nod to raise additional tier-I capital (AT1) of Rs 8,000 crore through Basel-III-compliant debt instruments, SBI informed the BSE.

 

The lender has an option to issue bonds, in domestic and international markets in rupee and US dollar, till March 31, 2018. The bank could also issue masala bonds to international investors for raising AT1 capital. READ MORE

1:19 PM

Buzzing Stock

Star Cement rose 5.91% to Rs 136.10 on BSE after the company said it received Rs 158.82 crore as capital investment subsidy from the central governmen

1:00 PM

From GST to North Korea jitters, top 5 market highlights

 

The year 2017 has been a robust one for the Indian markets, with frontline indices S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 gaining over 30% each on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

 

The year also saw the indices clocking fresh milestones, with as the Nifty breaching the 10,500 mark and the Sensex achieving the 34,000 milestone. Despite a few phases of consolidation, the indices performed well throughout the year. The BSE Mid- and Small-cap indices rallied 52% and 64%, respectively, during the year. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

12:45 PM

Specialty drug boost for Sun Pharma

 

The Sun Pharmaceutical stock gained nearly seven per cent on Wednesday, after it announced the acceptance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new drug application (OTX-101) to treat dry eye disease.

 

The Street expectation is that final approval for launch will be faster than current estimates of end-2018 or early 2019. Any launch ahead of the earlier estimates will not only give it a head start in a category with limited competition but help it fend off generic competition for a competing product, Allergan's Restasis. READ FULL ANALYSIS

12:30 PM

Expect mid-teen return, higher volatility in 2018: Fund managers

 

The Rs 23-lakh crore mutual fund (MF) sector seems likely to continue with high trajectory growth in 2018. However, investors are also being cautioned by fund managers to reduce their expectation on returns to about the mid-teens, against the 30-plus per cent the year 2017 offered. According to some top fund managers, the market in 2018 would be more volatile.

 

The possibility of knee-jerk reactions is present. The caution comes on the back of macroeconomic challenges, both domestic and global, which could upset the market during the course of next year. READ MORE

12:15 PM

Sectoral trend 

Source: BSE

12:00 PM

Markets check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,972.21		0.18%
Nifty 50	10,498.85		0.08%
S&P BSE 200	4,664.70		0.18%
Nifty 500	9,452.60		0.15%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,716.04		0.24%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,073.77		0.13%

11:35 AM

Will work with Sebi to probe results leak on Whatsapp: Axis Bank

 

Axis Bank on Wednesday said it will work with market regulator Sebi with regard to leakage of unpublished price sensitive information and take appropriate action.

 

In its first order in the WhatsApp leak case, regulator Sebi on Wednesday ordered Axis Bank to strengthen its systems and conduct an internal probe to fix responsibility as the initial investigation showed the leakage due to "inadequacy" of processes at the bank. READ FULL REPORT

11:26 AM

Bond yield rises 10 bps on govt borrowing plans 

 

The yield on the 10-year government benchmark bonds shot up by 10 basis points to touch a high of 7.32 per cent in early morning trades, showing market reaction to additional government borrowings of Rs 50,000 crore in 2017-18.

 

The benchmark 10-year bond yields had closed at 7.22 per cent on Wednesday. READ MORE

10:53 AM

More upside in Dilip Buildcon stock

 

The Dilip Buildcon stock, which hit an all-time high on Wednesday, has risen almost fivefold in the past year. The strong investor sentiment is on account of a fast-growing order book, leading to regular improvement in revenue expectation.

 

This, coupled with efforts to reduce debt and consequently interest costs, is expected to drive earnings further. The recent order worth Rs 518 crore for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work in four-laning some sections of National Highway 48 in Karnataka and news on fundraising further lifted the sentiment. READ FULL ANALYSIS

10:41 AM

Market outlook 2018: Key risks to watch out for 

The benchmark indices look set to welcome the year 2018 near record-high levels, though rising inflation, oil prices along with fiscal challenges and global risks are likely to pose a threat to the ongoing market rally. 

 

Thus far in CY17, the markets have rallied over 27 per cent and have been among the top performers globally. 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

10:21 AM

Kotak Securities on Engineers India 

 

Reiterate our positive view on EIL; we introduce and roll forward our target price on FY20 core earnings. We move target price to Rs 221 (ascribe PER of 25x on FY20 core earning; earlier price target at Rs 212 based on 26x FY19 earning estimate). In view of limited upside to our target price (significant run up in stock price post Q2FY18 result), we ascribe ‘Accumulate’ (BUY earlier) rating on EIL.

 

Our investment thesis is predicated on the following assumptions 1) increased awarding of large ticket domestic hydrocarbon orders, 2) direct awarding of greenfield orders to EIL on nomination basis by hydrocarbon majors and 3) improvement in company’s margin profile driven by higher proportion of PMC (Project Management and Consultancy) orders in FY20.

10:05 AM

Markets turn flat

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	33,907.08	-4.73	-0.01
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,941.05	+3.14	+0.03
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	36,643.47	-0.67	0.00
S&P BSE 100	10,986.98	+2.47	+0.02
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,779.46	+1.23	+0.03

Source: BSE

9:51 AM

Rupee at two-week low

After a flat opening, the rupee fell to its lowest level since December 18. 

 

The local currency was down 12 paise to 64.27 against dollar as compared to its Wednesday's closing of 64.15. 

Rupee, NPS, National Pension System

9:41 AM

Buzzing stock

Shares of Kolte-Patil Developer rallied nearly 7% on Thursday after the company said that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 193 crore in its township at Pune.

 

The stock rose as much as 6.67% to Rs 384 on the BSE. READ FULL REPORT

9:24 AM

Long-term trend remains bullish

 

The market edged past the Nifty 10,500 mark and tested 10,550 before a small sell-off on Wednesday. This surge came after a low of 10,074 points in the morning when Gujarat election results were announced. The current breakout confirms that the long trend remains bullish, going into 2018.

 

The January settlement will be extremely important for two reasons. The first is, it will give us an inkling of foreign portfolio investors (FPI) attitude in what is a new financial year. READ FULL REPORT

9:21 AM

Sensex heatmap at open 

Source: BSE