MARKET WRAP: Indices fall for third straight day, Sensex slips 272 points

The Nifty Metal index was the top loser of the day, falling 2.3 per cent weighed by JSW Steel and Jindal Steel & Power. The Nifty Auto index slipped 1.4 per cent dragged down by Hero MotoCorp.

3:39 PM

Top sectoral gainers and losers on NSE

3:38 PM

S&P BSE Sensex: Top gainers and losers

3:35 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex lost 272 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 35,470 while NSE's Nifty50 index declined 91 points or 0.84 per cent to settle at 10,664.

3:22 PM

Gold rises as US political uncertainty breeds risk-aversion

Gold prices climbed on Monday, holding ground near a six-month high hit last week, as investors remained concerned about political uncertainty in the United States and global economic slowdown.

 

Spot gold was up 0.6 per cent at $1,263.01 per ounce. The metal had hit its highest since early July at $1,266.40 on Thursday. US gold futures were up 0.6 per cent at $1,265.8 per ounce. READ MORE

3:20 PM

NEWS ALERT Asian Paints: Promoters release pledge on 29 lakh shares on December 21

3:09 PM

NEWS ALERT Max India: Shares of NewCo shall be listed on the stock exchanges

3:08 PM

NEWS ALERT Max India: Radiant Life will also buy 49.7% in Max Health from Life Healthcare

3:05 PM

NEWS ALERT Max India approves merger between co, Max Health & Radiant Life into a new co

3:01 PM

As many as 43 securities hit 52-week low on NSE so far in trade

Symbol	Security	New 52W/L	Prev. Low	Prev. Low Date	LTP	Prev. Close	Chng	% Chng
ANKITMETAL	Ankit Metal & Power Limited	0.40	0.40	20-Dec-2018	0.40	.50	0.00	0.00
ANTGRAPHIC	Antarctica Limited	0.40	0.40	11-Dec-2018	0.40	.45	-0.05	-11.11
APLAPOLLO	APL Apollo Tubes Limited	1,152.00	1,158.00	04-Oct-2018	1,155.00	1170.25	-15.25	-1.30
ARROWTEX	Arrow Textiles Limited	23.25	23.50	29-Oct-2018	24.00	24.20	-0.20	-0.83
ASHIANA	Ashiana Housing Limited	114.00	115.30	20-Dec-2018	115.45	116.10	-0.65	-0.56
BILPOWER	Bilpower Limited	0.40	0.40	01-Oct-2018	0.40	.45	-0.05	-11.11

2:49 PM

Momentum picks by ICICI Direct Research 

2:26 PM

PSU banks trade firm; Bank of India rallies 30% in 10 days

 

Shares of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks were trading higher in an otherwise range-bound market with Nifty PSU Bank index gaining nearly 1% on Monday. Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda (BOB), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Indian Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) were up in the range of 1% to 4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Read more

2:18 PM

Top losers on BSE500

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)	VOLUME
SRF	1998.00	-154.90	-7.19	73476
JUBILANT FOOD.	1239.95	-74.80	-5.69	106356
JP ASSOCIATES	7.32	-0.43	-5.55	8014858
ALLCARGO LOGIST.	106.45	-5.65	-5.04	6586
HEG	3694.00	-195.00	-5.01	41394

2:00 PM

Market check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	35,689.78	-52.29	-0.15
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	11,232.35	-20.03	-0.18
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	32,585.78	-67.88	-0.21
S&P BSE 100	11,027.59	-20.10	-0.18
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,457.22	-3.91	-0.11

1:47 PM

Fitch on India Populist steps ahead of general elections could put pressure on India's fiscal 

1:45 PM

Fitch on India Need significant consolidation to cut debt to 60%

1:43 PM

Top gainers and losers on S&P BSE Sensex 

1:28 PM

Single GST rate in the process, cutting tax on cement a priority: Jaitley

India is working towards a single national sales tax rate which could be a mid-point between 12 and 18 per cent, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday, in an effort to simplify the tax structure. The government set the range for the Goods and Service Tax from 28 per cent to 5 per cent on most items when the signature reform was introduced last year. "Multiple slabs were fixed transiently in order to ensure the tax of no commodity goes up radically. This contained the inflation impact," Jaitley wrote in his blog. Read more

1:19 PM

FPIs infuse Rs 40 bn in Dec on strengthening rupee, easing crude prices

 

Foreign investors have pumped in close to Rs 40 billion in the Indian capital markets this month so far on strengthening rupee and easing global crude oil prices. This comes following a 10-month high net inflow of over Rs 122.66 billion in the capital markets (equity and debt) by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in November.

 

According to data available with the depositories, FPIs infused a net amount of Rs 13.32 billion in equities and Rs 25.52 billion in the debt markets, taking the total to Rs 38.84 billion during December 3-21. Read more

1:08 PM

Equity MF investments set for two-and-a-half-year low over poll anxiety

 

The mutual funds (MFs) have slowed down their investments in equities as fund managers brace for election-related volatility. According to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), MFs had invested Rs 12.9 billion till December 20. If the flow remains tepid in the remaining four sessions, this will be the lowest monthly investment by MFs since August 2016.

 

Domestic fund managers have been net-buyers in only five out of 14 trading sessions this month. Read more

12:48 PM

MNC drug majors outshine Indian peers, draw investors' attention

Multinational pharmaceutical (MNC pharma) companies topped the list of pharma gainers in 2018, leaving larger Indian generic players far behind. Of the top 10 pharmaceutical gainers, six are multinationals.

 

The reason for MNC pharma companies returning on the investors’ radar is the steady sales growth in India as compared to pricing pressures Indian companies face in US market. In addition, the regulatory problems related to good manufacturing practices have constrained the ability of the companies to launch new products in the US market. READ MORE

12:37 PM

NEWS ALERT K Subramanian takes charge as Chief Economic Advisor, according to TV reports

12:26 PM

Oil prices likely to gain early 2019 after production cuts: OPEC ministers

 

Oil ministers from leading OPEC nations said Sunday they expect prices will arrest their recent slide and rebalance early next year, when a deal on new production cuts takes effect.

 

Oil prices have shed more than 36 per cent since early October to trade at $54 (47 euros) per barrel, due to fears of oversupply and weak global demand. But president of OPEC and UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said that the surplus in the oil market was small compared to 2017 and expected it to vanish in one or two months. Read more

12:08 PM

Top losers on BSE500

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)	VOLUME
SRF	2010.90	-142.00	-6.60	36296
JP ASSOCIATES	7.27	-0.48	-6.19	6470013
SUPRAJIT ENGG.	209.10	-12.95	-5.83	7433
IRB INFRA.DEVL.	160.70	-7.35	-4.37	88338
JUBILANT FOOD.	1258.75	-56.00	-4.26	50385

11:59 AM

Market check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	35,644.69	-97.38	-0.27
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	11,223.47	-28.91	-0.26
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	32,487.41	-166.25	-0.51
S&P BSE 100	11,015.34	-32.35	-0.29
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,452.47	-8.66	-0.25

11:45 AM

Graphite India hits two-month low; down 10% in four trading sessions

Shares of graphite electrode manufacturer Graphite India dipped 4% to Rs 765, falling 11% in the past four trading days, after Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) renewed the consent for operation of its electrode plant in Bengaluru for a period up to June 30, 2020, but with the condition to shift the unit from the existing location. The stock was trading at its lowest level on October 8, 2018. It is nearing to its six-month low market price of Rs 723 on BSE. Read more

 

11:37 AM

Kotak Securities on Construction Materials

 

All-India cement prices declined by Rs3/bag mom in December 2018, per our channel checks. We estimate 3QFY19 realizations for cement companies to decline by 1-3% qoq. Even though cost pressures have eased due to a decline in pet-coke costs, the spreads (difference between prices and energy costs) for 3QFY19 are down by 2% qoq due to the decline in cement prices. We expect full cost savings to reflect from 4QFY19 onwards due to high cost inventories. We maintain our cautious stance on the sector on expensive valuations.

11:34 AM

Top gainers and losers on S&P BSE Sensex

11:22 AM

Reliance Securities on NTPC

 

Rating: Buy 

 

Target Price: Rs 213

 

In line with our estimate, NTPC’s revenue grew by 13% YoY in 2QFY19 led by higher blended realisation (10%) despite a muted 1.9% YoY rise in generation. We expect NTPC to add commercial capacity of 5GW each in FY19E/FY20E, which would lead to a significant jump in regulated equity from current level of Rs519bn. NTPC management is targeting inorganic growth and has an gearing up for inorganic growth opportunities under the NCLT process. We expect policy of clubbing renewable energy (RE) with thermal provides is a good platform for increasing RE portfolio. We continue to consider NTPC as one of the best-placed companies in terms of fuel security, as most of its capacity offtake will continue to be through long-term PPAs. At CMP, the stock trades at P/B of 1.0x & P/E 8.8x based on FY20E, which seems to be attractive. Hence, we maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock with a Target Price of Rs 213.

11:17 AM

Edelweiss Securities on Indian Railways

 

Over the current quarter, Indian Railways (IR) has awarded 12,795 wagons as part of the 21,758 wagon tender it had floated a couple of quarters ago. Our interaction with industry participants indicates that competition for the tender has been high. The award has come as a major relief for wagon manufacturers battling low capacity utilisation and, consequently, profitability issues. Titagarh Wagons has won 5,058 wagons worth nearly Rs 15.6 billion, significantly improving its revenue visibility. 

 

We believe pick up in private sector ordering (already visible) and commencement of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), which will need 45,000 plus wagons in the first five years of operations, will provide much needed succour to wagon manufacturers.

11:07 AM

Devangshu Datta Where to hedge

Market performance has clearly varied according to market cap in 2018. Since January 2018, the Nifty has a positive return of 5 per cent, the Nifty Next 50 is down 8 per cent, while the Nifty Midcaps 250 and the Nifty Smallcaps 250 have lost 5 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively. Overall, the NSE500 is down 2 per cent.

 

Even the Nifty has delivered less than the one-year fixed deposit rate. So, it has not been a good year for equity investors. READ MORE