Sensex ends flat, Nifty fails to hold 10,450 ahead of Q3 earnings season

All that happened in the market today

3:42 PM

L&T, Jet Airways, SAIL among 37 stocks from BSE500 index hit 52-week high

 

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Adani Enterprises, Jet Airways (India), Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) and Tata Power Company were among 37 stocks from the S&P BSE 500 index hitting their respective 52-week highs on Wednesday.

 

Graphite India, HEG, Jai Corp, GHCL, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), Jubilant FoodWorks, Tech Mahindra, Tata Chemicals, NMDC and NOCIL too hit 52-week highs today. READ MORE

3:42 PM

Metals shine

Source: NSE

3:38 PM

Sectoral Trend

Source: NSE

3:37 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

Source: BSE

3:34 PM

Broader Markets

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices with BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices up 0.5% and 0.9% respectively

3:33 PM

Markets at Close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,793, down 18 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,443, up 1 point

3:18 PM

Dr Reddy's falls on buzz of issues raised in EIR for Duvvada plant

 

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories dipped 4.5% to Rs 2,299 on the BSE in intra-day trade after media reports suggested that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issues raised in Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) for the company's injectables unit in Duvvada, Andhra Pradesh.

 

The BSE said the exchange has sought clarification from Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on January 03, 2018 with reference to news flashed on www.moneycontrol.com dated January 03, 2018 quoting "Dr Reddy's cracks on buzz of issues raised in EIR for Duvvada plant".

3:08 PM

Sebi proposal to split roles in mutual fund industry leaves leaders worried

 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi's) renewed push to split the role of an investment advisor and distributor is causing a lot of heartburn among mutual fund honchos. “If Sebi’s proposal is implemented, the mutual fund industry is likely to lose 40 per cent of its business,” says the CEO of a fund house.

 

Currently, the mutual fund industry’s inflows come from three sources – 40 per cent from banks and 30 per cent each from independent financial advisors and distributors. Industry players said that collection from branches of leading players like ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund would be much more. READ MORE   

2:52 PM

Indian pharma firms see rise in USFDA drug approvals in FY18

 

As FY18 enters its final quarter, a look at formulation approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the year till date (YTD) period shows an improvement over the last year. Deepak Malik, associate director at Edelweiss Securities, says that 750-800 approvals had come in 2016-17.

 

In 2017-18, around 1,000 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) to FDA are likely to get approval. "So far, around 700 or so approvals have come for ANDAs, and the last quarter is expected to see another 300 or so," he said. READ MORE

2:37 PM

Universal trading licences: Equity exchanges have advantage over commexes

 

After allowing universal broking licences, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has now allowed setting up of universal exchanges – this means stock exchanges can now enter the commodity turf and commexes can also do stock exchange business like dealing in equity and forex.

 

The market regulator has given exchanges three quarters to prepare for facing competition. However, there does not seem to be a level playing field – commodity exchanges are perhaps on a weaker wicket. READ MORE

2:18 PM

Nifty Metal index hits 52-week high

 

Stocks of metal companies were in focus with Nifty Metal index hitting 52-week high of 4,015.45 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), on expectations of strong earnings improvement over the next two to three quarters for steel companies. The metal index surpassed its previous high of 3,985.50 touched on December 29, 2017 in intra-day deal.

 

JSPL and APL Apollo Tubes from the Nifty Metal index have rallied 6% each, while Steel Authority of India (SAIL) up 3% hitting their respective 52-week highs on the NSE. Hindalco Industries and NMDC too hit 52-week highs today

2:02 PM

Buzzing Stock

Shares of Hindustan Zinc gained 2% intraday Wednesday as foreign broking firm Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoFAML) has initiated buy rating with a target price of Rs 345 per share.

 

According to the broking house the elevated prices will coincide with revival in volume growth. It expect high dividend payout given the significant cash needs of the parent.

1:42 PM

Capital infusion

Public sector lender UCO Bank today said its Board has approved a proposal to issue equity shares on preferential basis to the government for capital infusion of Rs 1,375 crore.

 

"We have received the approval of Board of Directors...for the proposal to issue equity shares on preferential basis to Government of India against capital contribution of Rs 1,375 crore subject to necessary approvals," UCO Bank said in a BSE filing.

1:33 PM

Sagar Cements rallies 24% in four days on HDFC Mutual Fund stake buys

 

Sagar Cements hit a new high of Rs 1,048, up 15% on BSE in intra-day trade, extending its past three days gain after the HDFC Mutual Fund bought an additional more than two percentage point stake in the company through open market. In past four trading sessions, the stock rallied 24% from Rs 843 on December 28, 2017.

 

“On December 29, 2017, HDFC Mutual Fund, HDFC Trustee Company Limited A/c HDFC Prudence Fund has purchased 520,000 equity shares representing 2.55% stake in Sagar Cements via open market,” HDFC Mutual Fund said in a BSE filing. READ MORE

1:20 PM

SFIO to probe 57 suspected shell firms that deposited billions of rupees

 

The ministry of corporate affairs has asked the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe 57 suspected shell companies on the basis of reports by regional directors of the office of the Registrar of Companies (RoCs).

 

Sources say 18 of these entities deposited above Rs 1 billion each and the other 39 deposited between Rs 250 million and Rs 1 billion each in the post-demonetisation period.

 

A senior official from the ministry told Business Standard, "This investigation has been ordered as per Section 216 of the Companies Act, wherein the government can order an investigation to find out who would benefit by financial transactions of a company." READ MORE

1:04 PM

Markets check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,855.61		0.13%
Nifty 50	10,461.70		0.19%
S&P BSE 200	4,656.99		0.32%
Nifty 500	9,450.35		0.35%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,817.22		0.52%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,329.85		0.90%

12:42 PM

Fineotex Chemical up for 13 straight days

 

Fineotex Chemical hit a new high of Rs 99.45, up 8%, extending its over 100% surge in past 12 trading days on the BSE.

 

The stock of specialty chemicals Company has zoomed 145% from Rs 40.65 on December 14, 2017, as compared to 2% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ FULL REPORT 

12:31 PM

Universal trading licences: Equity exchanges have advantage over commexes

 

After allowing universal broking licences, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has now allowed setting up of universal exchanges – this means stock exchanges can now enter the commodity turf and commexes can also do stock exchange business like dealing in equity and forex.

 

The market regulator has given exchanges three quarters to prepare for facing competition. However, there does not seem to be a level playing field – commodity exchanges are perhaps on a weaker wicket. READ MORE

12:24 PM

Bitcoin starts new year by declining, first time since 2015

 

Bitcoin is already having a bad year. For the first time since 2015, the cryptocurrency began a new year by declining, extending its slide from a record $19,511 reached on December 18.

 

The virtual coin fell to $13,624.56 as of 5 pm in New York on Monday, down 4.8 per cent from Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s also a drop from the $14,156 it hit Sunday, according to coinmarketcap.com, which tracks daily prices. READ MORE

12:01 PM

Buzzing stock 

 

VST Tillers Tractors surged 9% to Rs 2,673, also its record high on the BSE, after the company recorded a strong sales growth of 79% at 3,615 units in the month of December 2017. It had sold total 2,018 units in December 2016 and 2,922 units in November 2017.

 

The sales of power tillers more-than-doubled as the company has sold 3,004 units of power tillers for the month, against 1,407 units sold in the same month last year. Tractors sales of the company remained unchanged at 611 units in both the months. READ FULL REPORT

11:50 AM

Oil prices close to mid-2015 high over strong demand

 

Oil prices were stable on Wednesday, not far off mid-2015 highs reached the previous session, as strong demand and ongoing efforts led by OPEC and Russia to curb production tightened the market.

 

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $60.40 a barrel at 0141 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close, and not far off the $60.74 June 2015 high reached the previous day.

 

Brent crude futures LCOc1 - the international benchmark for oil prices - were at $66.55 a barrel, down 2 cents but still not far off the $67.29 May 2015 high from the previous day. READ MORE

11:33 AM

Buzzing stock

 

Titan Company was up 3% to Rs 869 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade so far after the company said jewellery retail sales in October-December quarter (Q3FY18) has been healthy and in line with internal management expectations, despite Dussera being celebrated in the previous quarter.

 

But primary growth in the quarter was lower due to a higher franchisee billing of about Rs 250 crore that happened towards the end of the previous quarter, Titan Company said in a regulatory filing. CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT

 

11:16 AM

Equity issuances highest in 10 years

 

Equity and equity-linked issuance (ECM) by Indian firms raised a total of $28.5 billion (Rs 1.8 trillion) in 2017, the highest amount in 10 years.

 

It was a 208 per cent increase over 2016, and the highest since 2007, when proceeds amounted to $31.2 billion (Rs 2,028 billion), a report by Thomson Reuters suggests. During the fourth quarter of 2017, total ECM proceeds reached $11.1 billion(Rs  722 billion), a 59.6 per cent increase from the third quarter, and the highest for such a period since the second quarter of 2007 Rs 852 billion. READ MORE

11:00 AM

Markets check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,936.39		0.37%
Nifty 50	10,490.10		0.46%
S&P BSE 200	4,667.60		0.55%
Nifty 500	9,474.40		0.60%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,835.13		0.62%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,369.74		1.10%

10:47 AM

Rural uptick, festive season aided auto growth in 2017

 

After starting the year on a muted note, given the impact of demonetisation and implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), growth picked up across key segments in the automobile sector in 2017. While the two-wheeler space registered a growth of seven per cent, that of commercial vehicle (CV) and passenger vehicle sales were up nine per cent each last year. READ MORE 

10:27 AM

Aarti Drugs hits 52-week high 

 

Aarti Drugs surged 7% to Rs 689, also its 52-week high on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade after the company said that its board will meet on January 8, to consider share buyback proposal.

 

“A meeting of board of directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Monday, 8th January, 2018, to consider inter alia, proposal of buyback of the fully paid-up equity shares of the Company including matters related/incidental thereto,” Aarti Drugs said in a regulatory filing. READ FULL STORY 

10:06 AM

Earnings, bond yields show opposite trends 

 

For the first time in six years, bond yields and corporate earnings yield are moving in opposite directions, creating headwinds for the equity markets.   Yield on the 10-year government bond is up 110 basis points (bps) in the past 12 months. Earnings yield for the top listed companies was down 120 bps in the period.

 

This contra-movement earlier happened during the post-Lehman rally in 2009 and 2010 —bond yields climbed nearly 300 bps and earnings yield fell by 220 bps during the period. One basis point is a hundredth of one per cent. READ FULL REPORT

9:53 AM

Reversing crude oil cycle is bad for India

 

Ongoing protests in Iran have led to a hardening of crude prices to levels last seen in mid-2015. Threats of supply disruption caused by political trouble may add to upside pressures due to supply cuts agreed upon by other Opec members and Russia.

 

This comes at a time when demand for oil is likely to rise due to growth recovery in the First World. The benchmark Brent contract is trending at $67-plus/barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is at $60-plus. That’s about $12/barrel more than a year ago. READ MORE

9:31 AM

Sectoral trend at open 

Source: NSE

9:22 AM

Sensex heatmap at open 

Source: BSE