Markets crack: Sensex down 200 points, Nifty tests 9,300

Bank Nifty rose to record high of 22,853 on reports that Prez signed the NPA ordinance last night

Nifty 50 today hit new record high of 9,377 against its previous milestone of 9,367 hit on April 26, for a while before slipping below 9,300 tracking muted handover from global markets. Wall Street ended flat after Representatives narrowly approved a bill to repeal Obamacare, handing Republican President Donald Trump a victory that could prove short-lived as the healthcare legislation heads into a likely tough battle in the Senate.

Back home, President Pranab Mukherjee signed a NPA ordinance last night, according to media reports. The Finance Minister will also hold a press conference to announce the new framework for NPAs later in the day.

At 11:58 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 29,922 down 204 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,298, down 62 points. 
 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap shed 0.6% while the S&P BSE Smallcap index fell 0.3%.

"The 9,330 region will continue to be important for Nifty50, but for the day, 9,370 will be critical to positivity, unless above which, downside risks will increase," said Geojit Financial Services in a note.
 
Meanwhile, Oil prices were marooned near five-month lows on Friday after a near 5% fall in the previous session on concerns over rising US supply, wiping out all of the price gains since OPEC's move to curb output.

 
Buzzing Stocks

SBI, Coal India, Asian Paints and ICICI Bank gained the most on BSE Sensex while ONGC, M&M, GAIL and Tata Steel fell the most on the index.
 
HDFC fell nearly 1% after it reported a 21.6% fall in its standalone net profit at Rs 2,044.20 crore for the quarter ended March 2017. It had made a net profit of Rs 2,607.05 crore on a standalone basis during corresponding January-March period of 2015-16.

Bank Nifty rose to record high of 22,853.55 on reports that President signed the NPA ordinance last night.

ONGC was trading nearly 2% lower as oil prices slipped to 5-month low on concerns over rising US supply. 

Eicher Motors gained 1% while Apollo Tyres fell 0.6% as Street awaited their March-quarter results.
 
President signs NPA ordinance
 
President Pranab Mukherjee signed the NPA ordinance last night, according to media reports and the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will announce the details in a press conference today. The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved a new framework for dealing with Rs 6 lakh crore worth of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the banking system.
 
The framework includes the promulgation of an Ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act to give more teeth to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and its oversight committees to act on behalf of banks while deciding on NPAs. 

 
Global Markets
 
Asian stocks declined for a third consecutive day on Friday as fresh falls in commodities raised concerns about the health of the global economy, though the euro bucked the broad weakness on receding concerns about France's presidential election.
 
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4% on Friday and was trading at its lowest level since April 25.
 
Hong Kong led regional losers with losses of 0.8% in opening trades. Australian shares fell 0.5% with metals and mining related stocks leading the decline.
 
Japan and South Korea markets are closed for trading.

 
US Stocks ended flat amid mixed earnings and after the House of Representatives passed a healthcare overhaul.