Benchmarks hit fresh intraday low

key benchmarks extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. Trading sentiment took a hit as the ruling BJP appeared to be set for second place in a tight contest for Jharkhand Assembly election.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 173.75 points or 0.42% at 41,507.79. The Nifty 50 index was down 40.25 points or 0.33% at 12,231.55.

Selling was broad based. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.06%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1009 shares rose and 1382 shares fell. A total of 196 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 29 stocks advanced and 21 stocks declined.

Politics:

Jharkhand Assembly election results will be declared today. BJP government went solo this time. The opposition alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) seems to be having an edge in the 81-member Assembly.

While the BJP is ahead on 31 seats, JMM is leading in 23 seats. Congress is ahead on 12 seats and RJD is leading in 4 seats. The majority mark for winning the election is 41 seats.

Legislative Assembly elections were held in Jharkhand from 30 November to 20 December 2019 to elect the 81 members of Legislative Assembly.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Infratel slipped 0.16% to Rs 253.10. As per reports, the merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers is likely to hit a roadblock as the government may not give the green signal to the proposed merger by the December 24 deadline, which may push the three major signatories Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Group Plc and Vodafone Idea to cancel the deal and look out for other options to monetise their stakes.

Media reports suggested that the amalgamation will help Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Group, promoters of Indus Towers, to offload their stake, reduce debt and invest in their telecom operations in India, which has been facing stiff competition from new entrant Reliance Jio since 2016. In April 2018, the companies had agreed to merge their businesses to create the world's largest tower company outside China.

IndiaMART InterMESH surged 8.26% to Rs 2149.15 after a foreign broker initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' rating and target price of Rs 2,500.

BASF India surged 4.95% to Rs 1004.15 after the company's German parent signed a purchase agreement with an affiliate of Lone Star, a global private equity player, for acquisition of BASF's construction chemicals business. The purchase price on a cash and debt free basis is 3.17 billion euros. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals.

Ramco Systems jumped 4.48% to Rs 148. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO Group), announced it will continue to work with Ramco Systems to bring the global software specialist's advanced Aviation solutions to four more business units in Hong Kong, Xiamen and Jinjiang, the company said in a filing to the exchanges.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.594% at 14:20 IST compared with 6.598% in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 71.165, compared with its close of 71.12 during the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2020 settlement was down 19 cents at $65.95 a barrel. The contract fell 40 cents or 0.60% to settle at $66.14 a barrel during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2019 settlement rose 0.52% to Rs 38,188.

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