Cement stocks drop

Key indices traded in a small range with positive bias in mid-morning trade. At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 71.73 points or 0.19% at 38,636.61. The Nifty 50 index was up 24.40 points or 0.21% at 11,600.35. Cement stocks dropped.

Key indices edged higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. Stocks hovered in positive zone in morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.01%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.13%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On the BSE, 997 shares rose and 1021 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.21%. Maruti Suzuki India introduced the New Alto, which has been India's best-selling car for 15 consecutive years. Keeping years of trust and faith in mind, Maruti Suzuki drives in the New Alto with enhanced safety features and captivating design. The New Alto now comes with BS-VI compliant engine, nearly a year before the regulation being mandated. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 23 April 2019.

Cement stocks dropped. Ambuja Cements (down 4.01%), UltraTech Cement (down 1.3%) and Shree Cement (down 0.88%) declined.

Grasim Industries was off 1.45%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

ACC lost 4.32%. Consolidated net profit rose 38.20% to Rs 345.99 crore on 8.23% increase in net sales to Rs 3,849.63 crore in Q1 March 2019 over Q1 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 23 April 2019.

Operating EBITDA for the quarter registered a growth of 8% to Rs 532 crore as against Rs 492 crore during the same quarter of the previous year. Cement sales volume rose 5.63% to 7.5 million tonnes in Q1 March 2019 over Q1 March 2018.

The prices of fuel and slag rose in the quarter, which were mitigated by market initiatives, sustained cost reduction initiatives viz. material source-mix & fuel mix optimization and productivity improvement measures. Plant capacity utilization improved during the quarter. Strict controls on third party spend resulted in lower fixed cost as well as Selling General & Administrative expenses (SG&A) on year on year basis.

In its outlook, ACC said that predictions of a normal monsoon augur well for the rural economy. The government's continued thrust on infrastructure development as well as Housing-for-All initiatives are expected to invigorate the construction sector and stimulate cement demand.

Coromandel International rose 2.97% after consolidated net profit rose 23.18% to Rs 110.38 crore on 9.39% rise in net sales to Rs 2638.34 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher on Wednesday after upbeat earnings helped the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes reach record closing highs on Wall Street overnight, while oil retreated from its near six-month highs.

In US, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq registered record closing highs after a broadbased rally on Tuesday, as a clutch of better-than-expected earnings reports eased concerns about a slowdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.34 points, or 0.55%, to 26,656.39, the S&P 500 gained 25.71 points, or 0.88%, to 2,933.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 105.56 points, or 1.32%, to 8,120.82.

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