Market drifts higher in early trade

Domestic stocks kickstarted trading for the day on a positive note after BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurppa was sworn in as Karnataka chief minister. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 42.27 points or 0.12% at 35,430.15. The Nifty 50 index was up 18.90 points or 0.18% at 10,760.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.42%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.43%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 939 shares rose and 440 shares fell. A total of 45 shares were unchanged.

Tata Steel lost 1.78%. On a consolidated basis, Tata Steel reported net profit of Rs 14688.02 crore in Q4 March 2018 compared with net loss of Rs 1168.02 crore in Q4 March 2017. Net sales rose 7.05% to Rs 35737.19 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The company received one-time exceptional gain of Rs 11376.14 crore in March quarter. The exceptional gain includes a non-cash gain of Rs 14077 crore on account of restructuring of UK pension scheme.

Commenting on the result, TV Narendran, CEO & MD said that Tata Steel performance has been robust in FY 2018 driven by strong execution strategy and supported by favourable global demand-supply balance. During the year, the company's Indian operations delivered volume growth better than the market on the back of the ramp-up at our Kalinganagar plant and the strength of the firm's marketing network and brand equity. Growth was broad-based across our marketing segments.

Gross debt as on 31 March 2018 increased to Rs 92147 crore, mainly driven by foreign exchange translation impact. Net debt declined to Rs 69215 crore. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 16 May 2018.

JSW Steel fell 1.05%. On a consolidated basis, net profit of JSW Steel rose 185.33% to Rs 2879 crore on 22.96% rise in net sales to Rs 20027 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 16 May 2018.

Prataap Snacks rose 1.6%. On a consolidated basis, net profit of Prataap Snacks declined 12.50% to Rs 10.08 crore on 26.64% rise in net sales to Rs 269.75 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 16 May 2018.

Muthoot Finance lost 4.28%. Net profit of Muthoot Finance rose 40.28% to Rs 451.39 crore on 6.1% decline in total income to Rs 1608.03 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 16 May 2018.

Divi's Laboratories rose 2.56%. The company announced that its Unit-I at Choutuppal, Telangana State has had an inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) from 14 to 16 May 2018. This was a general Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) inspection by the FDA. The inspection has been concluded with no 483 observations. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 May 2018.

On the political front, after a four-hour long, post-midnight hearing on a Congress-JD(S) petition, the Supreme Court refused to stay BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurppa's swearing-in as Karnataka chief minister today, 17 May 2018. The Supreme Court made it clear that the swearing-in and the government formation would be subject to its final order on the Congress-JD(S) petition before it.

Karnataka delivered a hung Assembly on Tuesday with no party getting a clear majority to form government in the state. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single-largest party, winning 104 seats, falling marginally short of the 113 seats needed to form a government. The Congress and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) stood second and third with wins on 78 and 38 seats respectively.

Overseas, most Asia stocks were trading lower. US stocks gained as retailer results and solid economic data boosted confidence in the American economy.

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