Market trades lower on negative Asian cues

Key indices were trading lower in line with Asian markets. At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 126.51 points or 0.31% at 41,197.40. The Nifty 50 index was down 46.00 points or 0.38% at 12,083.50.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.03%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.01%. Both these indices outperformed the BSE Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 386 shares rose and 360 shares fell. A total of 40 shares were unchanged.

Q3 earnings impact:

Among stocks, Bajaj Finserv fell 0.18%. Bajaj Finserv's consolidated net profit jumped 32.34% to Rs 1,125.64 crore on a 30.68% surge in total income to Rs 14,560.74 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Bajaj Finserv remains a debt free company and its surplus funds (excluding group investments) stood at Rs 910 crore as of 31 December 2019 as compared to Rs 830 crore on 31 December 2018.

Tata Power Company fell 1.81%. Tata Power Company's consolidated net profit rose 26.08% to Rs 178.86 crore on a 10.11% fall in total income to Rs 7,416.25 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Net profit rose mainly due to lower fuel under recovery in Mundra and better operational performance by all businesses.

IDFC First Bank fell 3.30%. IDFC First Bank reported net loss of Rs 1,638.89 crore against a profit of Rs 1,061.34 crore on a 19.22% rise in total income to Rs 4,679.14 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Gross NPA stood at 2.83% and net NPA stood at 1.23%.

Stocks in news:

HDFC Bank shed 0.59%. HDFC Bank has informed that that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on the Bank for failure to undertake on‐going due diligence in case of 39 current accounts opened for bidding in Initial Public Offer.

Yes Bank declined 3.88%. Yes Bank said India Ratings maintained 'Rating Watch Negative (RWN)' on Yes Bank, saying that the lender continues to remain in discussions with potential investors but raising sizeable capital in the near-term could be challenging. RWN indicates that the rating will be either affirmed or downgraded. It has maintained RWN on the Basel III tier-2 bonds of Rs 11,000 crore, additional Basel tier-1 bonds of Rs 11,100 crore and infrastructure bonds of Rs 3,580 crore.

Vedanta was down 1.06%. Vedanta said a committee of its directors has approved raising up to Rs 2,500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs)

MOIL rose 0.96%. MOIL said the company has received Environmental Clearance for enhancement of production capacity from 90,000 TPA to 2,03,200 TPA. The production will increase gradually.

Ashoka Buildcon gained 1.39%. Ashoka Buildcon informed that Ashoka Bettadahalli Shivamogga Road has executed a Concession Agreement with National Highways Authority of India (NHAl) on 29 January 2020, for the Project viz. Tumkur Shivamogga Section from Km 170.415 to Km 226.750 from Bettadahalli Shivamogga (Package IV) on Hybrid Annuity Mode under Bharatmala in the State of Karnataka. The SPV is a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Ashoka Concessions. The accepted Bid Project Cost is Rs 1,382 crore.

Global Markets:

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower on Thursday while gold and bonds were in demand as worries about the spread of a new virus from China sent investors heading for safety.

In US, stocks ended little changed on Wednesday, with better-than-expected results from blue-chip names, including Apple, offset by lingering concerns related to China's coronavirus outbreak.

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark fed funds interest rate steady in a range between 1.5% and 1.75% on Wednesday, saying the economy remained on a moderate growth path. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that the coronavirus epidemic in China introduces uncertainty into the outlook and also called asset valuations somewhat elevated.

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