Sensex, Nifty turn range bound

Shares came off day's high and were trading in a range in mid-morning trade. At 11:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 268.83 points or 0.77% at 34,982.43. The Nifty 50 index was up 75.55 points or 0.71% at 10,693.35. The Sensex pared gains after hitting the psychologically important 35,000 mark in morning trade. Shares were trading higher amid encouraging Q4 earnings so far and positive global cues. Continuous buying by domestic institutional investors also boosted sentiment.

Overseas, Asian shares rose after US equities were buoyed by solid earnings results and a rebound in technology stocks as US bond yields pulled back. Meanwhile, Euro was hovering near three-month lows after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged.

Back home, the indices opened higher and firmed up in morning trade. Indices came off day's high and were trading in a narrow range in mid-morning trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.81%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.71%, underperforming the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong . On BSE, 1,462 shares rose and 773 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.

Metal shares rose. National Aluminium Company (up 1.89%), Tata Steel (up 1.02%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.83%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.72%), NMDC (up 0.65%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.54%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.28%) and Vedanta (up 0.22%), edged higher. Jindal Steel & Power was down 0.02%.

FMCG shares move higher. Britannia Industries (up 0.84%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.70%), Dabur India (up 0.66%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.60%), Marico (up 0.28%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.26%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.22%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.05%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 0.01%), edged higher. Nestle India (down 0.47%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.99%), edged lower.

Kirloskar Pneumatic Company jumped 16.63% after net profit surged 168.55% to Rs 48.07 crore on 88.04% increase in total income to Rs 313.21 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 26 April 2018.

Axis Bank surged 4.99%, with the stock reversing intraday losses in highly volatile trade in reaction to Q4 result announced by the bank after market hours yesterday, 26 April 2018. The bank reported net loss of Rs 2188.74 crore in Q4 March 2018 as compared with net profit of Rs 1225.10 crore in Q4 March 2017. Total income rose 2.67% to Rs 14559.85 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017.

Axis Bank said that after making mandatory appropriations to Statutory Reserve, Investment Reserve and Capital Reserve, no profits are available for distribution as dividend for the financial year ended 31 March 2018 (FY 2018). Accordingly, no dividend has been recommended by the board of directors for FY 2018.

As on 31 March 2018, the bank's Gross NPA and Net NPA levels rose to 6.77% and 3.40% from 5.28% and 2.56% as on 31 December 2017, respectively. As on 31 March 2018, the bank's Gross NPA stood at Rs 34249 crore and Net NPA stood at Rs 16592 crore.

The bank has recognised slippages of Rs 16536 crore in Q4 March 2018. This includes an accelerated recognition in the stressed loan book of the bank, particularly in the power sector. It also includes a onetime impact driven by recent regulatory guidelines on resolution of stressed assets.

As on 31 March 2018, the bank's provision coverage, as a proportion of Gross NPAs including prudential write-offs, stood at 65%. Under Basel III, Total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) CAR & Tier I CAR stood at 16.57% and 13.04%, respectively. Net interest margin for Q4 March 2018 stood at 3.33%.

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