Shares trade in range; breadth negative

The benchmark indices were trading in a narrow range in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:25 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 170.03 points or 0.41% at 41,136. The Nifty 50 index was down 49.35 points or 0.41% at 12,088.60. Negative global cues triggered profit selling in domestic shares after gains in past four trading sessions.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.16% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.51%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1163 shares rose and 1225 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 30 stocks advanced while 20 stocks declined.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 1.02% to 8,059.15. The index rose 3.32% in the past four trading sessions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.69%), Eicher Motors (down 2.63%), Tata Motors (down 2.6%), TVS Motor Company (down 1.23%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.63%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.56%) declined.

Ashok Leyland (up 2.47%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.57%) and Escorts (up 0.09%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Varun Beverages surged 8.21% to Rs 840.45. The non-alcoholic beverage maker reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 53.95 crore in Q4 December 2019, lower than net loss of Rs 70.82 crore in Q4 December 2018. Consolidated revenue from operations jumped 54.14% to Rs 1239.53 crore in Q4 December 2019 as compared to Rs 804.13 crore reported in Q4 December 2018. The company reported a pre-tax loss of Rs 64.16 crore in Q4 December 2019, lower than pre-tax loss of Rs 86.59 crore reported in Q4 December 2018. The company reported a 142.2% jump in consolidated EBITDA to Rs 115.74 crore in Q4 December 2019 from Rs 47.79 crore reported in Q4 December 2018.

Voltas rose 3.05% to Rs 704.35. The company reported a 12.64% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 87.95 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 78.08 crore reported in Q3 December 2018. Voltas' consolidated Total Income for Q3 December 2019 stood at Rs 1546.76 crore at par with Rs 1546.56 crore reported in corresponding quarter last year. Profit before tax (PBT) for Q3 December 2019 stood at Rs 119.32 crore, up by 10% YoY. Current tax expenses declined 4.66% to Rs 32.72 crore during the period under review.

Corporation Bank jumped 10.32% to Rs 25.65. The public sector bank reported a 594.98% jump in net profit to Rs 420.67 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 60.53 crore posted in Q3 December 2018. The bank's total income rose 47.11% to Rs 6049.67 crore in Q3 December 2019 from Rs 4112.32 crore in Q3 December 2018. Provisions and contingencies (excluding tax provisions) jumped 73.82% to Rs 1312.57 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.431% at 14:21 IST compared with 6.446% in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee depreciated against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 71.33, compared with its previous closing low of 71.18.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2020 settlement was up 12 cents at $55.05 a barrel. The contract fell 35 cents or 0.63% to settle at $54.93 a barrel in the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2019 settlement rose 0.21% to Rs 40,434.

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