Stocks drop in early trade

Key indices are trading lower in early trade on selling pressure in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 177.79 points or 0.44% at 40,447.72. The Nifty 50 index was down 64.15 points or 0.54% at 11,870.35.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.22%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.45%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is weak. On the BSE, 605 shares rose and 1040 shares fell. A total of 64 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in news:

Wipro lost 5.44% to Rs 355.30. The company's consolidated net profit declined 3.41% to Rs 2,465.70 crore on 0.07% fall in revenues to Rs 15,114.50 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Sequentially, consolidated net profit rose 3.02% and revenue increased 1.35% in Q2 September 2020 (Q2FY20) over Q1 June 2020 (Q1FY20). The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 13 October 2020.

Meanwhile, the board of IT services company today approved a plan to buyback 23.75 crore shares at Rs 400 per equity share for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 9,500 crore. This represents 4.16% of total paid-up equity share capital of the company as on 30 September.

NTPC dropped 2.66%. NTPC has decided to raise Rs.4,000 crore on 15 October 2020, through private placement of unsecured non-convertible bonds in the nature of debentures at a coupon of 5.45% p.a. with a door to door maturity of 5 years on 15 October 2025. The proceeds will be utilized for, inter alia, funding of capital expenditure, refinancing of existing loans and other general corporate purposes.

Karnataka Bank advanced 3.45% after the bank reported a 12.78% rise in net profit to Rs 119.44 crore on 1.64% rise in total income to Rs 1,933.52 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Punjab and Sind Bank shed 0.38%. The bank said that three NPA accounts worth Rs 133.46 crore declared as fraud and the bank has made 100% provisioning as per the prudential norms

Tata Steel Long Products jumped 15.45% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 59.06 crore in Q2 September 2020 as compared to net loss of Rs 196.88 crore in Q2 September 2019. Total income rose 52.19% to Rs 1,933.52 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals slipped 0.3%. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today launched NINDANIB (Nintedanib 100 and 150 mg capsules) for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in India. Glenmark has been amongst the first to launch the branded generic version at an affordable cost for the treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis in India. This will provide patients a far more cost effective treatment option, and enable doctors to treat a wider patient population in the country.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading lower on Wednesday, as investors await a speech from Chinese President Xi Jinping. China's Xi is set to deliver a speech in Shenzhen, as per media reports. That comes as the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone celebrates the 40th anniversary of its establishment.

In US, Wall Street lost ground on Tuesday, with halted COVID-19 vaccine trials and an elusive U.S. stimulus agreement weighing on sentiment. Apple unveiled on Tuesday its first-ever 5G iPhone. Apple shares dropped 2.7%, however, after rallying 6.4% on Monday. Disney rallied 3.2% after announcing a major company reorganization with streaming at the forefront of its business.

U.S. regulators paused Eli Lilly's trial of a coronavirus antibody treatment due to safety concerns. That came after Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine trial was paused after a participant had an unexplained illness.

Back home, the benchmark indices ended a tad above the flat line on Tuesday. The S&P BSE Sensex, rose 31.71 points or 0.08% at 40,625.51. The Nifty 50 index added 3.55 points or 0.03% at 11,934.50.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 832.14 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,674.46 crore in the Indian equity market on 13 October, provisional data showed.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News