Telecom stocks fall

Weakness persisted on the bourses in early afternoon trade on sustained selling pressure in index pivotals. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 292.86 points or 0.75% at 38,847.42. The Nifty 50 index was down 99.75 points or 0.85% at 11,653.05. Telecom stocks fell. Rise in crude oil prices weighed on the sentiment.

Domestic stocks drifted lower in early trade as trading resumed after a long weekend. Stock markets were shut on Friday, 19 April 2019, on account of Good Friday. Key indices cut losses in morning trade after an initial slide triggered by rise in crude oil prices. Crude oil prices rose to the highest in almost six months as the US government reportedly said it won't renew waivers to allow buyers to buy Iranian crude. Stocks hovered in negative zone in mid-morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.87%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.79%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 702 shares rose and 1532 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Telecom stocks fell. Vodafone Idea (down 0.58%), MTNL (down 2.24%), and Reliance Communications (down 5%) declined. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) was unchanged at Rs 2.98.

Bharti Airtel fell 0.5%. Bharti Airtel announced on Friday, 19 April 2019, that its proposed rights issue is scheduled to open on 3 May 2019 and will close on 17 May 2019.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 1.77%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company fell 2.4%. The company's net profit of rose 7.49% to Rs 227.73 crore on 22.56% rise in total income to Rs 2633.53 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Thursday, 18 April 2019.

Gross Direct Premium Income (GDPI) of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company increased to Rs 3485 crore in Q4 March 2019 compared to Rs 2926 crore in Q4 March 2018, registering a growth of 19.1% as against industry growth of 12.6%. Excluding crop segment, our GDPI growth for Q4 March 2019 was 29.4% over Q4 March 2018. Combined ratio improved to 98% in Q4 March 2019 from 99.5% in Q4 March 2018.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower as crude oil pushed higher on a report over Iranian oil waivers while the Easter holiday weekend continued in many countries.

Major US exchanges were closed on Good Friday. The most-watched European markets were closed on Good Friday and will also remain closed on Easter Monday.

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