MARKET WRAP: Sensex down 306 pts, Nifty fails to hold 10,450; OMCs drag
Benchmark indices fell on Wednesday pulled down by oil companies
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Benchmark indices fell on Wednesday pulled down by oil companies, while mining and energy conglomerate Vedanta Ltd hit an over 10-month low as protests against its copper plant in south India turned violent.
State-owned oil refiners as well as marketing companies, such as Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum, took a hit on worries that the government may ask them to share the burden of higher petrol and diesel prices.
Retail fuel prices have surged on the back of a rally in crude oil, now hovering around $80 per barrel amid production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Meanwhile, investors cheered earnings from Cipla and the stock gained as much as 7.8%, its biggest percentage gain in over three months after the drugmaker posted a fourth-quarter profit against a loss last year.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian shares were mostly weaker on Wednesday with investors cautious after US President Donald Trump tempered optimism over progress made in trade talks between the world's two largest economic powers.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei lost 1.2 per cent to end at a one-and-half week low and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1.1 per cent.
Beyond geopolitics, the Federal Reserve will release minutes of its latest policy meeting later today.
CRUDE OIL
In commodities, oil prices held firm near three-and-half year highs on potential supply concerns surrounding Venezuela and Iran.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded little changed at $71.95 a barrel, a 0.4 per cent loss. They touched $72.83 a barrel, the highest since November 2014, on Tuesday. Brent futures were 0.6 per cent lower at $79.11 a barrel. Last week, the global benchmark topped $80 for the first time since November 2014.
3:45 PM
Nifty Metal index cracks 3.74%. Top losers:
| COMPANY | LATEST | PREV CLOSE | LOSS() | LOSS(%) |
| VEDANTA | 252.65 | 269.95 | -17.30 | -6.41 |
| TATA STEEL | 540.05 | 576.80 | -36.75 | -6.37 |
| JINDAL STEEL | 226.15 | 240.35 | -14.20 | -5.91 |
| S A I L | 68.45 | 72.55 | -4.10 | -5.65 |
| NATL. ALUMINIUM | 70.60 | 73.45 | -2.85 | -3.88 |
3:42 PM
3:37 PM
Nifty sectoral losers of the day
3:34 PM
BSE Sensex: SBI top gainer of the day; Tata Steel, ONGC among top losers
3:32 PM
Market at close
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,345, down 306 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,430, down 106 points.
3:17 PM
Metal shares under pressure; Tata Steel, JSPL, Vedanta down over 5%
Shares of metal companies were under pressure with Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) and Vedanta slipping more than 5% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Steel Authority of India (SAIL), National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Hindustan Zinc, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries and NMDC were down in the range of 1% to 4%. READ MORE
3:00 PM
Earnings Grasim Industries gained 1% after the company reported 18.3% jump in its Q4FY18 net profit at Rs 3.73 billion on the bank of strong revenue growth and operating performance. The profit included one-time loss of Rs 2.18 billion.
Revenue of the company was up 47.8% at Rs 46.05 billion versus Rs 31.16 billion.
2:45 PM
Top BSE500 losers
» More on Top Losers
| COMPANY | PRICE() | CHG() | CHG(%) | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H P C L | 286.90 | -25.20 | -8.07 | 1233468 |
| BALRAMPUR CHINI | 68.40 | -5.05 | -6.88 | 684820 |
| B P C L | 373.10 | -24.20 | -6.09 | 555299 |
| TATA STEEL | 542.70 | -34.50 | -5.98 | 916361 |
| CENTURY TEXTILES | 946.05 | -52.25 | -5.23 | 576593 |
2:30 PM
L&T Technology gains 7% on healthy Q4 results
Shares of L&T Technology Services (LTTS) have rallied 7% to Rs 1,367 per share on the BSE in otherwise subdued market after the L&T Group company reported a higher than expected quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) revenue growth of 8% at $162 million in March 2018 quarter (Q4FY18).
“During the fourth quarter, growth was broad-based with healthy traction across all segments on sequential basis. LTTS won five multi-million dollar deals across process industry, telecom & hi-tech and transportation. On YoY basis, LTTS has increased its USD 40 million + annual billing clients by two, and its USD 10 million+ clients by three,” the company said in a press release. READ MORE
2:16 PM
Vedanta slips as protest against Sterlite turns violent in Tamil Nadu
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First Published: May 23 2018 | 3:30 PM IST