Key market barometers ended almost flat after a volatile trade on Monday. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, fell 17.14 points or 0.04% to 41,558.00, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index gained 14.80 points or 0.12% to 12,260.60, as per the provisional closing data.
After a rousing start, key benchmarks slipped into negative terrain in mid-morning trade. Indices hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. Barometers recovered from the day's low in mid-afternoon trade and ended almost flat.
The broader market was bullish. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.29% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.75%.
The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 1449 shares advanced while 1121 shares declined. A total of 197 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 33 stocks advanced and 7 stocks declined.
Economy:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the 20th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR) on Friday, 27 December 2019. The report said India's financial system remains stable notwithstanding weakening domestic growth; the resilience of the banking sector has improved following recapitalisation of public sector banks (PSBs) by the government. Risks arising out of global/domestic economic uncertainties and geopolitical developments, however, persist.
Scheduled commercial banks' (SCBs) credit growth remained subdued at 8.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in September 2019, though private sector banks (PVBs) registered double digit credit growth of 16.5%. SCBs' capital adequacy ratio improved significantly after the recapitalisation of public sector banks (PSBs) by the Government. SCBs' gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio remained unchanged at 9.3 per cent between March and September 2019. Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) of all SCBs rose to 61.5% in September 2019 from 60.5% in March 2019 implying increased resilience of the banking sector.
Further, the report said that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) continued to make steady progress in the resolution of stressed assets. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has taken initiatives for growth of InsurTech and strengthening insurers' corporate governance processes. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) continued to bring more citizens under the pension net.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty auto index rose 1.51% to 8,329.50, advancing the most among the sectoral indices on the NSE.
Tata Motors (up 4.32%), TVS Motor Company (up 3.11%), Ashok Leyland (up 2.89%), Eicher Motors (up 2.63%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.55%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.46%), Escorts (up 1.13%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.01%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.42%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Bharti Airtel advanced 1.19% to Rs 460.70 after the media reported that the telecom major raised the minimum monthly recharge for prepaid users to Rs 45 with immediate effect from Sunday. According to media reports, it will be mandatory to recharge with a voucher of Rs 45 or above every 28 days to avail services. Prior to this Rs 45 plan, consumers could get an additional 28-day validity through a recharge of Rs 23 which included only incoming calls and messages.
JSW Steel rose 1.04% to Rs 271.60. The steel major said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, JSW Steel (Netherlands) B.V., entered into an agreement for selling 39% out of its 49% stake held in Geo Steel LLC, a joint venture (JV) based in Georgia, to its JV partner - Georgian Steel Group Holdings. Post the completion of the aforesaid sale, JSW Steel (Netherlands) B.V. will continue to hold 10% stake in Geo Steel LLC.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) rose 0.77% to Rs 366.45. APSEZ said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Adani Logistics (ALL), acquired 6,72,54,119 equity shares representing 40.25% stake of Snowman Logistics from Gateway Distriparks (GDL) at Rs 44 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 295.92 crore. The acquisition gives ALL platform to double its capacity in next 5 years.
Adani Logistics will also make an open offer for a maximum of 26% of the public shareholding in Snowman Logistics at Rs 44 per share.
Meanwhile, shares of Gateway Distriparks surged 10.84% to Rs 121.65 and those of Snowman Logistics rose 1.52% to Rs 43.30.
Shares of Prince Pipes and Fittings debuted at Rs 160, a discount of 10.11% to the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 178. The stock hit a high of Rs 177.95 and low of Rs 152.60. The stock provisionally ended at Rs 166.15, a 6.63% discount to IPO price.
The IPO of Prince Pipes and Fittings received bids for 4.37 crore shares, as against 1.97 crore shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data. The issue was subscribed 2.21 times. The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday, 18 December 2019 and it closed on Friday, 20 December 2019. The price band was fixed at Rs 177 to Rs 178 per share.
RITES rose 1.44% to Rs 289.65 after the board of directors approved investment of Rs 48 crore for acquiring a 24% in Indian Railways Station Development Corporation. The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 6 per share. The record date for the dividend is 10 January 2020.
Inox Wind rose 2.51% to Rs 34.70 after the company signed a term sheet for an EPC contract of 250 MW from Continuum Power Trading (TN).
Punjab & Sind Bank slumped 5.74% to Rs 21.35. CARE Ratings reaffirmed its rating on various debt instruments of the company but revised its rating outlook to negative from stable.
Foreign Markets:
European markets continued to trade lower while Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as investors locked profits after strong gains last week.
US stocks drifted higher on Friday, setting up the major indexes for a strong end to the week. Investor sentiment was buoyed by reports of strong holiday sales and a report on Chinese industrial production, but some year-end tax related selling pressured the market late in the day.
As per reports, China's industrial firms grew at the fastest pace in eight months in November. Industrial profits in November rose 5.4% from a year earlier to 593.9 billion yuan ($84.93 billion), compared with a 9.9% drop in October.
As per reports, investors saw the Chinese data as a sign that a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, amid a trade policy conflict with the U.S., may not produce as severe a downturn as feared.
China's central bank over the weekend said that it will use the loan prime rate as a new benchmark for pricing current floating-rate loans, which analysts say could lower borrowing costs and boost growth, media reports said.
Markets in Europe, Japan and South Korea will be closed tomorrow, on New Year's Eve. Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore will close early by around mid-day.
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