Key benchmark indices hovered in negative zone in morning trade. At 10:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 104.41 points or 0.37% at 28,025.43. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 28.20 points or 0.32% at 8,671.20. The Sensex was currently trading above the psychologically important 28,000 level after falling below that level in intraday trade. Weakness in Asian stocks weighed on sentiment on the domestic bourses.
The Sensex lost 139.15 points or 0.49% at the day's low of 27,990.69 in morning trade, its lowest level since 19 October 2016. The barometer index rose 33.57 points or 0.11% at the day's high of 28,163.41 in opening trade. The Nifty lost 39.35 points or 0.45% at the day's low of 8,660.05 in morning trade, its lowest level since 19 October 2016. The index rose 9.70 points or 0.11% at the day's high of 8,709.10 in early trade.
In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks edged lower after the European Central Bank (ECB) left its policy rate unchanged after the conclusion of a monetary policy meeting. US stocks registered small losses yesterday, 20 October 2016, after a sharp fall in oil prices, while investors parsed through key US economic data.
As widely expected, ECB kept its policy rate unchanged after a meeting yesterday, 20 October 2016. Though ECB left its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged, President Mario Draghi said the European region's central bank had left the door open to more monetary stimulus.
Closer home, the market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive in morning trade. On BSE, 1,042 shares declined and 973 shares rose. A total of 117 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.08%. The decline in this index was lower than Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.02%, outperforming the Sensex.
Telecom stocks edged lower. Bharti Airtel (down 0.84%), Reliance Communications (down 0.74%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.51%) edged lower.
Bharti Infratel was off 2.01%. Bharti Infratel is a telecom tower arm of Bharti Airtel.
Cement stocks declined. Ambuja Cements (down 0.81%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.28%) edged lower.
ACC was off 0.22%. The company is scheduled to announce Q3 September 2016 results today, 21 October 2016.
Grasim Industries was down 0.49%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
HCL Technologies edged higher after the company retained revenue growth guidance for the year ending 31 March 2017 (FY 2017) at the time of announcing Q2 September 2016 results before market hours today, 21 October 2016. The stock rose 2.78% at Rs 837.95. HCL Technologies expects revenue growth between 12% to 14% in constant currency terms in the current financial year ending 31 March 2017 (FY 2017). This translates into 11% to 13% growth in dollar terms based on 30 September 2016 exchange rates. HCL Technologies expects its operating margin (EBIT) to be in the range of 19.5% to 20.5% for FY 2017.
The company's consolidated net profit fell 1.6% to Rs 2014 crore on 1.6% growth in revenue to Rs 11519 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q1 June 2016. Revenue in constant currency rose 2.8% in Q2 September 2016 over Q1 June 2016.
HCL Technologies' CFO Anil Chanana said the conversion of net income to operating cash flow has been in excess of 100% for last twelve months ended 30 September 2016 while the return on equity continues to be robust at 28%.
HCL Technologies announced that C. Vijayakumar, Chief Operating Officer of the company has been elevated to the position of the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company with effect from 20 October 2016. Anant Gupta has decided to leave the company to pursue personal interests outside of HCL.
Separately, HCL Technologies before market hourst today, 21 October 2016 announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Butler America Aerospace, LLC (Butler Aerospace), a provider of engineering, design services and aftermarket engineering services to US Aerospace and Defense customers. Butler Aerospace is a wholly owned subsidiary of Butler America LLC. The proposed acquisition will exclude the staffing business of Butler America Inc. The consideration for the proposed transaction is $85 million to be paid in cash. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals including CFIUS approval in the US, along with other customary closing conditions. It is expected to be completed by 31 December 2016.
Butler Aerospace had revenues of $85.4 million for the year ended 31 December 2015 at EBIT of 12.2%. The acquisition when consummated is likely to be EPS accretive, HCL Technologies said.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
