Markets end marginally lower as investors focus on Q1 results; PSBs drag

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SI Reporter | New Delhi July 20, 2017 Last Updated at 16:05 IST

Markets end marginally lower as investors focus on Q1 results; PSBs drag

Indian shares ended flat on Thursday, as quarterly results remained the main driver in the market, at a time when strong gains have raised concerns about valuations.

On the other hand, world shares extended a run of record highs on Thursday, as a cautious sounding Bank of Japan lifted Asian stocks to a near decade peak and Europe wagered on an incremental increase in confidence from the ECB at its latest meeting.

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4:04 PM Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities said: Markets settled marginally lower in a dull session today, taking a breather after the recent swing. Initially, sentiment was positive, thanks to the firm global markets but profit taking re-emerged in the middle and pushed the index lower. Participants preferred to book some profit ahead of some important results however buying in select index majors capped downside.

3:48 PM Nifty PSU Banks was the biggest sectoral loser, down over 1% followed by pharma, metal and IT sectoral indices

3:45 PM State-run lender Canara Bank fell 5% after it posted lower-than-expected first-quarter profit due to higher provisions for bad loans.

3:44 PM IT company Mindtree fell 4.5% to its lowest since May 5, after it reported a 1.6% drop in June-quarter profit.

3:41 PM Top gainers and losers on BSE Sensex

3:36 PM The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 31,904, down 51 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 9,873, down 26 points.

In broader markets, BSE Smallcap hit fresh high at intra-day but later pared some gains to end 0.1% higher while BSE Smallcap ended 0.6% lower

3:34 PM

Indian shares ended flat on Thursday, as quarterly results remained the main driver in the market, at a time when strong gains have raised concerns about valuations.

3:14 PM Oil prices held near 2% gains made the previous session when falling US crude inventories gave the market a lift ahead of a key OPEC meeting next week.

2:54 PM Markets pare some losses as Axis Bank rallies over 4%, becoming the top gainer on both the frontline indices

2:13 PM

At 2:11 pm, the Sensex was trading at 31,891, down 63 points, while the Nifty50 was ruling at 9,867, down 32 points.

The S&P BSE Smallcap index hit a new high on BSE in intra-day trade but later pared gains to trade 0.2% higher while BSE Midcap was trading 0.4% lower.

1:25 PM Banking index was trading 0.3% higher led mainly by private sector banks. Nifty Pvt bank index was up 0.5% while Nifty PSU Bank index was down 0.8% for the day

1:05 PM Triveni Engineering gains 14% after Anil Kumar Goel buys 14.15 lakh shares. Click here for full report

12:36 PM Sugar stocks rallied after sugar prices on the NCDEX hit upper circuit.

12:27 PM

Market check

At 12:26 pm, the Sensex was trading at 31,901, down 53 points, while the Nifty50 was ruling at 9,876, down 23 points.

11:26 AM The S&P BSE Smallcap index hit a new high of 16,043 on BSE in intra-day trade, after a strong gain in fertilizers, agrochemicals, sugar, information technology (IT) and telecom related stocks. CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT

11:21 AM

Oil update

Oil prices held steady on Thursday, hanging on to gains made the previous session when falling US crude stocks lifted the market, as analysts offered mixed supply outlooks for the commodity ahead of a key OPEC meeting next week.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $49.66 per barrel, just 2 cents down from their last settlement. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $47.10 per barrel, 2 cents below their last close.

10:51 AM Canara Bank slipped over 5% to Rs 350 after the public sector lender posted just 9.9% growth in net profit to Rs 252 crore for the June quarter. CLICK HERE FOR EARNINGS DETAILS

10:15 AM MARKET CHECK

At 10:15 am, the Sensex was trading at 31,953, down 2 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,893, down 5 points.

10:05 AM Nifty Realty (up 0.7%) was the leading sectoral gainer

9:59 AM Wipro trades flat at Rs 272 ahead of its Q1 earnings. Buyback, guidance for Q2 among key things to watch out for

Logo of Wipro

9:53 AM Just Dial gained 5% to Rs 373 on BSE in early morning trade after the company said its board will meet on July 24, to consider share buyback proposal.

JustDial

9:47 AM Sensex turns flat to quote below 32,000, Nifty hovers around 9,900

9:43 AM

Kotak Mahindra Bank was up 2% at Rs 1,012 ahead of its June quarter numbers. Brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities expects the standalone earnings to grow 28% YoY. Net interest margin (NIM) is likely to decline nearly 5 bps QoQ, but improve 16 bps YoY.

9:38 AM

Earnings today: Reliance Industries, Wipro, ABB, Alembic Pharma, Bajaj-auto, Force Motors, Hindustan Zinc, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NIIT Tech, and RBL Bank

9:33 AM In the broader market, BSE Midcap was little changed, while BSE Smallcap added 0.3%.

9:31 AM Top Sensex gainers and losers

9:24 AM ONGC was the top gainer and added 3% to Rs 167, while HPCL slipped nearly 4% to Rs 364 after cabinet approval to their merger. CLICK HERE FOR MERGER DETAILS

ONGC

9:20 AM

Markets open higher

At 9:20 am, the Sensex was trading at 32,044, up 89 points, while the Nifty50 was ruling at 9,918, up 18 points.

9:15 AM BoJ policy outcome

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady and pushed back again the timing for achieving its 2% inflation target, reinforcing expectations it will lag well behind major global central banks in dialing back its massive stimulus program.

9:11 AM

Result review: Motilal Oswal Research on L&T Finance Holdings

L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) is a quintessential turnaround story, in our view. From a company with 20+ product lines and sub-standard return ratios, it is gradually transforming itself to a focused financier with eight product lines across three verticals, with a target to achieve 18-20% RoE by FY20 (~12% in FY17)

While the stock has re-rated well over the past year on account of strong execution by management, we expect re-rating to continue. We thus initiate coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a target price of Rs 180

9:09 AM

Wall Street update

A Netflix rally boosted the Nasdaq Composite to a record high on Tuesday while Goldman Sachs Group Inc dragged the Dow lower as earnings take center stage on Wall Street. The Nasdaq posted its eighth consecutive session of gains, the longest streak since its 10-day string in February 2015.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.99 points, or 0.25% to 21,574.73, the S&P 500 gained 1.47 points, or 0.06% to 2,460.61 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.87 points, or 0.47% to 6,344.31.

9:08 AM Market regulator, Sebi, is planning to tighten depository receipt regulations. All you need to know

9:07 AM ONGC, HPCL turn flat after gaining up to 10% in pre-open trade. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the sale of its 51% equity in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), the country’s second largest fuel retailer, to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

9:07 AM

Techncial check on the markets

Nifty closed in the positive territory in the last trading session. The momentum indicator is still in buy mode on the daily charts, which has kept the hopes alive for the bulls that the Index may touch 10000 mark in this expiry itself. Now, for the Nifty to hit 10,000 mark, it needs to take off its crucial resistance of 9950 levels in immediate basis, which will then trigger some upward momentum led by some short covering as well: Anand Rathi Research

9:05 AM Nifty reclaims its crucial 9,900, while Sensex gained over 100 points in pre-open trade

9:04 AM ONGC to take over HPCL Get all the details here

8:54 AM SGX Nifty

At 8:52 am, the SGX Nifty, was trading at 9,926.50, down 1 points or 0.01%.