Podcast | Sensex snaps 5-day losing streak; Nifty closes below 100-DMA

The S&P BSE Sensex snapped its 5-day losing streak and closed in positive making a small bullish candle on the daily candlestick charts on Tuesday. The Nifty50 also held on to its crucial support level placed at 10,500 levels, but closed below its 100-days moving average placed around 10,540.

The markets opened the day lower for the session on the back of geopolitical worries and flattish Asian markets, most of which were closed with today being Buddha's birthday.

“This downtick (morning trade) was soon bought into with the indices recovering and heading higher into the close, a whole host of results were announced intraday. SBI was a stark out-performer with results which were much better than expectations,” Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder, Zerodha told Moneycontrol.

“Auto companies fared well in trade today with Bajaj -Auto, and Tata motors both notching gains of over three percent, whereas cement and Pharma underperformed for the session. We continue to hold a bearish outlook overall and would not advocate entering fresh longs at this juncture,” he said.

Sectorally, the S&P BSE Auto index rose 1.7 percent, followed by the S&P BSE metal index which rose 1.5 percent, and the S&P BSE Realty index rose 1.2 percent.

On the losing side, the S&P BSE oil & gas index slipped 0.4 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Energy index which dropped 0.28 percent, and the S&P BSE FMCG index slipped 0.1 percent.

The S&P BSE Midcap index and the S&P BSE Smallcap index rose 0.65 percent each, respectively.

Top Sensex gainers include names like Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (up 6.3 percent), Tata Motors (up 3.7 percent), SBI (up 3.6 percent), Bajaj Auto (up 3.3 percent), and Coal India (up 3.2 percent).

Top Sensex losers include names like TCS (down 1.4 percent), followed by ITC (down 1.1 percent), Asian Paints (down 1.07 percent), and Axis Bank (down 1.02 percent).

Stocks in news:

The country’s largest bank State Bank of India on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 7,718 crore for the March quarter, primarily due to a surge in provisions. This was the highest quarterly loss figure reported by any bank after Punjab National Bank's Rs 13,417 crore loss reported for the March quarter last week. The stock closed 3.6% higher support by short covering.

Symphony share price fell 11.2 percent after the company reported a 4.5 percent decline YoY in profit at Rs 41.9 crore compared to Rs 43.9 crore in March quarter 2017.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories shares price increased by 6 percent despite decline in net profit for the quarter ended March 2018. The company Q4FY18 net profit declined by 3.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 302.2 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31 due to continuing headwinds in the US and steep sales drop in Russia.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation has reported profit at Rs 5,218 crore crore on revenue of Rs 1,17,368 crore for the quarter ended March 2018. Calculated gross refining margin came in at $9.15 a barrel for the quarter. The stock closed 2.2 percent lower.

VIP Industries share price gained nearly  7 percent after consolidated net profit in Q4FY18 grew by 83.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 35 crore from Rs 19.1 crore YoY.

Tata Motors share price rallied nearly 4 percent ahead of January-March quarter earnings due on Wednesday. The owner of luxury car brand Jaguar and Land Rover is expected to report good set of earnings on sequential basis due to favourable base but year-on-year numbers are expected to be weak.

Shares of TTK Prestige which touched its 52-week low of Rs 5,612, bounced back and closed 1 percent higher. The Company reported 32 percent fall in its Q4 (Jan-March) net profit at Rs 37.44 crore against Rs 55.3 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Bharat Forge has reported a 51.7 percent decline YoY in profit at Rs 100.3 crore against Rs 207.5 crore, due to one-time loss of Rs 133.2 crore on impairment of investment. The stock closed 2.2 percent lower.

Mahanagar Gas shed almost 6 percent in the morning trade even as the firm posted a 5 percent rise in its March quarter net profit.

Shares of Just Dial soared 5.6 percent as investors’ cheered strong growth in its net profit for the March quarter. The listings portal posted 53 percent growth in its net profit for the March quarter to Rs 39 crore against Rs 25.4 crore posted for the corresponding quarter of last year.

Share price of Dhunseri Petrochem was locked at 10 percent lower circuit on the back of poor March quarter numbers. There were pending sell orders of 29,495 shares, with no buyers available.

In other news/Global update:

Leading bourse NSE has dragged the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to court over the overseas bourse's plans to launch Nifty-based derivative products. SGX has, however, reiterated its plan to list the new Indian derivatives in June.

Markets in Asia were subdued as investors looked to digest higher crude price moves. The Nikkei 225 tracked lower by 0.18 percent to close at 22,960.34.