Key benchmark indices suffered severe losses amid a broad-based sell-off in index pivotals. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, lost 550.51 points or 1.51% to settle at 35,975.63. The Nifty 50 index lost 150.05 points or 1.36% to settle at 10,858.25. The Nifty settled below the psychological 11,000 mark.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for December 2018 settlement was up 17 cents at $84.97 a barrel. The contract had fallen 18 cents, or 0.21% to settle at $84.80 a barrel during the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 73.24, compared with its close of 72.91 during the previous trading session. Rupee hit a record low of 73.4175 against the dollar in early deals amid worries that surging oil prices will stoke inflationary pressures and widen India's current and trade deficits.
Among secondary equity barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.11%. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.20%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1453 shares rose and 1212 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.
Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Auto index (down 2.9%), the S&P BSE Teck index (down 2.38%), the S&P BSE IT index (down 2.23%) underperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Metal index (up 1.74%), the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (up 0.63%), the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.23%) outperformed the Sensex.
TCS (down 4.14%), Axis Bank (down 3.91%) and ICICI Bank (down 3.36%) were the major Sensex losers.
Vedanta (up 3.09%), Coal India (up 1.6%) and ONGC (up 1.45%) were the major Sensex gainers.
Yes Bank gained 5.79% on bargain after the steep declines in recent weeks. In a recent press update, the bank noted that it is fully geared for the MD & CEO's succession and pursuant to the board of directors meeting dated 25 September 2018, the two external experts of the search & selection committee will be finalized by 7 October 2018. The committee, assisted by a global leadership advisory firm, will evaluate both internal and external candidates and make suitable recommendations to the board of directors for onward submission to RBI.
Over the past few days, some unfounded speculations regarding the bank's asset quality have been brought to its notice, according to the bank. In this context, the management clarifies that the asset quality continues to be stable and reiterated its credit cost guidance at 50-70 bps for FY19 (76 bps for FY18).
The bank has a liquidity coverage ratio of ~101% as on September 30, 2018, which is 11% points in excess of the minimum regulatory requirement of 90%. The Bank's average daily LCR for Q2 FY19 was ~100%. The bank's liquidity position will further benefit from the recent RBI measures (announced on September 27, 2018) to ease systemic liquidity which will take effect on October 01, 2018, noted the bank further.
Larsen & Toubro shed 0.24%. The company today announced that its buildings & factories business won a prestigious EPC order worth Rs 3036 crore from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to construct Terminal-2 (T2) of the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. Once completed, the 255,000 sq. mt. Phase 1 of T2 will augment the capacity of the Airport by 25 million passengers per annum (MPPA).
Hathway Cable & Datacom jumped 9.09% after media reports suggested that Reliance Industries has initiated talks to acquire Hathway Cable. The acquisition talks are underway in a bid to speed up the commercial launch of Reliance's GigaFiber high-speed home broadband services, reports added.
Reliance Industries lost 2.13%. With reference to media reports titled, "RIL in talks to buy Hathway, bring broadband home to you", the company clarified to bourses today that it is unable to comment on media speculation and rumors and it would be inappropriate on its part to do so. The company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis. There is no information which has not been announced to the stock exchanges and which should have been announced by the company.
Auto shares tumbled. Mahindra & Mahindra (down 6.66%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.83%), Tata Motors (down 0.74%) and Escorts (down 0.24%) edged lower. Bajaj Auto rose 0.16%.
Hero MotoCorp lost 2.14%. The company reported sales of 7.69 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters in September 2018 - its highest-ever sales in any single month. With the peak festival season coming up in the months of October and November, the company is confident of setting yet another global benchmark in retail sales during the period this year, Hero MotoCorp said. The announcement was made after market hours on Monday, 1 October 2018.
Eicher Motors lost 6.71% after it reported production loss of 10,000 motorcycles in September after a section of its workforce did not report to work since September 24 at its Oragadam factory near Chennai, Eicher Motors said in an exchange filing. Meanwhile, its sales rose 2% to 71,662 units last month, the filing added.
TVS Motor Company dropped 1.46%. The company registered a sales growth of 18% with sales increasing to 4.23 lakh units in the September 2018 from 3.59 lakh units in September 2017 . The announcement was made after market hours on Monday, 1 October 2018.
Car major Maruti Suzuki India declined 2.86%. The company today announced that it will proactively and voluntarily undertake a recall for Super Carry vehicles to inspect for a possible defect in fuel pump assembly. 640 vehicles in the domestic market manufactured between 20th Jan 2018 till 14th July 2018 will be covered in this recall campaign. Recall campaigns are undertaken globally to rectify faults that may be potential safety defects. Starting 3rd October 2018 owners of the vehicles included in this recall campaign will be contacted by Maruti Suzuki dealers for inspection and replacement of the faulty part free of cost.
In a separate announcement today, Maruti Suzuki said that its popular Eeco has crossed the milestone of 5 lakh sales. Designed to perform twin objectives of a being a brilliant family transport and a dependable business vehicle, Eeco has built a strong foothold across the country since its launch in January 2010.
Infosys lost 2.23%. The company announced that it has entered into a three-year collaboration with Cornell University to reshape the workforce driving digital transformation by advancing employee education and research. Through this collaboration, Infosys - alongside expert faculty at Cornell - will educate its global workforce on technologies such as Blockchain, machine learning and human computer interaction; as well as impart skills in data analytics, design, systems thinking, critical thinking and engineering on Cornell's eCornell virtual learning platform. The announcement was made after market hours on Monday, 1 October 2018.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories fell 1.2%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Promius Pharma, LLC, has sold its rights of Cloderm (clocortolone pivalate) Cream, 0.1 % and its authorized generic to EPI Health, LLC, an affiliate of EPI Group, LLC. Under the terms of the agreement, Promius Pharma is eligible to receive an upfront payment followed by future royalties as the consideration for Cloderm Cream and its authorized generic in the United States, effective immediately. The announcement was made on Tuesday, 2 October 2018.
MOIL gained 6.39% after the company said that it has fixed/revised prices of different grades of manganese ore and other products, effective from 1 October 2018. The announcement was made after market hours on Monday, 1 October 2018. Stock markets were closed yesterday, 2 October 2018 for local holiday.
MOIL said that in line with the business practice of fixing/revising prices Manganese Ore, the company has fixed/revised prices of different grades of Manganese Ore, effective from 1 October 2018. The prices of Ferro Grade, SMGR (Mn 30% & Mn 25%), Chemical Grade and Fines have been increased by about 10% on the existing prices prevailing since 1 September 2018. A discount of 10% will be offered on the prices effective from 1 October 2018 on specific grades of materials i.e. BGF534, DBL456 & BGL523 for dispatches during October 2018.
The basic price of Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD), has been increased by Rs 9000 PMT on the existing price prevailing since 1 July 2018. Ferro Manganese/ Ferro Manganese Slag and some identified grades of Manganese Ore will continue to be sold on e-auction basis as well as through Metal Mandi (M3) of MSTC.
Overseas, most European stocks rose on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on Italian politics and spending plans. Most Asian stocks declined. Markets in China and South Korea were closed for a public holiday.
Italy last week unveiled a 2019 budget deficit target that has met stiff opposition from European Union officials, who say it will violate the bloc's fiscal rules. Italy's coalition government proposed a budget that would increase the deficit to 2.4% of gross domestic output in 2019, well above the initial target of 0.8% proposed by the country's previous centre-left government. The current target range for this year is 1.6%. The deficit blowout revived fears of the eurozone debt crisis and put pressure on the euro.
Meanwhile in the UK, the Conservatives' annual party conference was under way with Prime Minister Theresa May facing pressure over her proposal for future UK-EU relations, known as the Chequers plan, which has already been rejected by EU leaders. Any additional signs of political instability in Europe could weigh on the US, where multinational firms have a large amount of revenue exposure to the region.
In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high on Tuesday as it rallied for a second day, boosted by gains in Intel and optimism around global trade. Stocks were coming off strong gains from the previous session after Canada joined the US and Mexico in a new trade deal. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or "USMCA" for short, will see all three countries compromise on certain trade aspects. More market access will be granted to US dairy farmers, while Canada has agreed to effectively cap automobile exports to the States.
Trade war remains in focus for the markets. Following the new USMCA deal to replace the current North American Free Trade Agreement, eyes are now on Washington's ongoing trade fight with China. Investors will be looking to China, to see if Beijing and Washington can compromise on certain trade elements.
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