Mumbai: The Nifty hit a record high in early trade on Friday, but reversed course to trade lower amid weak Asian markets as a drop in crude prices hurt sentiment and dragged down explorers such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4% on Friday and was trading at its lowest level since 25 April as fresh fall in commodities raised concerns about the health of the global economy. Banks gained after TV channels reported President Pranab Mukherjee had given his approval to a government ordinance that seeks to tackle non-performing loans in the sector. The government has yet to officially provide details.
The Nifty PSU bank index rose as much 2.35% to its highest since 4 March 2015, with State Bank of India jumping more than one percent and Canara Bank gaining around 7%. “On a broader scale, when the markets reach a record high, it is natural to see investors becoming jittery and a little cautious. By the end of this earnings season, one will get a clearer picture on where the market is headed,” said Tirthankar Patnaik, India strategist at Mizuho Bank.
Indian oil explorers fell on weaker crude oil prices, with ONGC and Oil India declining more than 2% each. But oil refiners and airlines stocks rose with Indian Oil Corp climbing 2.1% while Spicejet Ltd was up 8.4%. Weak oil prices result in higher margins for domestic refiners and airline companies.
12.05pm: BSE Sensex trades lower by 238 points, or 0.79%, to 29,888, while the Nifty 50 falls 60 points, or 0.64%, to 9,230.
11.45am: Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd rose 5% to Rs770 after the company said it acquired radio pharmacy business of Triad Isotopes.
11.30am: Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd fell 1.2% to Rs 1545.50 after it reported 22% drop in its March quarter net profit to Rs 2044.20 crore from Rs 2607.05 crore a year ago.
10.35am: Banking stocks trade higher. Federal Bank shares rose 5.3%, Dena Bank rose 3.6%, Canara Bank 3.5%, Central Bank of India 3%, Union Bank of India 1.7%, DCB Bank 1.4%, Indian Overseas Bank 1.3%, Karnataka Bank 1.2%, Punjab National Bank 1.2% and State Bank of India 0.8%.
10.30am: Eicher Motors Ltd rose 1.3% to Rs26,095.45 ahead of its March quarter earnings due later on Friday. According to estimates of 17 Bloomberg analysts, the company may post a net profit of Rs464.70 crore, while net sales will be at Rs1,911.30 crore.
10.27am: Metal stocks trade lower. Vedanta Ltd fell 5%, Hindalco Industries Ltd 3.7%, Jindal Steel & Power 3.6%, Hindustan Zinc 2.1% and Hindustan Copper 1%.
10.25am: BSE Sensex trades lower by 135 points, or 0.45%, to 29,992, while the Nifty 50 falls 40 points, or 0.42%, to 9,320.
10.20am: Paint companies trade higher. Asian Paints Ltd shares rise 2.4% to Rs1,156, Berger Paints India Ltd 3.5% and Shalimar Paints Ltd 2%.
10.10am: Bank of Maharashtra fell 2.7% to Rs36.50 after the bank reported net loss for the fifth consecutive quarter. In the March quarter, the bank net loss widened to Rs455.45 crore against Rs119.84 crore a year ago.
10.00am: Tata Motors Ltd fell 0.8% to Rs433.15. The stock fell for the fourth consecutive session and declined 5.4% in this period. So far this year, it fell 8.2%.
9.55am: Vedanta Ltd fell 4.2% to Rs222.60. The stock fell for the fourth consecutive session and was down 8.9% in this period. So far this year, it is up 3%.
9.50am: Tata Communications Ltd fell 2.3% to Rs688.70 after the company said it reported a net loss for the March quarter to Rs986.36 crore against a net profit of Rs75.19 crore.
9.45am: Hindustan Construction Ltd fell 4.2% to Rs44.50 after the company said it reported a net loss for the March quarter to Rs39.56 crore against a net profit of Rs232.85 crore a year ago.
9.40am: Multi Commodity Exchange Of India fell 3% to Rs1,118.10 after the company reported 51% decline in its net profit to Rs21.88 crore in the March quarter against Rs44.45 crore a year ago.
9.35am: Oberoi Realty Ltd rose 4% to Rs411.35 after the company reported 50.33% increase in its net profit to Rs101.85 crore against Rs67.75 crore a year ago.
9.30am: BSE Sensex trades lower by 104.95 points, or 0.35%, to 30,021.27, while the Nifty 50 down 27.55 points, or 0.29%, to 9,332.35.
9.25am: Aviation and oil marketing companies were trading higher after international crude oil prices fell below $45 a barrel. SpiceJet Ltd rose 3.6%, Jet Airways India Ltd 5%, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd 3%. Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd rose 1.3%, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd 1% and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd 1.6%.
9.20am: Sadbhav Infrastructure Projects Ltd rises 15% to Rs116.65 after huge block deal. Around 3.7% stake or 13.20 million shares of the company changed hands in a block deal, according to Bloomberg. However, details of buyers and sellers were not known.
9.15am: The rupee opened at 64.23 a dollar. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 64.25 a dollar, down 0.10% from its Thursday’s close of 64.17.
9.12am: The 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.949% compared to its previous close of 6.968%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.10am: Asian currencies were trading lower. South Korean won was down 0.38%, Malaysian ringgit 0.19%, Japanese yen 0.09%, Indonesian rupiah 0.07%, China offshore 0.06% and Taiwan dollar 0.03%. However, Thai baht was up 0.07%.
9.05am: Wockhardt Ltd falls 3.6% to Rs689.50 after the company posted a net loss of Rs5.91 crore in the March quarter against a net profit of Rs79 lakh a year ago.
9.00am: Asian markets opened mixed on Friday morning. According to Reuters, retreat in crude oil and other commodities prices are weighing on sentiments. Overnight, the US stock markets closed little changed. S&P 500 at 2,389 points is slightly up 0.06%.
With inputs from Reuters
