Sensex, Nifty Log Worst September Since Lehman Crisis

Indian equity benchmarks fell for third day in a row paced by losses in Larsen & Toubro, Yes Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.27 percent or 97 points to 36,227 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index declined 0.4 percent or 47 points to 10,930.

On monthly basis, the benchmarks posted their worst decline since February 2016. The Sensex fell 6.26 percent and Nifty plunged 6.42 percent making it the worst September since Lehman Brothers crisis of 2008.

In today’s trade, fifteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended lower led by the S&P BSE Metal Index’s 5 percent drop. On the flipside, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas Index was top gainer, up 0.12 percent.

Mid- and small-cap shares underperformed larger peers as the S&P BSE MidCap Index fell 1.6 percent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index tumbled 3.4 percent.

Yes Bank CEO tweeted that he will never sell his promoter shares in the bank and will rather bequeath them to his three daughters and subsequently to their children.

Indian equity benchmarks were on track to log worst monthly drop in over two-and-a-half years. The Nifty 50 Index has so far this month slumped 7 percent and the Sensex has plunged 6.83 percent.

Shares of the poultry producer fell as much as 9.4 percent to Rs 2,175, its lowest since Aug. 01.

The stock is set for its longest losing streak in nearly two years. The Relative Strength Index was 29, indicating that the stock may be oversold, Bloomberg data showed.

The small-cap stocks were underperforming their larger peers as the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index fell as much as 5.2 percent compared with a loss of 0.6 percent in the Nifty.

Infibeam, ITDC, Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Century Plyboards were the top losers.

The Gandhinagar-based e-commerce website operator extended losses and slumped as much as 66 percent or Rs 133 to Rs 68 on heavy volumes.

Trading volume was 25.3 times its 20-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As many as 1.4 crore shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 10.87 lakh shares traded daily in the past two weeks.

Indian equity benchmarks swung between gains and losses as selling pressure in Yes Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Steel offset buying in HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and Infosys.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.3 percent or 110 points to 36,208 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index slumped 0.6 percent or 85 points to 10,890.

Shares of real estate, metal and auto companies were among the worst hit in trade so far.

Index of metal and real estate companies fell over four percent while the auto index tumbled over 2 percent.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while briefing media after GST Council meet said government will meet its GST revenue target.

Key highlights of the briefing:

• GST Council formed a panel on raising revenues for disasters.
• GST Council took stock of revenue position of the states.
• Revenue position of the states were discussed by the GST Council.
• The Council discussed whether rates on few items or cess can be increased.
• Consuming states like north eastern states are not reporting revenue shortfall.
• Revenue secretary visited the states that were reporting revenue shortfall.
• His findings show that these states were levying special tax like purchase tax, entry tax etc.
• Six states where revenue was higher than anticipated are Mizoram, Arunachal, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
• States where revenue is marginally lower than anticipated are Telangana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam and Rajasthan.
• Next item on agenda was if Kerala can be allowed to levy additional SGST in the state.
• Ordinarily for the natural calamities, union budget earmarks funds separately.

Shares of the two-wheeler maker fell as much as 4.87 percent, the most in over two months, to Rs 2,937, also its lowest level in over 22 months on heavy volumes.

Trading volume was 1.7 times its 20-day average, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

• Punjab National Bank has 13.5 lakh shares change hands in a block. Stock fell 4.6 percent at Rs 59.60.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Indian equity benchmarks edged higher led by State Bank of India, HDFC and Tata Motors.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.2 percent or 85 points to 36,418 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.2 percent or 24 points to 11,001.

Twelve of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE fell led by the S&P BSE Metal Index's 2.7 percent drop. On the other hand, the S&P BSE Energy Index was top gainer, up 0.5 percent.

The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 1,564 shares were declining while 702 were advancing on the BSE.

Bank Nifty's 25,500 call option contract was among the most active option contracts on the National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract rose 24 percent to Rs 111.35. As many as 2.96 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at 8.89 lakh shares.

• ICICI Lombard has 16.7 lakh shares change hands in a block. Stock down 3.8 percent at Rs 813.
• GMR Infrastructure has 99 lakh shares change hands in a block deal. Stock down 1.2 percent at Rs 16.60.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of GAIL India and Gujarat State Petronet rose after the regulator Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board increased tariffs for some pipelines.

• GAIL India rose as much as 4 percent to Rs 393
• Gujarat State Petronet climbed as much as 7.6 percent to Rs 195

Shares of Ircon International, a state-run railway company, made a weak stock market debut.

The stock opened for trading at a discount of 13.26 percent at Rs 412 per share on the National Stock Exchange compared with its issue price of Rs 475 per share.

The Rs 470-crore initial public offer by Ircon International saw huge demand for its shares as it was subscribed 10 times on the final day of bidding.

Shares of the Kolkata-based cement and cast-iron pipes manufacturer rose as much as 8.74 percent to Rs 72.80.

Kesoram Industries received approval from the Karnataka government for acquisition of 675 acres of land for mining activities, according to an exchange filing. The company said that the acquisition would augment its existing reserves of limestone.

Shares of the Pune-based non-banking finance company extended decline and fell as much as 3.96 percent to Rs 2,117 after Morgan Stanley cut its target price on the stock by 20%.

Morgan Stanley maintained its 'equalweight' stance on the stock but cut its target price to Rs 2,300 from Rs 2,875. Despite the recent pullback, valuation is still steep, which keeps us on the sidelines, the international brokerage said in a note.

Shares of the Gandhinagar-based operator of e-commerce websites slumped as much as 54 percent, the most on record, to Rs 91.25 on heavy volumes.

Trading volume was 7 times its 20-day average for this time of the day, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

As many as 27.51 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 10.87 lakh shares traded daily in the past two weeks.

Indian equity benchmarks rose led by HDFC twins, ITC, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.5 percent or 170 points to 36,495 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed 0.2 percent or 20 points to 10,993.

Twelve of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading lower led by the S&P BSE Telecom Index's 2 percent drop. On the flipside, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas Index was top gainer, up 0.8 percent.

The mid- and small-cap shares were facing selling pressure as the S&P BSE MidCap Index fell 0.6 percent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index declined 0.7 percent.

The Indian rupee opened higher at 72.52 per dollar against yesterday’s close of 72.60. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the government which is scheduled to announce its second half borrowing calendar today.

Any reduction in bond sales will help boost sentiment that has been badly battered by surging crude and falling rupee.

For today, dealers expect the pair to stay in a range of 72.20-72.90 a dollar in the day.

• Nocil promoter sold 1.32 lakh shares from Sept. 25-26.
• Elpro International promoter acquired 5 lakh shares on Sept. 25.
• Eveready Industries promoter Williamson Magor & Co acquired 2 lakh shares on Sept. 25.
• Sadbhav Engineering promoter acquired 84,000 shares on Sept. 26.
• Omaxe promoter group Nakul Goel sold 2.3 lakh shares from Sept. 24-25.
• Godrej Properties promoter Godrej Industries acquired 1.65 lakh shares from Sept. 24-25.
• Lemon Tree Hotels promoter acquired 75,000 shares on Sept. 25.

Who’s Meeting Whom

• Godawari Power and Ispat to meet Bajaj Allianz, ICICI Pru MF and other investors on Sept.28.
• Endurance Technologies to meet Motilal Oswal AMC and SBI Funds Management on Sept. 28.
• Abbott India to meet Reliance MF, Tata AMC and other investors on Sept. 28.
• Gujarat Pipavav Port to meet Deutsche Equities India on Sept. 28.
• Cipla to meet William Blair, Franklin Templeton and Mirae Asset Management on Sept. 28.
• TVS Motor to meet Morgan Stanley on Sept.28.

F&O Cues

• Nifty September futures ended at 11,030, with a premium of 52 points.
• October series: Nifty open interest up 60 percent; Bank Nifty open interest up 97 percent.
• Nifty rollover at 63 percent, Nifty Bank rollover at 66 percent.
• India VIX ended at 16.9, down 1 percent.
• Max open interest for October series call at 11,200 strike price call option (open interest at 25.2 lakh shares, up 26 percent)
• Max open interest for October series put at 11,000 strike price put option, (open interest at 25.3 lakh shares, up 21 percent)

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 0.93 versus 1.09.
• Nifty Bank PCR at 0.52 versus 0.74 .

Macquarie on Indian Auto

• Expect slower retail sales growth in September.
• Maruti Suzuki – discounts increased marginally.
• Customer promotions remained flat for two wheelers on a monthly basis.
• Royal Enfield – 2-4 weeks order backlog remains.

UBS on NBFCs

• Liquidity crisis unlikely but end of benign liquidity to impact growth and NIMs.
• ALM mismatches to hurt margins; Expect growth outperformance to moderate.
• NBFCs directly competing with banks to be adversely impacted.
• Top picks – Shriram Transport, M&M Finance, HDFC; Downgrading Cholamandalam to Sell.

Macquarie on Indiabulls Housing

• Maintained ‘Outperform’; cut price target to Rs 1,400 from Rs 1,599.
• Balance sheet comfortable; Some impact on spreads and growth.
• Liquid assets are 1.25 times its next six months’ debt servicing obligations.
• Cut EPS estimates marginally and expect slowdown in loan growth.

Emkay on Jindal Stainless

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 151.
• Well-positioned for delivering superior results.
• Capacity to ramp-up to 1.1 MTPA from 0.8 MTPA by debottlenecking existing facility.
• Expect reduction in logistics costs and ramp-up in captive chrome ore mining capacity.

• Dilip Buildcon
• Dish TV India
• Fortis Healthcare
• Gujarat State Fertilizers
• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
• Gujarat State Petronet
• Hindustan Aeronautics
• Jain Irrigation
• Jindal Steel & Power
• Just Dial
• MMTC
• ONGC
• VST Industries

• Dewan Housing Finance Corporation: BNP Paribas Arbitrage acquired 49 lakh shares or 1.56 percent at Rs 296.28 each.

• Ircon International to make its stock market debut after its IPO received 9.9 times demand. The issue price was fixed at higher end of price band of Rs 470-475 per share.
• Garden Reach Shipbuilders’ IPO get 72 percent demand for shares offered extended till Oct. 1 and cuts price band.
• Aavas Financers’ IPO got subscribed 0.97 times on its final day of bidding.
• Dinesh Engineers IPO opens with issue priced between Rs 183 and Rs 185

• JSW Steel will replace Lupin in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index today. The Sajjan Jindal-led company will join Tata Steel Ltd., the only other steelmaker in the index.
• Thyssenkrupp AG considered splitting into two companies by spinning off non-steel operations. In the eventuality of such an event, Thyssenkrupp would give existing investors shares of a company that combines elevators, industrial solutions and the components-technology business via an in-kind dividend. Thyssenkrupp would keep a minority stake in the so-called capital goods company, its raw materials trading unit and a 50 percent stake in the steel joint venture with Tata Steel Europe. (Bloomberg News)
• Yes Bank clarified that the bank had not entered into any transaction with the intention of window dressing of corporate accounts to conceal its NPA status. The bank also stated that it has no dealings with it’s three sister family offices, which was allegedly used as a conduit to undue benefits for credit exposure. Further the lender stated all disclosures to stakeholders on NPA divergence was being done on a timely basis.
• Astec Lifesciences announced that the start of the commercial operations of its manufacturing plant in Maharashtra. This unit had been set up to manufacture and supply agrochemicals and intermediates.
• Kesoram Industries received approval from the Karnataka government for acquisition of 675 acres of land for mining activities). The company said that the acquisition would augment its existing reserves of limestone.
• Karnataka Bank launched QR coded two-wheeler insurance product in association with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. The bank said that paperless and instant two-wheeler insurance policy could be issued in two minutes now.
• Reliance Communications clarified that Paytm’s parent company-One97 Communications has filed petition in NCLT for dues worth Rs 20.25 crore against the telecom operator’s two arms. The matter is due for a hearing on Oct. 26.
• Redington said it will buyback 1.1 crore shares representing 2.78 percent of the total number of equity shares at a price of Rs 125 per share. The buyback amount aggregates to Rs 139 crore. The record date is set for Sept. 28.
• Central Bank invoked pledge on the shares of Rolta India’s arm. The arm had pledged 2.5 crore equity shares held by parent Rolta India. The bank had sanctioned credit facilities worth Rs 56 crore to the arm. Invoking of pledge of these shares started from Sept. 19 as the total number of shares held in the books of the book crossed 5 percent. The bank stated that Rolta India’s arm recently defaulted in servicing of interest, principal repayment and margin requirement.

• West Texas Intermediate crude advanced less than 0.1 percent to $72.15 a barrel.
• Brent crude traded 0.15 percent lower at $81.60.
• Gold was at $1,183.58 an ounce.

Shanghai Exchange

• Steel traded lower for the sixth day; down 3.6 percent at two-month low.
• Aluminium traded lower for the fourth day; down 0.9 percent.
• Zinc traded lower for the second day; down 0.3 percent.
• Copper traded lower for second day; down 0.9 percent at one-week low.
• Rubber traded lower; down 0.9 percent.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, traded 0.4 percent higher to 11,088.50 as of 8:10 a.m.

Asian stocks rounded out a volatile month with gains on Friday, with Japanese shares outperforming. Shares in Hong Kong and Australia also gained, with Chinese shares nudging higher, though Korean equities slipped.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary before the opening bell