Sensex, Nifty Close Lower After Volatile Session Ahead Of U.S. Fed Meet

India's stock benchmarks closed lower after fluctuating between gains and losses in a volatile session as losses in banking and fmcg stocks offset the gains in information technology, realty, metal, media and auto stocks. Focus now shifts to the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting outcome due later today, as investors look for a potential timeline for tapering stimulus.

The Sensex fell 0.13% to 58,927.33. The Nifty 50 declined by a similar magnitude to 17,546.65. HDFC Bank Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.2%. Housing Development Finance Corp. had the largest drop, falling 1.4%. Today, 22 of 50 shares fell, while 28 rose.

The broader indices outperformed its larger peers with the S&P BSE MidCap adding 1.5% and S&P BSE SmallCap gaining over 1%. Fourteen out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Realty index adding over 8%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bulls. About 2,101 stocks advanced, 1,137 declined and 165 remained unchanged.

Indian movie hall operators Inox Leisure and PVR surged after a media report said western state of Maharashtra may soon allow them to resume operations.

• Maharashtra state officials are preparing rules for opening cinema halls from Oct. 1, news service Redbox India reported without citing where it got information

• Inox Leisure traded 12% higher as of 3.16 p.m. in Mumbai; it rose as much as 19% earlier in the day.

• Inox’s larger rival PVR was up 3.5% after gaining 8.2% earlier in the session.

• Phoenix Mills, which operates shopping malls that also house movie multiplexes, was up 7.5%

• In a post-pandemic world, India's economic prospects are underpinned by seven sectors

• IT and IT-enabled services have emerged as a major sector driving economic growth

• India has emerged as a major hub for start-up ecosystem, with a large number of unicorns

• India's digital momentum is another area of growth

• Drive toward full liberalization of economy, has to go hand in hand with development of data storage centers

• E-commerce is coming up as another key sector for India

Source: Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI At AIMA National Management Convention

Torrent Power Ltd. has entered into a share purchase agreement with CESC Ltd., Haldia Energy Ltd. and other nominal shareholders for the acquisition of 100% of share capital of Surya Vidyut Ltd.

Surya Vidyut is a wholly owned subsidiary of CESC Ltd. The company operates 156 Mega Watt wind power plants across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The enterprise value has been estimated to be about Rs 790 crore.

Shares of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd rose 6.52%, the most in 10 weeks, to Rs 214.7 apiece

Trading in the company’s call options was double the average. Trading volume was 18% above the 20-day average for this time of the day.

Analysts have 21 ‘buy’, three ‘hold’ and one ‘sell’ recommendations on the stock. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 20.7%.

Shares of Route Mobile Ltd. rose 2.58% in intraday trade to Rs 2,000 apiece after the company approved the raising of Rs 2,000 crore funds in one or more tranches.

In an exchange filing, the company said that the fund raise could be done through the issuance of equity shares, or other securities into or exchangeable into shares or non-convertible debt instruments or any combination through private placement, preferential issue, issuance of ADRs, global depository receipts or foreign currency convertible bonds, QIP, further public offer or through any other permissible mode or combination.

Of the five analysts tracking the company, four maintained ‘hold’ and one maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 17.5%

• Shares of Persistent Systems Ltd. rose 6.41%, the most intraday gains in eight weeks, to Rs 3,810 apiece.

• Trading volume was 42% above the 20-day average for this time of the day.

• The relative strength index on the stock was above 70, suggesting it may be overbought.

• Persistent Systems trades at 46 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year.

• Analysts have 16 'buy', nine 'hold' and seven 'sell' recommendations on the stock. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 15.8%.

The S&P BSE Realty Index surged as much as 8.1% to Rs 3,610.84 apiece in intraday trade, its highest level since Nov. 2010, led by Godrej Properties Ltd. after the developer reported sales of Rs 575 crore in a single day at its residential project in Noida, near New Delhi.

• Godrej Properties shares climbed as much as 13% to a record high, with volume 4.5 times the three-month full-day average; the company's total sales in the project in the past six months have reached Rs 1,140 crore.

• Property gauge set for biggest daily gain since April 2017.

• Among other stocks, DLF Ltd. climbs as much as 13%, Sobha Ltd. 9.4%, Indiabulls Real Estate 8.3% and Oberoi Realty Ltd. 7.5%

• Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects about 7,000 property registrations this month in Mumbai; new property registrations have already breached 6,000 units in the first 21 days of Sept., it said in a note.

Shares of Jindal Saw Ltd. rose 4.3% to Rs 118.8 apiece after CARE Rating Ltd. reaffirmed the credit rating of the company’s long-term bank facilities at CARE AA; Negative (Double A; Outlook: Negative). The credit rating of the short-term banking facilities has been reaffirmed at CARE A1+.

Commercial Paper rating has also reaffirmed as CARE A1+ while issuer rating has been reaffirmed as CARE AA (Is); Negative.

India’s rupee declines the most among emerging-Asian currencies, weighed down by outflows related to stake sales. Bonds trade in a tight range ahead of RBI’s Operation Twist-style debt operations on Thursday.

• USD/INR rises 0.3% to 73.8075 on Wednesday

• 10-year yields steady at 6.12% on Wednesday

GAIL India Ltd.’s marketing director E.S. Ranganathan met up with senior officials of Adnoc Group and expressed desire to explore future opportunities in energy market and expand business horizons, the Indian state-run gas utility said in a Twitter post.

Ranganathan met Adnoc officials in Dubai during Gastech conference. He also met Jonty Shepard, chief operating officer of LNG at BP and discussed opportunities for collaboration and future of LNG market.

India's stock benchmarks fluctuated between gains and losses to remain little changed in a volatile session so far, as gains in realty, information technology, metal and auto stocks were offset by losses in banking, fmcg and utilities stocks, amid weak global cues due to contagion risks from the debt crisis in China’s Evergrande Group. Focus now shifts to the Federal Reserve meeting due later today, as investors look for a potential timeline for tapering stimulus.

The S&P BSE Sensex was little changed at 59,060.13. The NSE Nifty 50 remained rose 0.1% to 17,580.40. Reliance Industries Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.0%t. Tech Mahindra Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 3.4%. In midday trading, 31 of 50 shares rose, while 19 fell.

The broader indices outperformed its larger peers with both the S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap adding over 1%. Fourteen out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Realty index adding over 7%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bulls. About 2,085 stocks advanced, 991 declined and 167 remained unchanged

Shares of Godrej Properties Ltd rose 5.28% to Rs 1,814.7 apiece after the company informed the exchanges that it achieved sales of Rs 575 crore in a single day at the launch of the second phase of its project Godrej Woods in Noida.

In an exchange filing, the Mumbai-based real estate developer said it sold 340 homes with an area of more than half a million square feet on the first day of the launch.

The project Godrej Woods, situated in Noida – Sector 43, is set amid a lush green development with over 600 trees, with lifestyle amenities such as pools, café, rivulet, clubhouse, orchards, forest trail and an elevated walkway.

• Of the 20 analysts tracking the company, five maintained 'buy', six maintained 'hold' and nine maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 19.3%.

• Trading volume on the stock was 3.1 times the 30-day average volume at-time, for this time of the day.

• The relative strength on the stock was 82, suggesting it may be overbought.

• GMR Infrastructure Ltd. has 16.5 million shares change hands in 2 bunch trades.

• GMR Infra has another 24.1 million shares change hands in 3 bunches

• Buyers and sellers are not known.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. rose 1.87% to Rs 97.85 apiece after the company announced that its subsidiary Ashoka Concessions Ltd. entered into a share purchase agreement with Highway Concessions One Pvt Ltd. The agreement is for the acquisition of 49% stake (1,45,60,442 shares of Rs 10 each) held by Highway Concessions in Ashoka Highways Ltd, along with zero interest shareholders loan for an aggregate consideration of Rs 5 crore. The company expects to complete the acquisition by October 2021.

Ashoka Concessions already holds 51% of the issued, subscribed and paid up capital of Ashoka Highways. Post completion of the transaction, Ashoka Concessions will hold 100% stake in Ashoka Highways.

Ashoka Highways is a special purpose vehicle incorporated to execute the project awarded by National Highways Authority of India. The Rs 587 crore project, which was awarded in December 2006 was completed in February 2012. The company collects the toll from the project since then.

Of the 19 analysts tracking Ashoka Buildcon, 18 maintained ‘buy’ and one maintained ‘hold’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 58.1%.

SpiceJet Ltd. has issued clarification on a news report on Monday titled “SpiceJet gets lease rental waiver of Rs 300 crore for 4 Boeing MAX aircraft”.

The company, in an exchange filing, said that commercial settlements with aircraft lessors are confidential. It also refrained from commenting on media speculation.

On August 26, SpiceJet announced that it entered into a settlement with Avolon, a major lessor of MAX aircraft, setting the stage for the 737 MAX aircraft to start to return to service.

• Shares of Gillette India Ltd. rose 2.47% , the most in 10 weeks, to Rs 6,040.6 apiece.

• Trading volume was 89% of the 20-day average for this time of the day.

• Gillette India trades at 69 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year.

• Analysts have one 'buy', one 'hold' and no 'sell' recommendations on the stock

Shares of Surya Roshni Ltd rose over 9% to Rs 819.8 apiece after the company secured an order worth Rs 41.22 crore (excluding GST) from Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) through e-bidding.

In an exchange filing, Surya Roshni said that the order pertained to the implementation of smart LED street lights and installation of centralized monitoring system.

The time period by which the order is to be executed is one year for supply and 7 years for maintenance.

The relative strength index on the stock was 80, suggesting it may be overbought. Trading volume on the stock was 3.2 times the 30-day average volume at-time, for this time in the day.

Shorter-term India sovereign securities gained in Wednesday morning trading.

• The 4-year yield fell 1.5bps to 5.203%

• The 10-year yield was little changed at 6.12%

• The 18-year yield remained unchanged at 6.702%

• The 4-year-10-year yield spread was 91.7bps, vs previous close 90.4bps

Shares of KPIT Technologies Ltd. rose nearly 2% to Rs 325.1 apiece after the company approved the acquisition of the initial 25% shareholding in Future Mobility Solutions GmbH.

In an exchange filing, the company said that it will acquire the balance shareholding over a period of three years. Majority shareholding is expected to be acquired in the last quarter of the Financial Year 2022-23.

Of the seven analysts tracking the company, five maintained ‘buy’, one maintained ‘hold’ and one maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 5.3%.

Shares of Mphasis Ltd. rose 2.44% to Rs 3,275 apiece after the company announced that it acquired Blink UX, a User Experience research, strategy and design firm that works with world’s leading companies to create digital products, brands and experiences.

Blink UX is headquartered in Seattle and has studios in Austin, Boston, San Diego and San Francisco.

In an exchange filing, Mphasis said that the acquisition is likely to provide access marquee logos, strengthen experience business and is revenue growth accretive. The total cost of the acquisition was $94 million and the acquisition closed on Tuesday.

Nitin Rakesh, CEO and Executive Director of Mphasis said that the total addressable market for the upstream user research, strategy and design is growing 25-30% per annum, which is 4-5 times that of the overall I.T. services market. He added that the acquisition of Blink UX will provide synergy opportunities in Product, Experience & Service design.

Of the 33 analysts tracking the company, 25 maintained 'buy', six maintained 'hold' and two maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 13.4%.

The relative strength index on the stock was 73, suggesting it may be overbought.

Shares of MTAR Technologies Ltd. rose 4.87% to Rs 1,470 apiece after the company received the NADCAP certification for its 100% export orient unit (EOU) in Hyderabad, Telangana for the period of 12 months.

The National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) certification for chemical processing, painting, dry film coatings and solution analysis is not only expected to increase the company’s wallet share with existing customers, but also enhance the customer base, the MTAR Tech’s Managing Director Parvat Srinivas Reddy said in an exchange filing.

Trading volume was 1.7 times the 30-day average volume at-time, for this time of the day.

All the three analysts tracking the company maintained ‘buy’ recommendations.

Shares of Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd. rose 3.63% to Rs 1,054.65 apiece after the company won order worth Rs 65 crore in mining and earthmoving segment.

In an exchange release, Ramkrishna Forgings said it won the non-auto segment order for supply of mining and earthmoving components from an Indian arm of Hitachi. The order will be supplied in FY22 and FY23.

Trading volume on the stock was 1.7 times the 30-day average volume at-time, for this time in the day.

All three analysts tracking the company maintained ‘buy’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 5.6%.

Shares of Mindtree Ltd. rose over 4% to Rs 4,535.75 apiece after the company announced expansion in Europe and Asia Pacific markets.

In an exchange filing before market hours Wednesday, Mindtree said that it made several key executive appointments to accelerate growth in the two markets.

• Klaus Seifert has been appointed as Head of Strategy for Europe and Chief Business Officer for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

• Erik Julius Larsen has joined the company as Chief Business Officer for Nordics and Benelux. Dominic Del Guidice has been appointed as Chief Business Officer for Asia Pacific.

Of the 40 analysts tracking the company, 18 maintained ‘buy’, 11 maintained ‘hold’ and 11 maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 36.1%.

• Trading volume was 2.7 times the 30-day average volume at-time, for this time of the day.

• The relative strength index on the stock was at 88, suggesting it may be overbought.

Shares of KEC International Ltd. rose 4.39% to Rs 474.8 apiece after the company secured two new orders worth Rs 1,157 crore across its various businesses.

• In an exchange filing post market hours Tuesday, KEC International said the transmission and distribution (T&D) business bagged orders of Rs 663 crore for projects in Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

• Railways business won orders worth Rs 220 crore for 2 x 25 kV Overhead Electrification (OE) and associated works for speed upgradation in India.

• Civil business won order worth Rs 173 crore for construction of a new airport terminal building and associated works in South India.

• Cables business secured orders worth Rs 101 crore for various types of cables in India and overseas.

Of the 31 analysts tracking the company, 24 maintained ‘buy’, six maintained ‘hold’ and one maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 2.2%.

• Trading volume on the stock was 1.6 times the 30-day average volume at-time, for this time of the day.

• Shares of KEC International have risen over the last three sessions. The company agreed to acquire Spur Infrastructure in a Rs 62 crore cash transaction announced on September 18. Over the last three session, shares of KEC International have risen 11.14%.

Shares of Essel group stocks advanced after Zee Entertainment agreed to merge with Sony India.

Shareholders of Sony Pictures Networks India will infuse growth capital and will hold a majority 52.93% stake in the merged entity. Punit Goenka will continue to be the Managing Director and CEO of the merged entity.

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. rose 15% while Zee Learn Ltd.’s shares added nearly 18%.

SITI Networks Ltd. gained over 3%, Dish TV India Ltd’s stocks jumped 10%, MT Educare Ltd. advanced 7.7% and shares of Zee Media Corp rose 4.68%

India's stock benchmarks opened higher, as gains in metal, realty, media and information technology stocks offset the losses in banking stocks. Sentiment was sapped due to the debt crisis at China’s Evergrande Group as investors await Federal Reserve meeting due later today, as they look for a potential timeline for tapering stimulus.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.15% to 59,095.21. The NSE Nifty 50 also advanced by similar magnitude to 17,589.85.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with the S&P BSE MidCap largely and S&P BSE SmallCap gaining over 0.7%. Barring S&P BSE Bankex and S&P BSE Finance, all the other 17 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Power adding over 1.5%

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bulls. About 1,713 stocks advanced, 500 declined and 89 remained unchanged.

Data Patterns India Ltd., which supplies electronic systems to the defense and aerospace sector, seeks to raise as much as Rs 300 crore selling new shares in its initial public offering, while its shareholders will sell up to 6.07 million shares, according to a draft prospectus.

• Data Patterns may consider a pre-IPO placement of Rs 60crore; new share issue in the IPO will be lower if the pre-IPO sale happens

• JM Financial and IIFL Securities are the banks managing the IPO

Mphasis Ltd. has acquired Blink UX, a User Experience research, strategy and design firm that works with world’s leading companies to create digital products, brands and experiences.

Blink UX is headquartered in Seattle and has studios in Austin, Boston, San Diego and San Francisco.

In an exchange filing, Mphasis said that the acquisition is likely to provide access marquee logos, strengthen experience business and is revenue growth accretive. The total cost of the acquisition was $94 million and the acquisition closed on Tuesday.

Nitin Rakesh, CEO and Executive Director of Mphasis said that the total addressable market for the upstream user research, strategy and design is growing 25-30% per annum, which is 4-5 times that of the overall I.T. services market. He added that the acquisition of Blink UX will provide synergy opportunities in Product, Experience & Service design.

Electronics Mart India Ltd., a Hyderabad-based consumer durables and electronics retailer, has sought approval for up to Rs 500 crore IPO. The company plans to use the proceeds from the initial public offering to open more stores and repay some loans, according to its draft prospectus.

• Anand Rathi Advisors, IIFL Securities and JM Financial are the banks managing the IPO

India’s media and entertainment stocks will be in focus after Zee Entertainment Enterprises, the country’s largest publicly-traded television network, agreed to explore a merger with Sony Pictures Networks India.

• The deal will result in Sony India infusing growth capital and nominating majority of board members in the merged entity while Punit Goenka will continue as the chief executive officer of the company

• In Focus: Sun TV, Zee Media, Dish TV India, Shemaroo Entertainment, Balaji Telefilms, TV Today, NDTV, Eros International

• The deal comes after Zee’s key investors last week sought the removal of three directors, including Goenka.

Godrej Properties has achieved sales of Rs 575 crore in a single day at the launch of the second phase of its project Godrej Woods in Noida.

In an exchange filing, the Mumbai-based real estate developer said it sold 340 homes with an area of more than half a million square feet on the first day of the launch.

The project Godrej Woods, situated in Noida – Sector 43, is set amid a lush green development with over 600 trees, with lifestyle amenities such as pools, café, rivulet, clubhouse, orchards, forest trail and an elevated walkway.

Asian stocks and U.S. futures fell on Wednesday as traders assess the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group and gird for a Federal Reserve meeting that is expected to signal a reduction in stimulus later this year.

Equities in Japan and Australia retreated. China resumes trading later in the morning after a two-day holiday, while Hong Kong is shut. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts declined after dip-buying waned in the U.S. session, leaving the broader U.S. benchmark gauge little changed.

India’s SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for September delivery fell 0.1% to 17,540.00, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index shed 0.6%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index gained 1% on Tuesday to 17,562.00.

Evergrande, which has more than $300 billion of liabilities, missed some interest payments due Monday and investors are seeking clues about how Beijing plans to deal with the cash crunch. The Chinese central bank’s daily open-market operations may hint at whether officials are aiming to avert systemic stress.

Treasuries were steady ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting. A strong auction of 20-year debt highlighted cautious sentiment and demand for less risky investments. The dollar was little changed. Elsewhere, Bitcoin slid below $40,000 for the first time since early August before rebounding.

Oil edged up for a second day, while iron ore futures took a breather following Monday’s rout, though stayed below $100 a tonne on China’s steel output curbs. South Korea’s markets are closed for a holiday.

Back home, Hindustan Copper, IDFC, NDTV are among the companies holding their annual shareholders’ meeting. Foreign investors bought net Rs 79.39 crore of stocks on Monday, according to NSDL website.