Sensex, Nifty Fall For Third Straight Day Dragged By HDFC Twins

Indian equity benchmarks fell for third day in a row dragged by HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and Hero MotoCorp.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.76 percent or 272 points to 35,470 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index dropped 0.84 percent or 90 pints to 10,663.

Sixteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended lower led by the S&P BSE Realty Index's 2.3 percent decline. On the flipside, S&P BSE Information Technology Index was top gainer, up 0.5 percent.

Mid- and small-cap shares also faced selling pressure as the S&P BSE MidCap Index declined 0.54 percent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index fell 1.14 percent.

Sanjiv Bhasin executive VP-markets & corporate affairs at IIFL discussed stocks with BloombergQuint. Here are the highlights of his conversation:

• Valuations are extremely comforting in ITC; HUL will continue to remain expensive.
• All corrections are being bought into Avenue Supermarkets.
• Like JSW Steel and Tata Steel at current levels; 20 percent upside possible in next six months.
• Like SRF, Atul and Aarti Industries from specialty chemical space.
• Tailwinds far outnumber the headwinds for tyre companies rubber prices are at 4-month lows and we like MRF, Apollo Tyre and Ceat for 20 percent upside
• Autos will bounce back smartly as there will be buying because of concessions ahead of Budget.

Indian equity benchmarks extended decline paced by losses in Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Asian Paints.

The Sensex fell 0.6 percent or 214 points to 35,527 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index declined 0.62 percent or 66 points to 10,686.

Top Nifty 50 Losers

• JSW Steel down 4.76 percent
• Hero MotoCorp down 4.45 percent
• Indian Oil down 3.11 percent
• Bajaj Auto down 3.07 percent
• Titan down 2.84 percent

Shares of the Delhi-based heavy electrical equipment maker rose as much as 4.1 percent, the most since Dec. 3, to Rs 73.

Union Minister Anant Geete on Friday said that the government is making efforts to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in India and talks are on between state-run BHEL and a U.S. firm to form a joint venture in this regard, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Indian equity benchmarks were flat swinging in a narrow band as gains in TCS, Infosys and ITC were offset by losses in HDFC twins, Hero MotoCorp and Larsen & Toubro.

The Sensex fell 0.06 percent or 20 points to 35,721 and the Nifty 50 Index declined 0.11 percent or 12 points to 10,742.

Twelve off 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading lower led by the S&P BSE Realty Index's 1.8 percent decline. On the flipside, S&P BSE Information Technology Index was top gainer, up 1.2 percent.

Market breadth was negative as 1,392 shares were declining while 900 were advancing on the BSE.

• Gayatri Projects: The Hyderabad-based construction company rose as much as 3.57 percent to Rs 194.15. Trading volume was more than 100 times its 20-day average.
• Bajaj Holdings: The Pune-based financial services company rose as much as 0.8 percent to Rs 2,965. Trading volume was 10 times its 20-day average.
• SRF: The Gurgaon-based textile maker fell as much as 7.5 percent to Rs 1,988.20. Trading volume was more than seven times its 20-day average.
• Carborundum Universal: The Chennai-based company fell as much as 1.4 percent to Rs 352. Trading volume was seven times its 20-day average.

The government is close to phasing out 28 percent GST slab except a few items, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

Key highlights:

• Future GST road map may be a single standard rate
• A single GST rate could be between 12 and 18 percent
• Next priority to transfer cement into a lower GST slab

Shares of the Delhi-based news broadcast company gained for second day in a row and rose as much as 10 percent to Rs 43.10.

The stock has been advancing after NDTV Convergence on Friday announced Rs 300 crore deal with Taboola, the world’s largest content discovery platform.

Shares of the Mumbai-based logistics solution provider rose as much as 14.79 percent to Rs 35.70 after MSD India Fund sold 26.91 lakh shares (1.1 percent).

Shares of the Chennai-based water and sewage treatment plant builder fell as much as 3 percent to Rs 261.75 after Goldman Sachs India Fund sold 8.7 lakh shares or 1.59 percent at Rs 270.1 each.

Nifty's 10,800 call option contract was among the most active option contracts on the National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract fell 36 percent to Rs 38.95. Over 7.8 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at 35.19 lakh shares.

Shares of the country's largest two-wheeler maker fell as much as 3.54 percent, the most in nearly a month, to Rs 3,206.55 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell.

• Goldman Sachs lowered target price to Rs 2,773 from Rs 3,175.
• Hero MotoCorp had 36 buys, 10 holds, 5 sells previously, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shares of the cement and auto components maker declined after the Goods and Services Tax Council at its 31st meeting on Saturday kept tax rate on cement unchanged at highest slab of 28 percent.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley refrained from reducing GST on cement and auto part makers citing that the move would impact the exchequer by Rs 33,000 crore.

Shares of the movie exhibiting companies gained after the GST Council on Saturday decided to cut tax rate on movie tickets.

GST Council cut rate to 12 percent from 18 percent for tickets priced below Rs 100 and to 18 percent from 28 percent for tickets priced above Rs 100.

• PVR rose as much as 2.9 percent to Rs 1,610
• Inox Leisure advanced 4.52 percent to Rs 250

Shares of sugar manufacturers rose as government is planning additional Rs 7,400 crore soft loan to sugar mills for creating ethanol capacity under a recently launched scheme, Press Trust of India reported citing sources.

The food ministry is also considering tweaking the scheme to ensure that non-molasses-based distilleries are also able to avail soft loans under the scheme launched in June for expansion and setting up of new ethanol plants.

Shares of the country's second largest software services company rose as much as 2 percent to Rs 658.80.

Infosys is likely to again buy back shares worth $1.6 billion, The Times of India reported citing sources.

The buyback could be part of board meet scheduled to meet Jan. 11 regarding quarterly financial results and it may be at 20-25 percent premium to the market value, the report added.

Indian equity benchmarks were flat as gains in Infosys, TCS and ITC were offset by losses in HDFC twins, Hero MotoCorp and Reliance Industries.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.1 percent or 36 points to 35,705 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index declined 0.1 percent or 15 points to 10,739.

Eleven of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading lower led by the S&P BSE Consumer Durables Index's 0.8 percent decline. On the flipside, the S&P BSE Information Technology Index was top gainer, up 0.7 percent.

Mid- and small-cap shares were in line with their larger peers as both the indices were little changed.

• Rupee opened flat at 70.16 per dollar against Friday's close of 70.17.

• Nifty December Futures closed trading at 10,767, with a premium of 13.5 points.
• Maximum open interest for December series call at 11,000 strike value contract. (open interest at 59 lakh shares)
• Maximum open interest for December series put at 10,000 strike value contract. (open interest at 48 lakh shares)

Insider Trades

• Gulshan Polyols promoters acquired 37,000 shares from Dec. 5-19.
• Jay Shree Tea & Industries promoter Manav Investment sold 26,700 shares on Dec. 20.
• Jindal Stainless promoter Abhuday Jindal acquired 48,000 shares from Dec. 19-20.

Who’s Meeting Whom

• Greaves Cotton to meet Renaissance Investment Managers and UBS Securities on Dec. 26.
• Mahindra Logistics to meet Reliance Life Insurance and Elara Capital from Dec. 24-Jan. 4.

Bulk Deals

Fiem Industries

• Morgan Stanley France acquired 1.08 lakh shares (0.82 percent) at Rs 560 each.
• Blackrock India Equities (Mauritius) sold 1.31lakh shares (1 percent) at Rs 560.05 each.

VA Tech Wabag

• Goldman Sachs India Fund sold 8.7 lakh shares (1.59 percent) at Rs 270.1 each.

Apollo Pipes

• Hober Mallow Trust sold 3.1 lakh shares (2.6 percent) at Rs 400 each.
• Malabar India Fund acquired 3.1lakh shares (2.6 percent) at Rs 400 each.

Arshiya

• MSD India Fund sold 26.91 lakh shares (1.1 percent) at Rs 21.36 each.

HealthCare Global Enterprises

• Pabrai Investment Fund sold 21.3 lakh shares (2.15 percent) at Rs 198.05 each
• Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund acquired 10.9 lakh shares (1.24 percent) at Rs 198.05 each

Omkar Speciality Chemicals

• HDFC Bank sold 1.18 lakh shares (0.57 percent) at Rs 27.24 each

• Infosys is likely to again buy back shares worth $1.6 billion, The Times of India reported citing sources. Buyback report could be part of board resolution scheduled to meet Jan. 11 regarding quarterly financial results.
• InterGlobe Aviation signed codeshare mutual agreement with Turkish Airlines. The aviation company said this agreement is a part of its international expansion strategy. Through this cooperation, Turkish Airlines will be offering new destinations in India as a marketing carrier on lndiGo operated flights, while the lndian carrier’s customers will be able to reach many European destinations through Turkish Airlines' network.
• Entertainment Network (India) board approved the company’s foray into U.S. Markets. The proposed thrust for expansion will involve incorporation of arms in U.S. to enter into time brokerage arrangements to broadcast radio programs and content targeting the South Asian Community.
• Fortis Healthcare: SEBI orders Singh brothers and other eight group companies to repay Rs 403 crore to company itself. The order also stated that the Singh brothers and above-mentioned entities to not dispose any assets or divert funds except for payment of the said order for meeting day to day expenses. The order added that Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh shall not associate themselves with the affairs of Fortis Healthcare and Fortis Hospitals in any manner whatsoever, till further directions.
• Bandhan Bank clarified that the bank was unaware of the news that it is in talks with HDFC for control of Gruh Finance. The bank also stated that it is evaluating various opportunities and will not comment on market speculation.
• Petronet LNG restructured its LNG pact with Qatar based LNG Supplier ‘RasGas’. The company had had entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement with RasGas for supply of an additional 1 MMTP A of LNG for onward sale to lOCL, BPCL, GAIL and GSPC in December 2015. The company added that contract has been re-structured by having direct arrangement between the LNG supplier and the Indian entities with effect from Jan. 1.
• PVR board approved raising Rs 750 crore via qualified institutional placement via debt or equity. Meanwhile, the GST Council has cut tax rate on cinema tickets.
• Info Edge arm increased stake in Nopaperforms Solutions to 48.1 percent by investing Rs 28 crore. The company provides digital solutions for educational institutions.
• Inox Leisure commenced commercial operations of Multiplex Theatre in West Bengal.
• BHEL is in talks with U.S. firm for lithium ion battery joint venture. (Bloomberg News)
• Sundaram Finance: Competition Commission of India approves acquisition of 40 percent stake of Royal Sundaram General Insurance Company to Ageas Insurance International N.V. (Bloomberg News)
• Lumax Auto Technologies board approved merger of its wholly owned arm-Lumax DK Auto Industries with self.

• Indonesian tsunami death toll soars as rescuers continue search
• Cutting back on growth will help Indian carriers, says Boeing
• Government mulls additional Rs 7,400 crore soft loan to sugar mills
• FPIs pump in Rs 4,000 crore this month on strong rupee, easing crude oil prices
• GST Council: Full list of rate cuts
• World steps up to study India’s cash ban while Modi looks away
• IL&FS auditors in the crosshairs as report alleges fudging of accounts
• Debt isn’t killing India’s farmers
• Global chaos makes gold a holiday winner for hedge funds

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India was little changed at 10,759 as of 7:34 a.m.

U.S. stock futures and Asian shares were mixed, while the yen advanced, as investors weighed news over the weekend that President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as well as the impact of a partial U.S. government shutdown.

Stocks slid in South Korea and were flat in Australia. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attempted to assure financial markets that Powell would not be ousted from the central bank following a Bloomberg News report that said Trump has repeatedly discussed removing him.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of the article!

Stocks

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.2 percent as of 12:10 p.m. in Sydney.
• South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.4 percent.
• Futures contracts on the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent. The S&P 500 Index fell 2.1 percent on Friday, while the Nasdaq composite was off by 3 percent that day.
• Futures on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index lost 1 percent.

Currencies

• The yen rose 0.2 percent to 111.02 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan gained 0.1 percent to 6.9174 per dollar.
• The euro bought $1.1379, up 0.1 percent.
• The pound gained 0.1 percent to $1.2658.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slid 0.2 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.2 percent to $45.49 a barrel.
• Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,260.74 an ounce.