Nifty, Sensex End At Fresh Three-Year Low; IndusInd Falls Most On Record
Catch all live updates on share prices, index moves, corporate announcements and more from the Sensex and Nifty, today.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
BloombergQuint Market Wrap
Stocks That Dragged The Nifty Lower
Selling Pressure Continues In Private Financials
Closing Bell: No Respite From Selloff
Indian equity markets posted their third straight day of losses on Wednesday, mirroring weak global cues.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 4.72 percent to end at 29,133, the lowest level since March 2017. 28 out of the 30 constituents ended with losses.
The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 500 points or 5.56 percent to end at 8,468. This was the lowest closing level for the index since January 23, 2017. 44 out of the 50 Nifty stocks ended with declines.
Barring the media index, all other sectoral indices ended with losses.
Market breadth remained adverse with 1,350 stocks declining and 227 stocks ending with gains.
Large Trade Alert: ONGC
1.44 crore shares of the upstream oil explorer exchanged hands in nine large trades, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers in the deal were not known immediately.
The stock jumped as much as 44.67 percent - the most on record to Rs 86.80 on the National Stock Exchange.
Bharti Infratel Falls The Most Since Listing
Need Conviction While Investing, Says Envision's Nilesh Shah
F&O Snapshot: Active Options Contracts
Nifty: March 19 Expiry
- 9,000 Call: Premium falls 88.77 percent to Rs 27.50. The contract has added 12.8 lakh shares in open interest.
- 8,500 Put: Premium rises 25.5 percent to Rs 196.20. The contract has added 2.25 lakh shares in open interest.
- 9,200 Call: Premium falls 90.5 percent to Rs 14.40. The contract has added 7.5 lakh shares in open interest.
Nifty Bank: March 19 Expiry
- 23,000 Call: Premium falls 95.5 percent to Rs 16.20. The contract has added 4.1 lakh shares in open interest.
- 22,000 Call: Premium falls 91.33 percent to Rs 70. The contract has added 3 lakh shares in open interest.
- 22,500 Call: Premium falls 94.21 percent to Rs 32.70. The contract has added 2.95 lakh shares in open interest.
European Markets Open With Declines
Spicejet Responds To BloombergQuint's Query
Aviation carrier Spicejet Ltd., has responded to BloombergQuint's query, saying that it as not asked any employee to work from home.
The response also added that no employee has been asked to go on a short-term leave without pay.
The stock is currently locked in a lower circuit of 10 percent, down for the sixth straight session. It is trading at the lowest level since October 2015 and has fallen 40 percent in the last six sessions.
Nifty Bank Constituents At Multi-Year Lows
Market Update
- Nifty down 4.1 percent at 8,592; Makes intraday low of 8,545 - the lowest level since February 2017.
- Nifty Futures add 2.66 percent in open interest and trade at a discount of 71.65 points.
- Nifty Bank down 7.4 percent at 20,519; makes intraday low of 20,267 - the lowest since February 2017.
- Nifty Bank futures add 18 percent in open interest and trade at a discount of 140 points.
- Nifty Midcap and smallcap index down 5.5 percent each
- India Volatility index up 1 percent at 63.64
- Five out of the top six nifty losers are financials
- 11 Nifty stocks trade at a 52-week low
- 93 Nifty 500 stocks trade at a 52-week low
IndusInd Bank's Biggest Ever Fall
Selloff Intensifies In Bajaj Twins
Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv are trading lower for the third straight day.
Bajaj Finance is down 20 percent in the last three sessions, falling to the lowest level since August 2019. The stock has seen a market cap erosion of Rs 31,000 crore in the last three sessions.
Bajaj Finserv too is down 15 percent in the last three days, and is trading a 52-week low. Rs 11,000 crore has been eroded from the stock's market cap.
Markets At Noon
- Nifty down 2.88 percent at 8,708
- Nifty futures add 1 percent in open interest and trade at a discount of 76 points
- Nifty Bank down 4.85 percent at 21,079
- Nifty Bank futures add 13 percent in open interest and trade at a discount of 178 points
- Nifty Midcap and Smallcap index down 4.6 percent each
- Seven Nifty stocks trade at a 52-week low
- 63 stocks of the Nifty 500 index trade at a 52-week low
- India Volatility Index up 1.3 percent at 63.77
- All 13 constituents of the Nifty PSU Bank index at a 52-week low
Nifty Bank Falls Nearly 1,000 Points
The Nifty Bank index is the top sectoral laggard, falling close to 1,000 points in today's trading session. The losses are led by IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The index had made a high of 31,085 on February 20 this year. In the subsequent 17 trading sessions, it has fallen close to 10,000 points.
Private Banks Extend Losses
Shares of IndusInd Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. are down for the third straight day today. Kotak Mahindra Bank (29 points) and ICICI Bank (20 points) are also among the top point contributors to the Nifty downside.
IndusInd Bank gave up all of its early gains, despite the lender putting out a statement saying that the rumours on its financial health are misplaced and motivated. Prices are now down 30 percent in the last three sessions to their lowest level since August 2014 on a closing basis.
Similarly, shares of ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra bank are down 21 percent and 15 percent over the last three trading sessions.
Large Trade Alert: Zee Entertainment
15 lakh shares of the media and entertainment player exchanged hands in a large trade on the National Stock Exchange, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers in the trade were not immediately known.
The stock gained as much as 12.89 percent, the most since November 2019 to Rs 150 in early trade.
Though off the day's high, it still trades with gains of 8 percent at Rs 143.70.
SC Refuses Self Assessment; Vodafone Idea, Infratel See Sharp Drop
Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd. and Bharti Infratel Ltd. saw a sharp drop after the Supreme Court, while hearing the AGR petition said that a reassessment of dues may amount to contempt of Court.
Shares of Vodafone Idea fell as much as 35.15 percent to Rs 3.15 per share while Bharti Infratel fell as much as 13.68 percent to Rs 167.80 per share.
Bharti Airtel Ltd. is trading with gains of 2 percent to Rs 463.70 on the National Stock Exchange.
F&O Snapshot: Active Options Contracts
Nifty: March 19 Expiry
- 8,500 Put: Premium falls 40.2 percent to Rs 93.45. The contract has added 3.53 lakh shares in open interest.
- 9,300 Call: Premium falls 71.1 percent to Rs 33.95. The contract has added 7.82 lakh shares in open interest.
- 9,500 Call: Premium falls 74.48 percent to Rs 17.05. The contract has added 8.42 lakh shares in open interest.
Nifty Bank: March 19 Expiry
- 23,000 Call: Premium falls 70.55 percent to Rs 106. The contract has added 2.61 lakh shares in open interest.
- 24,000 Call: Premium falls 77.37 percent to Rs 28.70. The contract has added 1.85 lakh shares in open interest.
- 21,000 Put: Premium falls 16.55 percent to Rs 384.80. The contract has added 74,500 shares in open interest.
Banking Stocks Extend Losses
Timing The Market Is Impossible, Says Pramod Gubbi
It is important to focus on fundamentals and one should buy in case of fundamentals are trading below value, according to Pramod Gubbi from Marcellus Investment Managers.
In an interaction with BloombergQuint, Gubbi said that investors should assess the strength of the franchise and whether they have the capability to weather what is going to happen in the next 2-4 quarters.
We are less fussed about the valuations, as the strength of the franchise is more important. Some franchises are now trading at mouth-watering valuations that might make us more aggressive in terms of deploying money.Pramod Gubbi, Marcellus Investment Managers
Stock Update: KEC International Wins Orders
Various business divisions of KEC International Ltd. have won orders amounting to Rs 1,047 crore.
The Transmission & Distribution division has won orders worth Rs 669 crore for projects in India, SAARC, Middle East & the Americas.
The Civil business has secured orders worth Rs 153 crore for defence and residential projects in India.
The Solar business has won orders of Rs 104 crore for projects in India and Middle East.
The Cables business has won orders worth Rs 121 crore for various cabling projects.
The stock trades 0.9 percent lower at Rs 258.10 on the National Stock Exchange.
Sectoral Indices Reflect Market Volatility
Update On Yes Bank
- Fourth-day of gains for the private lender
- Third straight day of more than 40 percent gains
- Trades at the highest level since August 2019
- Relative Strength Index at 73 - reading above 70 indicates overbought
- Moratorium to be lifted today; normal operations resume this evening
Stock Reaction: IndusInd Bank Gives Up Gains
Shares of the private lender turned negative after rising as much as 5.74 percent to Rs 639 on the National Stock Exchange.
In a statement to the exchanges, the bank clarified that it remains well capitalised and a growing entity with a strong governance structure.
The bank also said that it expects the net NPA to fall below 1 percent in the March quarter.
The stock has fallen for the third straight day, falling 27 percent during the period.
Opening Bell: Indian Markets Open With Gains
Indian equity markets staged a rebound on Wednesday, tracking positive overnight cues from Wall Street.
The S&P BSE Sensex opened with gains of 1.71 percent at 31,101. The NSE Nifty 50 index too opened with gains of 1.8 percent at 9,127. 46 out of the 50 stocks on the Nifty opened with gains.
Most sectoral indices traded with gains. I.T., Pharma and Media indices gained 2 percent each.
Market breadth was in favour of the advances. 899 stocks opened with gains while 332 stocks declined.
Money Market Update
The Indian currency has opened stronger for the second straight day, tracking gains in Asian peers. The rupee opened at 73.96, as compared to Tuesday's close of 74.27 against the U.S. Dollar.
Yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 6.308 as compared to Tuesday's close of 6.30.
Latest On The Coronavirus
- Worldwide cases at 1,87,674 with death toll rising to 7,400
- IOC says Olympic games to progress as per plan
- All 50 states of the U.S. report cases
- Short selling banned in Italy, Belgium
- Australia asks citizens to not travel abroad for indefinite period
- Total cases in India reach 137 with 3 deaths
- ICMR says India is in stage 2 of the outbreak
Trading Ideas From LKP's Gaurav Bissa
- Buy Nifty for target of 9,200 and stop loss of 8,800
- Buy Bajaj Finance for target of Rs 3,700 and stop loss of Rs 3,300
- Buy Berger Paints at Rs 440 for target of Rs 455 and stop loss of Rs 430
Trading Strategies From Motilal Oswal's Chandan Taparia
- Buy Hindustan Unilever for target of Rs 2,080 and stop loss of Rs 1,940
- Buy Pidilite Industries for target of Rs 1,640 and stop loss of Rs 1,510
- Sell JSW Steel for target of Rs 160 and stop loss of Rs 183
Your Trade Setup For The Day
Key Stocks In Focus
- IndusInd Bank: Says it is financially strong, well-capitalised, profitable, and a growing entity with strong governance. The bank expects net NPA to drop below 1 percent in March ended quarter. Post the Yes Bank fiasco, some state government entities have made withdrawals up to 2 percent of the bank's deposit base. The bank is engaging with these entities to reiterate RBI's stance that their deposits are safe with private banks.
- Yes Bank: To resume normal operations after moratorium is lifted today.
- Metropolis, Dr Lal, Thyrocare: Government urges private labs to provide Coronavirus tests at no cost.
- Coffee Day Enterprises: Says it has not received any investigation report from the authorities and that the process of investigation is currently ongoing.
- HSIL: HDFC MF raises stake to 7.05 percent from 5.05 percent
- HDFC AMC: Morgan Stanley cuts price target to Rs 2,235 from Rs 3,300 factoring in a sharp drawdown in markets and an uncertain outlook.
Find out all that you need to know going into trade, HERE!
U.S. Markets On Tuesday
- Benchmark indices staged a rebound after witnessing their biggest one-day fall since 1987 as the U.S. government stepped up its efforts to offset the financial damage caused by the coronavirus.
- The S&P 500 index ended with gains of 6 percent, while the Dow Jones gained 5.2 percent.
- The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 3.6 percent.
- Yield on the 10-year treasury rose 28 basis points to 1, the highest level in two weeks.
- CBOE Volatility Index fell 8.2 percent to 75.91.
Can Markets Stage A Rebound?
The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.12 percent to 9,015 as 8:05 a.m.
Asian markets are trading mixed while U.S. futures dropped and the Yen advanced. Markets in Australia are down by over 4 percent while those in Hong Kong opened with losses. Japanese markets edged higher.
Australian and Japanese bond yield tracked the sell-off in treasuries from Tuesday.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since 2003 before staging a recovery.
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