Sensex, Nifty End Lower As U.S.-Iran Tensions Keep Investors On The Edge

Indian equity indices ended in negative territory as Iran firing more than a dozen missiles at U.S. airbases in Iraq kept investors on the edge.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.13 percent to end at 40,817.74 and the NSE Nifty 50 declined 0.23 percent to close at 12,025.35. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.13 percent.

The trading range is expected from 11,800-12,100 in the near term. That's according to Sameet Chavan, chief analyst (Technical & Derivatives), Angel Broking.

"An investor should start buying at the lower range of 11,800 that acts as a support level and sell-off when it reaches 12,100 levels," Chavan said in an interview to BloombergQuint.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 1054 stocks declined and 746 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Nine out of the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE ended lower, led by the NSE Nifty Auto Index’s 0.75 percent fall. Nifty IT Index was the top gainer, up 0.37 percent.

The cabinet also approved an in-principle strategic disinvestment of equity shareholding, in Neelachal Ispat Nigam, of:

• Minerals and Metals Trading Corp.
• National Mineral Development Corp.
• MECON (formerly known as Metallurgical & Engineering)

• BHEL

Shares of the world’s largest coal miner declined as much as 3.7 percent to a two-week low of Rs 198.20 each.

The cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance seeking removal of an end-use clause in coal mining auctions in order to attract large private investments into the sector.

The stock traded 7 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, according to Bloomberg data.

Catch all other cabinet decisions here:

The trading range is expected from 11,800-12,100 in the near term. That's according to Sameet Chavan, chief analyst (Technical & Derivatives), Angel Broking.

"An investor should start buying at the lower range of 11,800 that acts as a support level and sell-off when it reaches 12,100 levels," Chavan said in an interview to BloombergQuint.

Shares of the Adani Group firm declined 4.7 percent to Rs 194.55 apiece, the lowest level in nearly two months.

Supreme Court will hear plea on over-invoicing probe against Adani Enterprises in two weeks, according to Bloomberg report. Supreme Court put on hold an October order by the Bombay High Court that quashed Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s Letter Rogatory for information from foreign countries, the report added.

The stock traded at 20 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of the New Delhi-based media firm surged 7.7 percent to Rs 17.40 apiece.

HT Media’s arm HT Learning Centers to restructure its ‘Studymate’ and ‘Englishmate’ businesses, according to its exchange notification. The arm will not accept new enrollment but will continue to honour existing commitments for the academic year 2019-2020, the notification added.

The trading volume was nearly three times the 20-day average for this time of the day, Bloomberg data showed.

Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in the afternoon trade led by declines in auto stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.65 percent 40,602.70 and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.75 percent to 11,961.90—their lowest levels since first week of December. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.68 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 1,200 stocks declined and 527 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

All sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded lower, led by the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index’s 1.82 percent fall.

Shares of the Hyderabad-based infrastructure developer fell 4.3 percent to Rs 80.50 each.
The company defaulted on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 82.66 crore as on Dec. 31, according to its exchange filing. The total financial indebtedness was at Rs 3,299.04 crore, the filing said.

Gayatri Projects said unusual cash flow mismatches during the sector quarter due to prolonged monsoon and delay in payments from state governments as reasons for the default. However, the company is now at an advanced stage of monetising its arbitration awards of over Rs 900 crore, the filing added.

The stock has fallen 53 percent in the past 12 months compared with a 13 percent gain in the Nifty Index.

Indian telecom firms approached the Supreme Court to seek early hearing of the review petition in adjusted gross revenue case.

The top court to decide on the plea on Jan. 9. The deadline for payment of AGR dues is Jan. 23.

Shares of Vodafone Idea jumped 5 percent to Rs 6.30 apiece while Bharti Airtel pared losses and traded 0.4 percent lower at Rs 440.35 each.

Nifty’s 12,100 call option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract, which is set to expire on Jan. 9, fell 52 percent to Rs 16.70. Over 6.50 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 29.12 lakh shares.

• AU Small Finance Bank: About 14 lakh shares changed hands in large trade.
• Fortis healthcare: About 30 lakh shares changed hands in a large trade

Buyers and sellers were not known immediately
Source: Bloomberg

Shares of ITC resumed declines after a one-day breather. The stock fell as much as 0.9 percent to Rs 233.25, the lowest since December 2016.

The stock declined 16 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 14 percent rally in the Sensex. The scrip traded at 19 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, according to Bloomberg data.

Indian stocks pared most of their opening losses.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.34 percent 40,731 after declining as much as 0.96 percent earlier and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.37 percent to 12,008. The 50-stock index had declined as much as 1.02 percent in the opening trade. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.3 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 1,023 stocks declined and 620 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Ten out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded lower, led by the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index’s 1.07 percent fall. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the only sectoral gainer, up 0.25 percent.

Shares of Navin Fluorine International extended gains for the second consecutive trading session. The stock rose as much as 5.9 percent to hit an all-time high at Rs 1,083.80.

The company commenced commercial production in its cGMP capacity addition in Madhya Pradesh plant, according to the statement on the exchanges.

Trading volume was almost nine times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The relative strength index was above 70, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Navin Fluorine traded at 28 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, according to Bloomberg data.

Shares of Suzlon Energy halted a five-day gaining streak. The stock hit its lower circuit of 10 percent at Rs 3.15.

The company’s default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 7,256 crore as on Dec. 31, according to its statement to the exchanges.

The scrip advanced 68 percent in the past five days and 45 percent in the past 30 days. Trading volume was almost eight times its 20-day average, according to Bloomberg data.

Shares of Yes Bank rose as much as 4.8 percent to Rs 47.20.

The Mumbai-based lender plans to consider fundraising proposals in its board meeting on Jan. 10, according to its statement to the exchanges.

The stock was the best performer on Nifty. The stock declined 0.9 percent in the past five days and declined 17 percent in the past 30 days, according to Blomberg data.

Shares of the oil marketing companies declined after Asia’s crude benchmark—Brent crude—rose as much as 5.1 percent to 71.75.

The rally in crude oil came after Iran attacked two U.S.-Iraqi bases in its first response to the killing of a top general, sparking fears the deepening conflict will disrupt global crude supplies. (Catch all the crude updates here)

Indian equity benchmarks opened lower, resuming declines after a one-day blip.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.76 percent or 316 points to 40,556 and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.86 percent to 11,948. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.95 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 1,081 stocks declined and 342 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

All the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index’s 2.52 percent advance.

Index Futures

• Nifty January futures closed at 12,016.7, premium of 53.8 points versus 50.7 points
• Nifty January futures adds 51,000 shares in open interest.
• Nifty Bank January futures closed at 31,492.8, premium of 93.4 points versus 124.9 points.
• Nifty Bank January futures open interest up 5 percent, adds 66.4 lakh shares in open interest.

Options

• Nifty PCR at 1.18 versus 1.11 (across all series).

Nifty Weekly Expiry: Jan. 9

• Max open interest on call side at 12,200 (29.7 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 12,000 (26 lakh shares).
• Open interest addition seen at 12,050P (+7.4 lakh shares), 12,000P (+6.1 lakh shares), 12,200C (+4.2 lakh shares).
• Open interest shedding seen at 12,050C (-2.2 lakh shares), 12.000C (-1.7 lakh shares).

Nifty Monthly Expiry: Jan. 30

• Max open interest on call side at 12,500 (27.4 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 12,000 (42.2 lakh shares).

• Tata Steel to meet Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Blackrock Investment Management and PIMCO from Jan. 9-10.
• Minda Corp to meet Svan Investments, Investec Capital and other investors from Jan. 9-10.

• GSS Infotech, Indiabulls Integrated Services, Shankara Building Products, Weizmann, Jiya Eco-Products, RattanIndia Power to move into short term ASM Framework.
• IIFL Securities to move into ASM Framework.
• Kesoram Industries price band revised to 20 percent.
• Zuari Global price band revised to 10 percent.

The Indian rupee opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The home currency depreciated as much as 0.28 percent to 72.03 against the greenback.

Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.24 percent to 40,771.31 during the pre-market trade and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 1.5 percent to 11,873.

• Suzlon Energy Communications default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 7,256 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 14,048 crore.
• Jaypee Infratech default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 6,721 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 13,438 crore.
• Reliance Communications default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 28,825 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 32,575 crore.
• Hindustan Construction Company default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 286.2 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 10,391 crore.
• Gayatri Projects default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 82.66 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 3,299.04 crore.
• Religare Enterprises default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 209.05 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 371.92 crore.
• Reliance Power default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 685 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 934 crore.
• Reliance Naval & Engineering default on loans from financial institutions and banks stood at Rs 9,492 crore as on Dec. 31. Total financial indebtedness was at Rs 9,534 crore.

• Tata Steel said that its arm TS Alloys has received a letter of intent for grant of mining lease for 50 years for Saruabil Chromite mining block, from the Odisha Government.
• Cadila Healthcare: Amgen won ruling to revive Sensipar patent against Amneal. Amgen case against Amneal sent back to the trial court, according to a Bloomberg report.
• Navin Fluorine commenced production of company’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice capacity addition at Madhya Pradesh.
• ZF Steering said that search and seizure operations have been completed.
• NCL Industries Q3 Update: Cement Production down 23 percent to 4,23,199 million tonne. Cement dispatches down 22 percent to 4,30,861 MT.
• NBCC secured business of Rs 1,090.53 crore in December.
• Bosch said that it has received a strike notice from the respective Trade Unions at the company’s plants situated at Bidadi and Naganathapura, stating that they are participating in the All India General Strike called by Central Trade Union on Jan. 8.
• HT Media’s arm HT Learning Centers to restructure its ‘Studymate’ and ‘Englishmate’ businesses. The arm will not accept new enrollment but will continue to honour existing commitments for the academic year 2019-2020.
• Thomas Cook signed long term strategic agreement with Abu Dhabi’s trade and promotion arm.
• Coal India output to be affected due to a strike on Jan. 8. (BN)
• V2 Retail: Akash Agarwal resigned as the chief executive officer with effect from Jan. 2.
• HDIL: First Committee of Creditors on Jan. 8.
• Wadia Group Stocks: Go Air received notice from Directorate General of Civil Aviation on crew duty timings, according to Bloomberg report.
• Goa Carbon Dec. Production up 77 percent to 11,112 MT.
• Indian Overseas Bank has decreased Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate by 25 basis points for overnight and one-month tenors with effect from Jan. 10. Overnight MCLR at 7.8 percent and one-month MCLR at 7.95 percent.
• Bajaj Electricals: NCLT approved the scheme arrangement between Hind Lamps and the company.

• Trade unions in the country, including bank and factory employees, on strike, to protest the government’s policies
• AMFI to release mutual fund industry data for December and outlook.

• The S&P 500 dropped for the second time in three sessions.
• Oil surged above $70 a barrel after Iran fired rockets at a joint U.S.-Iraqi airbase.
• Gold held near the highest level in more than six years.

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The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.92 percent to 12,010 as of 8:50 a.m.

U.S. stock futures and Asian equities pared earlier declines as investors mulled an Iranian attack on military facilities in Iraq hosting American troops, escalating tensions in the Middle East. Haven assets pared gains.

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