Key equity benchmarks witnessed steep selling pressure Wednesday, dragged by metal and banks stocks. Concerns over a global recession and an escalating US-China trade war spoiled investors' sentiment. The Nifty came under pressure as soon as it broke the 11,000-mark in early afternoon trade. It managed to close above 10,900 level, however. The Sensex fell 267.64 points or 0.72% to settle at 37,060.37. The index rose 78.54 points, or 0.21% at the day's high of 37,406.55. The index fell 305.49 points, or 0.82% at the day's low of 37,022.52. The Nifty 50 index fell 98.30 points or 0.89% to settle at 10,918.70. The index rose 17.20 points, or 0.16% at the day's high of 11,034.20. The index fell 110.35 points, or 1% at the day's low of 10,906.65. The Nifty has fallen 135.20 points, or 1.22% in two consecutive trading sessions. Losers outpaced gainers. On the BSE, 651 shares rose and 1825 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.32%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.43%. Among the sectoral indices, the S&P BSE IT index (up 0.16%), the S&P BSE Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services index (down 0.57%) and the S&P BSE Auto index (down 0.62%) outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Metal index (down 2.92%), the S&P BSE Industrials index (down 2.24%) and the S&P BSE Basic Materials index (down 2.21%) underperformed the Sensex. Tata Motors tanked 9.29% to Rs 112.30 after China's Geely Automobile Holdings said on Wednesday first-half net profit declined 40% amid a sustained downturn in the world's biggest auto market, and it forecast an uncertain outlook for vehicle demand for the rest of the year. The group is China's highest profile car maker globally, due to its investments in Volvo and Daimler. China is a big market for Tata Motors. Auto major Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.39%. The company announced the launch of Maruti Suzuki Nexa XL6, a BS VI compliant, 6-seater, multi purpose vehicle (MPV). The XL6 will be available in a 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmission option at a starting price of Rs 9.79 lakh. Index major ITC fell 2.01% to Rs 241.60. The company is reportedly considering a bid to buy a stake in Coffee Day Enterprises as it seeks to diversify away from tobacco products. Coffee Day Enterprises hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 72.80. Metals stocks fell across the board. Steel Authority of India (down 7.8%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 4.81%), Tata Steel (down 4.26%), National Aluminium Company (down 3.57%), JSW Steel (down 2.58%), Hindustan Zinc (down 2.42%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.09%), Vedanta (down 1.72%) and Hindalco Industries (down 1.28%) tumbled. NMDC declined 4.33%, extending losses for second straight day after the Karnataka government decided to cancel the lease given to NMDC for the Donimalai iron ore mine and to put it under auction. Barring HDFC Bank, private sector banks declined. RBL Bank (down 4.54%), Federal Bank (down 2.89%), IndusInd Bank (down 2.77%), ICICI Bank (down 1.19%), Axis Bank (down 1.07%), City Union Bank (down 0.75%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.02%) declined. HDFC Bank advanced 0.18% to Rs 2226. Yes Bank slumped 8.21% to Rs 65.40, extending yesterday's 7.11% fall triggered by a disclosure regarding irregularities and unauthorised transactions at CG Power and Industrial Solution. As on 30 June 2019, Yes Bank held 12.79% stake in CG Power. CG Power and Industrial Solutions hit a 20% lower circuit for the second straight day and ended at Rs 11.80. CG Power announced before trading hours yesterday, that an internal probe of the company had uncovered several irregularities in the financial statements of the company. Following the disclosure, the company's shares hit a lower circuit limit of 20% to end at Rs 14.75 on Tuesday. The stock plunged 35.87% in two trading sessions from its close of Rs 18.40 on Monday, 19 August 2019. Public sector banks fell across the board. Bank of Maharashtra, United Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, UCO Bank, Andhra Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Allahabad Bank fell by between 0.76% to 7.75%. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories declined 2.02% after the company announced that the audit of its formulations manufacturing plant at Duvvada, Visakhapatnam by the USFDA, has been completed, and a Form 483 with 8 observations has been issued. United Spirits rose 0.11%. The company said that its promoter Relay B. V. has hiked stake in the company. The company announced after market hours yesterday that Relay B. V. acquired 33.10 lakh shares at Rs 591.95 per share, aggregating to Rs 195.96 crore. The transaction took place on 20 August 2019 via open markets. The stake of the promoter after the said transaction has risen from 54.78% to 55.24%. HDIL hit a 20% lower circuit at Rs 8.78 after the company informed that it has been admitted under the provisions of The Insolvency Bankruptcy Code, 2016 by an order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). NCLT had passed the order on 20 August 2019 pursuant to an application filed by Bank of India under Section 7 of IBC. HDIL is under the process to file an appeal to National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ('NCLAT') against the order passed by NCLT. On the political front, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has put out a lookout circular for former union minister P Chidambaram, who is untraceable ever since the Delhi High Court denied him protection from arrest on Tuesday, after which the CBI visited his home in Delhi twice. Chidambaram failed to win a reprieve from the Supreme Court, which rejected his petition for anticipatory bail in the INX Media scam case. According to media reports, Chidambaram has been away from his home during visits by the CBI and the ED. Past midnight on Tuesday, the CBI reportedly pasted a notice outside the house asking him to appear before it within two hours of receiving the note. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray will appear before ED in connection with a money laundering probe and has appealed to the party workers not to protest over the issue. The MNS has withdrawn its proposed bandh in the Thane district on Thursday, 22 August 2019. The ED has summoned Raj Thackeray to appear before it on Thursday in connection with its probe into the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) scam. The agency is probing alleged irregularities relating to loans and equity investment worth over Rs 450 crore by IL&FS in Kohinoor CTNL Infrastructure Company, which is developing Kohinoor Square tower in Mumbai's Dadar area. Overseas, European stocks traded higher as investors await minutes from a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned, kickstarting consultations between President Sergio Mattarella and party leaders in the hope of a solution to the political crisis. Asian markets closed on a mixed note on Wednesday as fresh worries about a global recession led investors to dump risky assets, with US President Donald Trump showing no signs of backing down in his trade war with China. Financial shares led US stocks lower on Tuesday to end a three-day rally as investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the end of the week. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |