Nifty ends tad below 8900, Sensex falls 145 pts; ITC drags

3:30 pm Market closing:The market failed to hold 52-week high touched in early trade Thursday as the Nifty closed below 8900 on profit booking.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 144.70 points at 28839.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 46.05 points to 8899.75.

About two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

3:22 pm Demonetisation impact: The Indian automobile and tractor sectors suffered a revenue loss of Rs 8,000 crore in November and December due to demonetisation, according to Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Pawan Goenka.
Sales momentum in the automobile industry, which was on a high after a good festive season in September and October last year, came to a halt when the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was announced in early November, according to Goenka.

“We have worked out by using some kind of formula that tractor and auto industry lost Rs 8,000 crore revenue in November and December,” Goenka told PTI in an interaction.

3:15 pm Nifty below 8900: Benchmark indices extended losses in late trade, with the Sensex down 176.97 points at 28807.52.

The Nifty broke 8900 level, down 58.70 points at 8887.10, dragged by ITC and banks stocks.

About two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

3:05 pm Buzzing: Shares of ICICI Bank gained 2 percent intraday after a media report suggested that global private equity firms are looking to acquire Fairfax’s shareholding in general insurance company ICICI Lombard.

“Global private equity firms including The Carlyle Group, Warburg Pincus Llc and Advent International have evinced interest in acquiring the 35 percent stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance held by Canadian financial institution Fairfax Financial Holdings,” a media report said quoting people aware of the development.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, India’s second largest lender and Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings. ICICI Bank holds 65 percent stake and the rest is held by Farifax in joint venture.

2:58 pm Market Check: The Sensex was down 85.94 points at 28898.55, while the Nifty was down 34.80 points at 8911.00. About 957 shares have advanced, 1,860 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged.

2:50 pm Cadila Healthcare gets 3 observations: Cadila Healthcare, part of Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila group, on Thursday, said the company got three observations from USFDA for its formulation facility at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. The USFDA inspected the plant from February 20 to March 1.

“All these three observations are related to pre-approval inspection (PAI) for a specific product filed,” the company said in a press release without naming the product.

The stock fell over 7 percent intraday following the development.

2:41 pm Biocon inspections: Biotech company, Biocon will see two crucial inspections later this month and in early April. Company’s manufacturing sites will come up for inspections by the European medicines agency later this month and next will be an inspection by the US FDA, say sources.

This is an important development for the company. US FDA in January and February had accepted two applications of Biocon for Pegfilgrastim and Trastozomab. The inspection process will give an idea to the company on how well it is prepared for the regulatory process.

2:25 pm Expert Speak: Liquidity will continue to drive the market higher going ahead as the rally in the global markets continues, said Ajay Srivastava, CEO at Dimensions Corporate Finance Services. He said investors need not bother with market fundamentals as long as liquidity flows into the market.

However, sagging Indian economy is a concern, which may impact the rally, he said. He expects major consolidation in the non-banking financial companies (NBFC) space in the medium-term. Smaller NBFCs in the industry can gain on these potential M&A opportunities, he added.

Also Read: IndusInd, Bharat Financial call off deal on valuation worry:Srcs

Sluggishness gripped the market after soaring to a 52-week high during the opening session as investors may have looked to book profits. The Nifty fell below the 8950-mark.

The 30-share Sensex was up 22.84 points at 29007.33, while the Nifty was up 1.50 points at 8947.30. The market was negative, with about 1,041 shares having advanced, 1,695 shares having declined, and 171 shares remained unchanged.

Auto stocks were the top gainers on both the indices, while pharma and telecom stocks were the top losers.

Bharat Financial Inclusion plunged after there were reports that its talks with IndusInd Bank were called off on the back of valuation concerns.

Euro zone government bond yields edged up on Thursday ahead of data expected to show the fastest rise in euro area consumer prices in over four years.

Europe’s benchmark German 10-year yield hit a 10-day high, buttressed by expectations that the US Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates later this month. Governor Lael Brainard joined the chorus of policymakers signalling a hike may come as soon as mid-March late on Wednesday.