Market Live: Sensex, Nifty erase early gains; Tejas Networks lists with 0.3% gains

10:30 am Buzzing Stock: United Spirits gained over 3 percent intraday on Tuesday, following a ratings upgrade by Goldman Sachs.

Citing it as a source of opportunity, the research firm upgraded United Spirits to buy from a neutral rating due to better prospects of margin expansion. This is due to an improvement in product mix as well as cost savings undertaken by the company, its report stated.

10.15 am Market check: Equity benchmarks erased early gains, with the Nifty breaking 9550 level on correction in banks, auto, infra and select technology stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 41.90 points at 31,096.31 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 29.70 points to 9,545.25.

The broader markets underperformed benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 0.8 percent each on weak breadth.

More than two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

ICICI Bank, Infosys, SBI, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and ONGC were down 1-2 percent whereas ITC, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Adani Ports and M&M outperformed, up 0.6-1.2 percent.

10:02 am Listing: Tejas Networks has seen a tepid listing on Tuesday as the stock price opened at Rs 257.70 on the National Stock Exchange, up only 0.27 percent from its issue price of Rs 257.

It, so far, managed to hold its issue price. The stock touched a high of Rs 266.15 in early trade.

At 10:02 hours IST, the share price was quoting at Rs 262.90, up Rs 5.90, or 2.30 percent on the NSE.

9:46 am Credit Suisse on Bharat Financial: Credit Suisse has maintained outperform rating on the stock, saying loan waiver is a non-issue for the company.

After recently visiting company’s operations in the Vidarbha region in Central India—one of the worst affected regions on collections post demonetisation, its takeaway is that the peak of collections pain is behind us, with numbers improving week-on-week.

News flow on loan waivers should have negligible/nil impact on the business, according to the research house. Fresh loans are disbursed only to fully current borrower groups.

“We continue to see value in the Bharat Financial. While there could be 1-2 quarters of further high provisioning, this is well known to the markets. Looking beyond, we believe that the stock should re-rate as fresh slippages stay in check and growth/profitability improve,” it said.

9:32 am FII View: Naveen Kulkarni of Phillip Capital said GST would throw the system into chaos over the next three months, as the channel adapts.

Large companies have better prepared IT systems, which could translate into market share gains, he feels.

Primary sales in the B2C segments will be sluggish in the transition period, but he expects a pick-up from the festival season in Q3.

He said while the near-term impact on B2C categories will be negative, considering the productivity gains and possible market share gains, he remains optimistic on larger consumer-facing companies.

Key beneficiaries include HUL, Colgate, Havells, Asian Paints, Titan Industries, Bajaj Electricals, Crompton Greaves and V-Guard.

Also read – Bull’s Eye: Buy Cipla, Reliance Defence, Century Textiles, Mindtree; Sell Sun TV

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks started off truncated week on a positive note, with the Nifty reclaiming 9600 level after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 56.47 points at 31,194.68 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 26.40 points to 9,601.35.

ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, HUL and Asian Paints were early gainers while SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys and Tata Motors were under pressure.

About five shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Jaiprakash Associates and Jaypee Infra rallied 10-20 percent. Sterlite Technologies, United Spirits, Max Financial, NOCIL and Videocon Industries gained 2-5 percent while REC, PFC, Union Bank, PNB, Canara Bank and Apollo Tyres fell 1-2 percent.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 64.48 per dollar against 64.52 Friday.

Markets in Asia were mixed as traders watched for signals from central bankers’ speeches. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.37 percent, while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index reversed earlier losses to trade 0.17 percent higher.