Market Live: Sensex, Nifty erase most gains ahead of RBI policy; LT declines

11:24 am Earnings: Punjab National Bank on Wednesday posted 12 percent gain in its June quarter net profit at Rs 343.4 crore against Rs 306.4 crore in the same period last year. But the cause of concern for the bank is the declining asset quality as net non-performing assets rose to 8.67 percent against 7.81 percent in the previous quarter.

According to a poll of analysts by CNBC-TV18, the lender was expected to post a profit of Rs 358.9 crore.

The net interest income, difference between interest earned and interest expended, was reported at Rs 3,855.1 crore, a rise of 4 percent against Rs 3,699 crore year on year. The Street expected this figure to be at RS 3,809.4 crore.

On the asset quality front, the net NPAs surged to Rs 34,573 crore against Rs 32,702 crore in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the gross NPAs stood at Rs 57,721 crore against Rs 55,370 crore quarter on quarter.

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11:05 am Market Check: Benchmark indices turned sluggish ahead of the crucial outcome of the monetary policy committee’s meeting later in the day, with the Nifty below 10,100-mark.

The Sensex was down 34.88 points at 32540.29, while the Nifty was down 20.05 points at 10094.60. The market breadth, however, was negative as 1040 shares advanced against a decline of 1144 shares, while 147 shares were unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp and NTPC gained the most on both indices, while BHEL, Bajaj Auto and Indiabulls Housing were the top losers.

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10:49 am Market Outlook: HDFC Securities is placing its bet on consumption sector going forward on the basis of strong rural story in the next two years. “Good monsoon, government spending in the upcountry, among others, will help it…rural story is going to be fabulous in the next two years,” Dipen Sheth, Head- Institutional Research, HDFC Securities told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Speaking on other sectors and stocks, Sheth said that he has a constructive view on HCL Technologies. In case of Tech Mahindra, the view will turn constructive on it going forward. Further, he added that there was a strong value play in the IT sector.

The aviation sector, on the other hand, is a good bet according to Sheth. He highlighted on how rail fares, coupled with dynamic pricing were coming almost at par with air fares one month forward. In this sector, he likes InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, as it has a capital light business model and fabulous management. He further highlighted the operational leadership has in this space.

10:22 am Rural demand? Tractor sales are set to touch a new peak of over 6.5 lakh units this fiscal year given the prospects of a normal monsoon, declining interest rates and farm loan waivers in some key states, says a report.

Sales had risen 18 per cent last fiscal year on good rains and despite note ban, after declining more than 10 percent in 2015 and 2016 when the monsoons played truant, Crisil said in a report on Wednesday.

10:12 am Market Check: Equity benchmark indices erased almost all of its gains, with the Nifty hovering around 10,100 mark.

The Sensex was up 15.24 points at 32590.41, while the Nifty was down 7.20 points at 10107.45. The market breadth was narrow as 1066 shares advanced against a decline of 849 shares, while 100 shares were unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp and NTPC continued to top the charts, while Larsen & Toubro, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Indiabulls Housing lost the most.

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9:50 am Buzzing Stock: JSW Steel declined over 2 percent intraday on Wednesday as investors turned cautious of the stock post the company’s Q1 performance.

The company’s profit in the first quarter fell by 43 percent to Rs 624 crore compared with Rs 1,096 crore in same quarter last year.

However, revenue during the quarter increased sharply by 24 percent to Rs 15,977 crore, with crude steel production up 1 percent at 3.91 million tonnes and saleable steel up 5 percent at 3.51 million tonnes.

The current quarter was marked by industry wide destocking as customers in general adopted a cautious approach towards carrying inventories in run up to GST rollout, which impacted domestic sales volume.

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9:37 am Market Check: Benchmark indices trimmed most of its gains from the opening tick, with the Sensex trading almost one-tenth of a percent higher, while the Nifty turned red.

The Sensex was up 30.72 points at 32605.89, while the Nifty was down 2.15 points at 10112.50. The market breadth began narrowing as 958 shares advanced against a decline of 549 shares, while 83 shares were unchanged.

NTPC and Hero MotoCorp were the top gainers, while ONGC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ACC lost the most.

9:30 am Buzzing Stock: Shares of Hindustan Copper declined 7.6 percent in early trade on Wednesday as government plans to sell its stake in the company.

The government will sell 3,70,08,720 equity shares (4 percent) of the company through a two days offer-for-sale (OFS) which is beginning today, with an option to sell similar number of shares incase it gets oversubscribe.

The floor price for the said OFS is set at Rs 64.75.

The government currently holds 82.88 percent (76,68,19,811) stake in the company and the stake sale with green shoe option would help the government meet the minimum public shareholding norm of market regulator SEBI.

9:15 am Market Opens: Equity benchmarks began the session on a positive note on Wednesday, with the Nifty opening at a record high. Midcaps too opened on a strong note.

The 30-share Sensex was up 84.40 points at 32659.57, while the Nifty was up 11.25 points at 10125.90. The market breadth was positive as 522 shares advanced against ad decline of 225 shares, while 47 shares were unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp and Lupin were the top gainers on both indices, while ONGC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Ambuja Cements and ACC lost the most.

The Indian rupee on Wednesday opened at 64.12 to the dollar, up 0.1 percent from its previous close.

Dollar recovered mildly after hitting a 15-month low on a mix of political uncertainty and market expectations of further rate hikes from the Fed. The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of rival currencies is subdued.

Globally, Asian stocks paused near decade-highs on Wednesday as investors waited to see if strong earnings results from tech bellwether Apple would ripple out to component makers in the region.

Shares in the world’s most valuable company surged 6 percent after hours to a record of more than USD 159, taking its market capitalisation above USD 829 billion. That should also help carry the Dow through the 22,000 mark when trading resumes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average racked up a fifth straight record high on Tuesday and neared the 22,000 mark, powered by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and other banks.

Apple rose 0.89 percent as Wall Street awaited the largest publicly listed company’s quarterly report after the bell, with the iPhone maker expected by analysts to post a 6-percent rise in revenue.
The S&P 500 information technology index is up 22 percent year to date, leading other sectors.