Muhurat Trading Closing bell: Sensex falls 194 pts, Nifty ends below 10,150; banks drag

7:30 pm Market Closing: Equity benchmarks closed the first day of Samvat 2074 on a weak note, dragged by banks stocks. Weak global cues also caused selling pressure in Indian equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 194.39 points at 32,389.96 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 64.40 points to 10,146.50.

All sectoral indices closed in red. Nifty Bank index hit most, falling 1.25 percent due to selling pressure in private banks.

7:27 pm Oil prices under pressure: Oil prices slipped today but held onto most of their recent gains, supported by expectations that exporters will extend OPEC-led supply cuts, tension in the Middle East and lower US production.

Brent crude futures were down 1.53 percent, at USD 57.26 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1.5 percent, to USD 51.26 per barrel.

7:25 pm US Trade: US equities opened lower following a record-setting session in which the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 23,000 for the first time.

The Dow pulled back 84 points at the open. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.8 percent.

7:19 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses as the Sensex fell 240.16 points to 32,344.19.

The Nifty breached 10,150 as well, down 82.80 points at 10,128.10, dragged by banks, metals and auto stocks.

Reliance Industries wiped out its opening gains, down 0.8 percent after hitting record high.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1,468 shares advanced against 903 declining shares on the BSE.

7:12 pm Fund raising: Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) yesterday said its board of directors have cleared a proposal for raising up to Rs 20,000 crore through an issue of preference shares to promoters or via debentures.

The move comes close on the heels of the Tata Group announcing that the consumer mobile business of TTML as well as that of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) will be taken over by telecom giant Bharti Airtel on a debt-free, cash-free basis.

“… the Board of directors of the company at its meeting held on October 18, 2017 has approved raising of additional funds up to an aggregate amount of Rs 20,000 crore…,” Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) said in a regulatory filing.

The stock was locked at 5 percent upper circuit.

7:07 pm Air India Divestment: Air India unions are likely to meet next week in the national capital to discuss their strategy amid the government going ahead with the disinvestment process.

Sources say efforts are on to bring all staff unions of Air India including those of the pilots and engineers on one platform and workout a strategy to deal with the situation arising out of the government’s decision to offload its stake in the flag carrier.

“In the last few months, several Air India unions have held discussions at an individual level with the management on the issue of disinvestment.

“But now there is need for all unions to come together and talk to the government in one voice on airline’s privatisation,” said a leader of one of the largest unions at Air India.

Air India, which has over 20,000 employees on its roll, has as many as six recognised unions, representing ground and commercial staff, pilots, cabin crew and engineers, among others, besides, several unrecognised unions.

7:02 pm Top gainer: Bharti Airtel was biggest gainer among Nifty 50 stocks, up nearly 2 percent.

The stock rallied nearly 21 percent in October month so far, especially after it decided to buy consumer telecom business of Tata Teleservices.

6:59 pm Most active shares: GNFC, Reliance Industries, Balasore Alloys, Axis Bank, Aditya Birla, Dewan Housing and ICICI Bank were most active shares on exchanges.

6:55 pm Market Outlook: Ramesh Damani, Member BSE told CNBC-TV18 that earnings recovery is not too far away.

GST shock has been absorbed by the market, he feels.

According to him, the market will be in a spot of trouble if earnings don’t recover in next 2 quarters.

Next six months will be a litmus test for earnings, he feels.

Damani expects gaming and casino stocks to do well in 5-10 years. He further expects oil marketing companies to do well on a Samvat to Samvat basis.

He expects quick-service restaurant stocks to do well going ahead.

6:52 pm Nifty Bank falls 0.5%: Private banks pushed Nifty Bank lower by half a percent today.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank were down 0.4-1.4 percent after RBI’s latest minutes indicated no rate cut in December policy meeting.

6:46 pm Buzzing: Reliance Industries hit fresh record high today at Rs 921.75, up as much as 0.87 percent after new tariff plans announced by Jio yesterday.

A media report suggested that Reliance Industries is likely to raise USD 2.5 billion to fund telecom loans. Other media report also indicated that Reliance Industries and BP may form fuel retail venture soon.

6:40 pm Rate cut unlikely?: The minutes of the October policy meetings of the monetary policy committee (MPC) suggest that there will not be a cut in the December policy as well, unless the Q2 growth numbers surprise, said a brokerage report.

Though the economy has bottomed out in the first quarter and retail inflation may stay under 3 percent in October, since core inflation is likely to be above 4 percent, we expect the rates to remain unchanged even in the December policy, said Japanese brokerage Nomura.

“Retail inflation is likely to moderate to under 3 percent in October, but since the drop is driven by food prices, core inflation is likely to stay above 4 percent amid rising risks of a fiscal slippage, we expect rates to stay unchanged in the December 6 meeting,” the brokerage said in a note.

While MPC member Ravindra Dholakia and Michael Patra of the central bank are likely to continue to vote for a cut and a pause, respectively, the response of the other four members will depend on how well growth holds up.

6:35 pm Gold trade: Gold prices fell by Rs 250 to Rs 30,750 per 10 grams in special ‘Diwali Muhurat’ trading at the bullion market today despite some token buying by jewellers.

Silver followed suit and cracked below the Rs 41,000-mark by falling Rs 200 to Rs 40,800 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

The slide in gold prices was attributed to absence of worthwhile activity as jewellers and retailers made token purchases on the auspicious occasion of ‘Diwali’ and beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2074.

Overseas, gold rose 0.43 percent to USD 1,286 and silver gained 0.15 percent to USD 16.99 an ounce in London.

6:30 pm Market Opening: Equity benchmarks started off Samvat 2074 on a negative note, dragged by banks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 6.46 points at 32,577.89 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 4.70 points to 10,206.20.

About 1,109 shares advanced against 299 declining shares on the BSE.

Nifty Bank fell 100 points.

Bharti Airtel, Lupin, Reliance Industries and Yes Bank were early gainers while UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hero Motocorp were losers.

In broader space, GVK Power, 63 Moons and Bombay Dyeing rallied 5-10 percent.

European markets fell into the red, as the crisis surrounding Catalonia escalated and earnings season delivered a mixed bag of results. France’s CAC, Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE were down 0.5-0.8 percent.

Asian markets ended mixed after China GDP met expectations. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.35 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.92 percent but Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent.

6:25 pm Pre-opening trade: Equity benchmarks started Samvat 2074 on a mixed note as the 30-share BSE Sensex was up 72.40 points at 32,656.75 while the Nifty fell 0.50 points to 10,210.40.
Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.