Closing bell: Sensex slips 316 pts, Nifty holds 10,100; breadth weakens in late trade

3:30 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices corrected sharply for second consecutive session Friday. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 316.41 points or 0.95 percent at 32,832.94 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 104.70 points or 1.02 percent to 10,121.80.

About 1,655 shares declined against 1,034 advancing shares on the BSE.

3:22 pm GDP Growth: Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s second-richest man, today said India’s GDP will double to USD 5 trillion in the next seven years and hit USD 10 trillion by 2030 as it will elbow out China by the middle of 21st century.

Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, Ambani, Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Ltd, recalled that he in 2004 had predicted that India — then a USD 500-billion economy –will get to the mark of USD 5 trillion in 20 years.

“Today, that prediction seems certain. Indeed, it will be achieved well before 2024,” he said, adding that the Indian economy will triple to USD 7 trillion in the next 10 years to become the third-largest economy in the world.

3:18 pm Tractor Sales: Escorts’ agri machinery (tractor) volumes grew by 6.5 percent to in November 2017.

Agri machinery segment in November 2017 sold 5,119 tractors against 4,806 tractors in November 2016.

Domestic tractor sales for the month increased 5.2 percent to 4,941 tractors while exports rose by 64.8 percent to 178 tractors YoY.

3:13 pm Expansion: Leading basmati rice firm LT Foods will invest USD 20 million for branding and expansion in Europe, as it eyes a six times increase in sales from the branded segment over the next four years.

The company is extensively working on expanding its geographical footprints and product portfolio in these markets and plans to invest USD 20 million with increased sales from the current 5,000 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes in the branded segment over the next four years, it said in a statement.

LT Foods, which sells basmati rice under Daawat brand, has been focusing on Europe as the next growth region and has recently opened a new plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands to cater to both Europe and UK.

3:10 pm Auto Sales: Suzuki Motorcycle India (SMIPL) today reported 37.2 percent rise in its total sales at 49,535 units in November.

The company had sold 36,098 units in the same month last year, SMIPL said in a statement.

Domestic sales stood at 42,722 units in November as against 30,830 units in the same month last year, a growth of 38.6 percent.

Exports were at 6,813 units as against 5,268 units in November last year, up 29.33 per cent.

3:05 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks fell further in late trade as the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 317.42 points or 0.96 percent to 32,831.93, dragged by index heavyweights HDFC, Reliance Industries and Infosys.

The 50-share NSE Nifty was down 104 points or 1.02 percent to 10,122.50.

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

2:55 pm Auto Sales: Eicher Motors’ November sales missed analyst expectations on Friday.

The company sold 70,126 units of Royal Enfield in November 2017, higher by 22 percent compared with year-ago.

A CNBC-TV18 poll estimated at 71,500 units for the month.

Exports during the month grew 60 percent to 2,350 units YoY.

2:50 pm Earnings: 8K Miles Software share price fell more than 5 percent despite stable earnings.

Consolidated net profit increased to Rs 47.7 crore in second quarter of FY18, higher from Rs 44.15 crore in previous quarter.

Revenue grew by 7.8 percent to Rs 210.6 crore from Rs 195.4 crore QoQ while operating profit increased 10.2 percent to Rs 70.06 crore and margin expanded by 70 basis points to 33.3 percent in Q2.

2:40 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses after rangebound trade, with the Sensex falling 237.59 points to 32,911.76 as all sectoral indices traded in red.

The Nifty breached 10,200 level, slipping 79.20 points to 10,147.30.

The market breadth also turned negative as about 1,394 shares declined against 1,146 advancing shares on the BSE.

2:22 pm Europe Trade: European stocks fell further after opening mixed today. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC were down 0.7 percent each while Britain’s FTSE declined 0.2 percent.

Here are the top headlines at 2 pm from Moneycontrol News’ Anchal Pathak

1:55 pm Auto Sales: Utility vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra has posted a 18 percent growth year-on-year in November auto sales, which missed estimates but tractor sales were ahead of expectations.

The company sold 38,570 units in November 2017 against 32,564 units sold in year-ago, driven by domestic segment.

Domestic sales grew by 21 percent year-on-year to 36,039 units but exports fell 6 percent to 2,531 units in month gone by.

1:43 pm Green Approval: The Centre’s green panel has given environment clearance to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) for drilling and development of 19 exploratory wells at its Ahmedabad block in Gujarat.

As per the proposal, the company will drill 14 wells and develop five already drilled ones by setting up a production facility.

The approval came after an Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) on industry, set up by the environment ministry, examined GSPC’s proposal in a meeting recently.

After a detailed discussion, the EAC recommended grant of environment clearance to GSPC’s project, as per the minutes of the EAC meeting.

1:30 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to be rangebound in afternoon on the first day of December series as investors await key events – RBI Policy, Federal Reserve meet and Gujarat assembly elections.

1:21 pm Drug Approval: Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc has received tentative approval from the US health regulator to market pregabalin capsules, used for management of certain kinds of seizures, nerve pain and fibromyalgia.

The company has got tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market the drug in the strengths of 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, 225 mg and 300 mg, Zydus Cadila said in a BSE filing.

The drug will be produced at the group’s formulations manufacturing facility in Moraiya, Ahmedabad.

1:09 pm Price Hike: Isuzu Motors India today said it will increase prices of its models by up to Rs 1 lakh from January 1, 2018.

The increase is expected to be between 3 and 4 percent across the model range, Isuzu Motors India said in a statement.

“This means that the prices will go up by around Rs 15,000 on the D-Max (Regular Cab – Commercial Vehicle) to Rs 1 lakh on the premium SUV mu-X,” it added.

The company sells models ranging from adventure utility vehicle V-Cross with price starting at Rs 13.31 lakh to premium SUV mu-X priced up to Rs 25.8 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

12:59 pm Acquisition: Staffing firm TeamLease Services today said it has completed the 40.2 percent stake acquisition in online learning company Schoolguru Eduserve, a move that will accelerate TeamLease’s employability strategy.

Accordingly, Schoolguru Eduserve becomes an associate company of TeamLease Services from today.

On November 8, TeamLease Services had announced the said stake acquisition in Schoolguru Eduserve for Rs 13.53 crore.

“All conditions precedent to closing have been fulfilled and acquisition of 40.2 percent stake is completed. Pursuant to this Schoolguru becomes our Associate Company with effect from December 1, 2017,” the company said in a regulatory filing today.

12:45 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices were mildly lower in afternoon but the broader markets continued to outperform on positive breadth.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 34.46 points at 33,114.89 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 13.30 points to 10,213.20.

About 1,450 shares advanced against 969 declining shares on the BSE.

12:35 pm Maruti at New High: Maruti Suzuki share price gained 1 percent intraday to hit a fresh all-time high of Rs 8,695 on the BSE after November sales data and global brokerage house CLSA hiked its target price to five digits.

CLSA has maintained its buy call on Maruti Suzuki while increasing target price to Rs 10,000 per share, implying a potential 16.2 percent upside over Thursday’s closing price.

“Valuations seem rich, but justified given high earnings visibility and improving outlook,” the research house reasoned.

India passenger vehicle industry is showing signs of easing competitive intensity.

Easing competitive intensity, in small cars and entry sedans, is positive for Maruti, CLSA said, adding more original equipment manufacturers could potentially enter India but are unlikely to make a dent.

The research house feels Maruti is likely to broaden its sports utility vehicle portfolio in coming years, though competition is high.

12:22 pm Market Outlook: Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS told CNBC-TV18 that while the GDP numbers were good, they were partly expected as well. But the market, in its bull zone, is anyway rising higher.

“The market is reflecting expectations of investors that things will improve in terms of macros and resultant increase in earnings,” Kapoor told the channel.

In fact, if the growth does not take place, which have been largely factored in as of now, then there are chances of a further fall or change in sentiment.

Speaking on the impact of Gujarat polls, Kapoor said that the Street could take note if there is a big disappointment in the polls.

12:10 pm Earnings: Vimta Labs share price is locked at 20 percent upper circuit at Rs 163.50 per share on the BSE after stellar earnings performance.

Profit in Q2 nearly doubled to Rs 4.3 crore, from Rs 2.2 crore in year-ago, driven by operational numbers.

Revenue during the quarter increased 13.3 percent to Rs 42.7 crore compared with Rs 37.6 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) shot up 93.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 11.9 crore and margin expanded sharply by 1,150 basis points to 27.8 percent in quarter ended September 2017.

12:05 pm Debt Resolution Plan: S4A debt resolution plan for Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar submitted by lead bank State Bank of India on behalf of Joint Lenders Forum has been approved by overseeing committee.

As per the plan, out of total debt of Rs 8,284.59 crore considered under the S4A scheme, the sustainable debt (Part A) is considered at Rs 4,789.35 crore (57.81 percent) whereas balance debt of Rs 3,495.25 crore (42.19 percent) is considered as unsustainable debt (Part B).

RBI’s S4A framework stipulates dilution in promoters’ shareholding at least in the same proportion as that of part B to total debt.

Accordingly, the company’s promoter will dilute shareholding from the current level of 26.02 percent to 15.43 percent by way of sale of a part of its shareholding to JLF members, the company said.

Promoters will have a right of first refusal over the equity shares/OCDs held by JLF members.

Here are the top headlines at 12 pm from Moneycontrol News’ Anchal Pathak

11:50 am Buzzing: Eicher Motors share price gained 1 percent after the company reported better-than-expected November sales data.

The company sold 4,916 commercial vehicles in November 2017, higher by 54.8 percent compared with 3,176 units sold in year-ago month and far better than analyst estimates of 4,568 units.

11:40 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks erased early gains, weighed by banking & financials stocks, Reliance Industries and Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 76.31 points at 33,073.04 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 21.10 points to 10,205.40.

The broader markets, however, continued to outperform benchmark indices. The Nifty Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices were up 0.3 percent each. About three shares advanced for every two shares falling on the BSE.

11:34 am Drug Approval: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd today said it has received approval for an inhaled respiratory product in Nordic countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

The company “has successfully closed the decentralised registration procedure for generic Seretide Accuhaler in the Nordic region”, Glenmark Pharma said in BSE filing.

“This will be Glenmark’s first inhaled respiratory product approval in Europe, and re-enforces Glenmark’s commitment in the respiratory area,” it said.

The company added that the commercialisation of the product would depend on national approval as well as substitution and pricing approvals.

11:24 am Auto Sales: Ashok Leyland’s November sales surpassed analyst estimates, showing a massive 51 percent growth YoY backed by MHCV as well as LCV segments.

The country’s second largest commercial vehicle maker sold 14,460 units in November 2017, increased from 9,574 units sold in year-ago and much higher compared with a CNBC-TV18 poll of 12,026 units.

Ashok Lyeland said medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales grew sharply by 54 percent year-on-year to 10,641 units and light commercial vehicle sales increased 44 percent to 3,819 units in month gone by.

11:14 am Divestment: The Tatas had formally shown an interest in Air India’s stake sale, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said today.

The government has given its nod for the disinvestment of Air India, which has a debt of over Rs 50,000 crore and is staying afloat on taxpayers’ money.

“We have, of course, received from both IndiGo as well as the Tatas indications of interest for the airline (Air India), and then, we have received formal indications of interest for the other aspects of the Air India group. These are the formal indications we have received so far,” Sinha told CNBC TV18.

He said the government was working in a time-bound manner to conclude the bidding process and that the process of receiving the expressions of interest as well as bids should take six to eight months.

11:00 am Buzzing: Shares of IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company has locked at 5 percent upper circuit on contract win worth Rs 582 crore.

The company has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) for a road contract from IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL).

The total value of the contract is Rs 581.96 crore and completion period is 21 months.

The scope of work for this contract involves four laning from km 165.600 to km 220.00 of Amravati – Chikhli section of NH-6 in the state of Maharashtra on item rate basis.

IL&FS Engineering Services is currently working on Rs 5012 crore worth road projects across India.

10:53 am Management Interview: “Current market share in domestic bike segment is close to 19 percent and we are targetting domestic share of 22-23 percent by March 2018,” S Ravikumar, President-Business Development said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

He expects strong run-rate in 3-wheeler segment to continue after stellar performance in November.

He expects 17 lakh exports by end of the year.

Ravikumar said two new launches would hit the market in January 2018.

10:46 am Manufacturing PMI: India’s factory activity quickened in November at the fastest pace since just before the government’s surprise cash clampdown late last year, driven by a surge in new orders, a business survey found.

Responding to improving demand, manufacturers cranked up output for the fourth month in a row, and hired new workers at the fastest pace in five years.

That suggests a drag on the economy caused by the shock removal of higher-value currency bills from circulation in November 2016 and the roll-out of a goods and services tax (GST) this July has faded.

November’s Nikkei/IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 52.6 from 50.3 in October, above all forecasts in a Reuters poll which had predicted a more modest rise to 51.0. Anything above 50 indicates growth.</p><p>The reading was the strongest in 13 months.

10:40 am IMF on India: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will update its growth rate forecast for India in January.

Recently, the US-based Moody’s upgraded India’s sovereign rating after a gap of 13 years to Baa2, with ‘stable’ outlook, from Baa3 earlier, citing improved growth prospects driven by economic and institutional reforms.

This was followed by S&P Global Rating, which kept India’s sovereign rating unchanged at BBB- with stable outlook saying vulnerabilities stemming from low per capita income and high government debt balances strong GDP growth.

“We will be updating the forecast for India, including the growth rate, and that will be coming in January with the update of our World Economic Outlook,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters at a news conference held at its headquarters here.

10:35 am Maruti Hits Record High: India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki’s November sales matched analyst expectations as it sold 1.54 lakh units during the month, higher by 14.1 percent YoY.

The company sold 1.35 lakh units in November 2016 and a CNBC-TV18 poll estimated sales at 1.52 lakh units.

The growth was largely driven by domestic sales that grew by 15 percent year-on-year to 1.45 lakh units in month gone by.

Exports sales were largely muted, growing 0.8 percent YoY to 9,300 units in November 2017.

The stock price hit a fresh record high of Rs 8,695, rising a percent intraday after sales data.

10:20 am Auto Sales: Two and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto has reported a 21 percent increase in November sales, backed by domestic as well as exports segments.

The company sold 3.26 lakh units in month gone by, increased from 2.7 lakh units sold in year-ago.

Exports during the month grew by 27 percent to 1.46 lakh units and domestic sales jumped 16 percent to 1.79 lakh units compared with year-ago month, Bajaj Auto said in its filing.

It further said motorcycle sales rose by 11 percent to 2.64 lakh units, compared with 2.37 lakh units in corresponding month.

3-wheeler sales growth was solid in November, growing 94 percent to 62,488 units, the highest ever monthly sales, against 32,191 units in November 2016.

10:15 am Market Check: The market continued to trade steady, with the Nifty hovering around 10,250-mark.

The Sensex was up 75.58 points at 33224.93, while the Nifty was up 23.30 points at 10249.80.The market breadth was positive as 1551 shares advanced against a decline of 467 shares, while 86 shares were unchanged.

Tata Motors, Tata Motors DVR, and Bosch gained the most on both indices, while Bharti Airtel, Coal India, and Hindalco lost the most.

10:05 am Geopolitical tensions: South Korea says the most powerful missile that North Korea tested this week missile is potentially capable of striking targets as far as 13,000 km, which would put Washington within reach.

The Defence Ministry says today further reviews are needed to determine whether the intercontinental ballistic missile’s warhead can survive atmospheric re-entry and accurately strike the target.

Many questions remain, but there’s broad agreement from government and outside analyses that the huge Hwasong-15 ICBM represents a significant step forward, putting the North extremely close to its goal of a viable arsenal of nuclear- tipped long-range missiles.

Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News’ Anchal Pathak

9:51 am Earnings Reaction: Shares of UFO Moviez India declined 4 percent in morning on the back of weak September quarter numbers.

The company has registered 46 percent fall in its Q2 net profit at Rs 10.2 crore against Rs 19 crore in the same quarter last year.

Revenue was down 13 percent at Rs 139 crore versus Rs 160 crore. The operating profit was down 33 percent at Rs 37 crore and margins was down 810 bps at 26.6 percent.

9:41 am Buzzing: Share price of Laurus Labs added 5 percent in early trade on the back of approval from USFDA.

The company has received its maiden tentative approval from United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S FDA) for Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate tablets 300mg.

Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Tablets is therapeutically equivalent to VIREAD tablets of Gilead Science (GILEAD).

Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Tablets is used for treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and paediatric patients 2 years of age and older.

9:31 am Application for cancer drug: Shares of Biocon rallied 3 percent after the company announced that the European Medicines Agency accepted marketing authorization application for its breast cancer and chemotherapy drug.

The EMA has accepted for review Mylan’s Marketing Authorisation Applications (MAA) for proposed biosimilar trastuzumab and proposed biosimilar pegfilgrastim.

“The EMA acceptance of the submissions follows an earlier withdrawal of both applications in response to an audit conducted by European inspecting authority of Biocon’s product facility,” the company said in a filing to the exchanges.

The company claims to have completed corrective actions outlined as a result of observations and these will be confirmed during the re-inspection.

9:25 am Fuel Price Hike: Jet Airways fell half a percent after aviation fuel price hiked by Rs 3,206 per kilolitre to Rs 57349 per kilolitre in Delhi.

9:20 am Crude Update: US oil held steady today after OPEC and other major producers agreed to extend production curbs in a widely expected move aimed at ending a persistent glut in global supplies.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporters (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers led by Russia on Thursday agreed to maintain the output cut until the end of 2018, while also signalling a possible early exit from the deal if the market overheats.

US crude futures were up 0.4 percent at USD 57.62 a barrel. The contract gained about 5.6 percent in November, the third month of gains.

Brent February crude futures rose 0.5 percent to USD 62.94. In the previous session, the most active Brent contract settled up 46 cents or 0.7 percent. Brent rose for a third consecutive month in November, gaining about 3.6 percent.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks rebounded in opening on Friday after second quarter GDP data, with the Sensex rising more than 100 points. The buying was seen in most beaten down stocks. In previous session, the Sensex had fallen 453 points.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 115.44 points at 33,264.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 38.40 points to 10,264.90.

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

The Indian economy grew 6.3 percent in July-September quarter, recovering from a three-year low growth slump of 5.7 percent in April-June, as companies scaled up production and restocked supplies after Goods & Services Tax (GST) kicked in from July 1.

Eicher Motors, Indiabulls Housing Finance, NTPC, Bosch, Infosys, ONGC, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were early gainers. IOC, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies and Hindalco were losers.

Biocon, M&M Financial, SAIL, Vakrangee, Sadbhav Engineering, Apex Frozen, Gitanjali Gems, Talwalkar and Madras Fertilisers rallied 2-10 percent.

UFO Moviez was down 3 percent post earnings.
Asia markets traded mixed, giving up some of the early gains. That came despite a positive lead from the US that included the Dow Jones industrial average closing above 24,000 for the first time.