Sensex cracks another 341 pts on Friday as banks, IT drag; YES Bank falls 9%
The benchmark indices settled around 1 per cent lower on Friday, led by a fall in the banking, information technology (IT) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks amid weakness in the Asian markets, which fell to a 20-month low.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,349, down 341 points, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,030, down 95 points.
Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty IT index fell 1.9 per cent due to a fall in the shares of Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies. The Nifty Bank index, too, declined 1.6 per cent weighed by YES Bank which fell 8.7 per cent after the private lender posted a fall of 3.8 per cent in net profit for the September quarter. The Nifty FMCG index settled 1.4 per cent lower dragged by ITC, which fell even as the company reported 11.92 per cent rise in standalone net profit to Rs 29.55 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.
Shares of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) jump 11% after Q2 loss narrows to Rs 4.87 million against Rs 12,225 million in the year-ago period.
Diversified group ITC on Friday reported 11.92 per cent rise in standalone net profit to Rs 29.55 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 26.40 billion in the second quarter of 2017-18, ITC said in BSE filing.
Reliance General Insurance Company (RGI) Friday reported 20 per cent rise in profit at Rs 56 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2018. Gross written premium too surged 20 per cent to Rs 2,025 crore during the quarter, it said in a statement.
Shares of frontline information technology (IT) companies were under pressure with the Nifty IT index hitting a four-month low on Friday. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and HCL Technologies from the Nifty IT index were trading lower in the range of 2% to 3% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Shares of Sterlite Technologies have moved higher by 6% to Rs 346 per share, extending their 2% gain in the past two days in an otherwise weak market, after the company reported a strong 84% growth in net profit at Rs 1,310 million in September quarter (Q2FY19). It had a profit of Rs 710 million in the previous year quarter. Revenues during the quarter review grew 39% at Rs 10.84 billion against Rs 7.79 billion in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin improved to 25.7% from 23% in the previous year quarter.
The shares of Ujjivan Financial Services and Equitas Holdings fell by up to 28% on the BSE in early morning trade after these companies informed the exchanges that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told them to comply with the original license conditions. Equitas Holdings has tanked 28% to Rs 93, while Ujjivan Financial Services plunged 18% to Rs 180 on the BSE. Both these stocks were trading at their respective lowest level since listing.
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