Indices end volatile session in the red; metal, IT stocks drag
Benchmark indices ended Friday’s volatile session in the red, thus recording fall for the eighth straight day and third consecutive week, as investors remained cautious ahead of the US-China trade negotiation outcome.
India VIX was up almost 4 per cent to 26.49
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the day 96 points, or 0.26 per cent, lower at 37,463, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Tech, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and Infosys contributing the most to the indices’ fall. Twenty-one of the 30 constituents of BSE ended the session with losses.
The broader index Nifty50 gave up the crucial 11,300 mark and slipped 23 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 11,279. About 1,187 shares advanced, 1,270 shares declined, and 162 shares were unchanged.
Among sectoral indices, both Nifty IT and Nifty Metal dipped more than 1 per cent. However, Nifty PSU Bank gained 2.5 per cent, the highest among the gainers.
The broader indices fared better than their benchmark peers with the S&P BSE MidCap index ending 34 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 14,390, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was ruling at 14,106, up 29 points or 0.21 per cent.
State Bank of India (SBI) shares rose 4 per cent to Rs 311, bouncing back 6 per cent from day’s low of Rs 292 in intra-day trade on the BSE, after the bank reported improvement in assets quality in last quarter of financial year 2018-19 (Q4FY19). The bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio declined to 7.53 per cent against 8.71 per cent in the previous quarter and 10.91 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Net NPAs during the period came in at 3.01 per cent against 3.95 per cent in the previous quarter and 5.73 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
Tata Steel slipped 8 per cent to Rs 480 on the BSE in intra-day deal on report that the company’s joint venture (JV) with Thyssenkrupp may fail as the deal is yet to be approved by European regulators who have expressed concerns about its impact on competition. The stock recorded its sharpest fall since November 15, 2016, when it dipped 8.3 per cent during intra-day trade on the BSE.
Venky’s (India) shares slipped 6 per cent to Rs 1,820 on BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday after the company reported 41.5 per cent year on year (YoY) drop in its net profit at Rs 29.94 crore in March quarter (Q4FY19), due to higher raw material costs. It was the third straight quarterly decline in net profit for the company.
Shares of Jet Airways inched up for the third consecutive day on Friday, rallying 7 per cent intra-day on the BSE to quote Rs 158 apiece after the airline received its first formal buy-out bid. State Bank of India-led lenders’consortium had invited bids from potential buyers, for the temporarily shut airline, till May 10.
HCL Technologies slipped 4 per cent to Rs 1,084 on the BSE during the early morning trade on Friday after the company announced a 100 basis point (bps) cut in the estimated operating margin (OM) for FY20 as against FY19. The company sees the OM at 18.50 – 19.50 per cent in constant currency (CC) terms for the current financial year.
Here are some picks from the week gone by.
