Indices end flat on Friday, Nifty holds 10,550; TCS gains 7%
Benchmark indices were flat on Friday even as minutes of the central bank’s policy panel meeting stoked expectations of an interest rate hike, with losses in financials and metals overshadowing gains in information technology stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,416, down 12 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,564, down 1 points.
The rupee dropped to its lowest in more than a year following a hawkish tone in the minutes, released on Thursday, of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting that took place earlier this month.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index slipped nearly 2.5% led by a fall in shares of Bank of India and IDBI Bank.
Investors cheered the results of Tata Consultancy Services, sending its shares to an all-time high of Rs 3,421 after the country’s top software services exporter posted its biggest-ever profit on Thursday.
Prakash Constrowell share price rallied 10% after the company has been declared L-1 bidder by the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) for the new project Dumpsite Reclamation at Mulund Dumping Ground (MDG) in Mumbai by adopting suitable technology for existing garbage dump.
J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals fell 2.33% to Rs 312.65 on BSE after the company said it received an order from Pollution Control Committee, Daman for closure of its formulation manufacturing facility at Daman.
They were once seen as among India’s most promising growth stories. Now, however, the fate of ABG Shipyard, Alok Industries and Lanco Infratech is seen as near-certain but in the opposite direction. With huge debt, few takers for their assets and the whopping write-offs (‘haircuts’) that banks are likely to take on the loans given to these companies, industry experts believe liquidation of the trio are among the few options. All three have defaulted on their huge payment obligations.