Markets Live: Sensex plunges 239 points; ITC, Bharti Airtel drop over 2%

Closing bell

The Sensex ended lower by 239 at 35,149 and the Nifty down 58 points at 10,682.70 as doubts over whether the BJP will prove majority in Karnataka dented investor sentiment.

 

Muted quarterly earnings, crude oil prices inching closer to $80 per barrel, mixed cues from global markets and unabated foreign fund outflows were other factors behind the sharp fall, brokers said.

BJP legislature party leader B S Yeddyurappa was today sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka for the second time, after an overnight high-voltage legal battle in the Supreme Court. However, the apex court made it clear that the swearing-in and the government formation would be subject to the final outcome of the case before it.

 

The Sensex resumed higher at 35,483.62 and advanced to a high of 35,510.01. However, it slipped on profit-booking and touched a low of 35,087.82, before finally settling at 35,149.12, down 238.76 points, or 0.67 per cent.

 

This is the benchmark’s lowest closing since May 4 when it had closed at 34,915.38. The gauge had lost 168.83 points in the previous two sessions.

 

The Nifty closed down 58.40 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 10,682.70, after shuttling between 10,777.25 and 10,664.50.

According to provisioinal data, foreign portfolio investors had sold shares worth Rs 699.22 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 229.06 crore yesterday.

Global markets

 

The dollar took a breather at a five-month high, though government borrowing costs continued to grind upwards as oil prices hit their highest since 2014 at almost $80 a barrel. Click here to read more

Gold prices dip

Gold slid back towards its low for the year on Thursday as another rise in US bond yields and concerns over political risk in Italy held the dollar index near its 2018 peak. Click here to read more

 

Forex market

 

The euro hovered near five-month lows as investors fretted about the demands of Italian populist parties and as a fresh rise in US government bond yields underpinned demand for the dollar. Read more

 

Crude oil

 

Oil prices firmed on Thursday, with Brent crude creeping ever closer to $80 per barrel, a level it has not seen since November 2014, as supplies tighten while demand remains strong. Click here to read more

Centre promises to help PSU banks

The Finance Minister, Piyush Goyal, on Thursday expressed confidence that the 11 public sector banks that are under RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action framework would be able to overcome their “legacy issues” in a very short period of time. Click here to read more

 

The Sensex dropped 274.80 points or 0.78 per cent to 35,113.02 and the Nifty shed 72.95 points or 0.68 per cent to 10,668.15 at pre-close trade.

 

Congress hopeful of getting favourable verdict

After its first attempt to convince the Supreme Court that Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite B.S. Yeddyurappa to form the government was anti-Constitutional, the Congress has expressed confidence that the apex court will take a stand once the BJP presents the letters it had submitted to the Governor. Read more

 

 

Rahul Gandhi hits out at BJP

 

Congress President Rahul Gandhi today hit out at the BJP over its “irrational insistence” to form the government in Karnataka despite “not having the numbers” and said that while the saffron party will celebrate its “hollow victory”, India will mourn the “defeat of democracy”. More on this

The Sensex was trading down by over 130 points as doubts over whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could prove its majority in Karnataka weighed on investor sentiment.

The BSE index was down 135.64 points or 0.38 per cent at 35,252.24 and the Nifty down 25.55 points or 0.24 per cent at 10,715.55.

Top five Sensex gainers were Coal India, Tata Motors, Wipro, Sun Pharma and ONGC, while the major losers were ITC, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Axis Bank and Tata Steel.

Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables, capital goods, infrastructure and auto found investors' support, while metal, banking, healthcare and FMCG succumbed to selling pressure.

 

State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa was sworn in as chief minister on Thursday morning even though his party fell short of an outright majority. He has now 15 days to prove his majority in the state legislative assembly.

 

The state election had a temporary effect on the markets, but macro-economic factors such as the rise in crude oil prices and inflation will have a bigger say in the medium term, said analysts.

India's retail inflation accelerated for the first time in four months in April, suggesting the central bank may turn hawkish at its policy meeting next month.

 

“There are also concerns over foreign institutional investments,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

Put your money in NPS and beat the market

If you have been saving for retirement through the National Pension Scheme, you have every reason to smile. Many Tier-I funds of the NPS, across categories — equity, corporate debt and government securities — have managed market-beating returns over the short- and long-term. Read more

 

Don’t mix life and health insurance

The objective of having a life insurance policy is to protect your family and dependants when you are not going to be around. But health/critical illness insurance policies serve a different purpose — paying your healthcare costs during your life time. Click here to read the full article

 

Take a holiday, get a tax break

Enter Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act. Under the section, you get a tax break on the leave travel allowance or leave travel concession you receive from your employer. But while kind, the taxman is also finicky. So the tax break comes with many strings attached. Click here to read more

 

A good investment option for retirees

If you are a senior citizen looking for investment options that can help you minimise risk and maximise returns, the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is a good option to consider. Read more

 

The novice asks, the expert answers

Real estate analysts — who are brighter than astrological stars — predict that like the summer temperature, home prices will go up. But then again, that has been the prediction since 2012. Eventually, it will become true and they will be right. Buy when prices are low as it is a steal; buy when prices are shooting up, as otherwise you will miss the chance. Click here to read more

 

Your Fund Portfolio

For a long-term investor to achieve stupendous returns (understood that this comes with risks), should the investor choose passively or actively managed funds? Are the Indian markets different from developed countries? Can an index fund beat actively managed funds?  Click here to read the full text

Benchmark indices were trading lower as doubts over whether the Bharatiya Janata Party could prove its majority in Karnataka weighed on investor sentiment.

State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister on Thursday morning even though his party fell short of an outright majority. He has now 15 days to prove his majority in the state legislative assembly.

 

The state election had a temporary effect on the markets, but macro-economic factors such as the rise in crude oil prices and inflation will have a bigger say in the medium term, said analysts.

India's retail inflation accelerated for the first time in four months in April, suggesting the central bank may turn hawkish at its policy meeting next month.

 

“There are also concerns over foreign institutional investments,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

The Sensex was trading lower by 112.38 points or 0.32 per cent at 35,275.50 and the Nifty down 29 points or 0.27 per cent at 10,712.10.

 

According to provisional data, foreign portfolio investors had sold shares worth Rs 699.22 crore on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought equities to the tune of Rs 229.06 crore yesterday.

High leverage, weak returns trouble PSBs

Muted growth in assets, steep losses and erosion in capital have led to the build-up of high leverage (ratio of assets to capital) in the banking system, particularly for public sector banks. Click here to read more

 

Divi's Labs jumps over 4%

Divi's Labs jumped over 4 per cent on positive outcome of FDA inspection. The stock jumped as much as 4.1 per cent to Rs 1,213, its biggest daily percentage gain since March 27. More on this

 

Muthoot Finance slumps nearly 8%

Muthoot Finance stock slumped as much as 7.6 per cent to Rs 387.60, lowest since March 26. The stock posted its biggest daily percentage loss since February 2. Read more

 

Nifty 50 May Futures (10,735)

Short-term traders can make use of rallies to go short at 10,760. Stop-loss can be placed at 10,790 for a target of 10,700. Revise the stop-loss lower to 10,745 as soon as the contract moves down to 10,730. Click here to read more

 

‘There’s opportunity if you focus on the long term’

 

“In any market cycle, you will find a bunch of companies and great businesses available at very attractive valuations,” says Ajay Tyagi, Executive Vice President and Equity Fund Manager, UTI Mutual Fund.  Click here to read the full interview

 

Reliance Equity Savings Fund

Reliance Equity Savings has outperformed the equity savings category over one-year, 18-month (1.5-year) and two-year time frames, clocking a compounded annualised return of 8.6 per cent, 10.4 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively. The category generated 6.7, 7.9 and 9.7 per cent returns, respectively, during these periods. Click here to read more

 

Rupee strengthens to 67.58

The rupee firmed up by 22 paise to 67.58 against the US dollar on increased dollar selling by banks and exporters amid the greenback’s weakness against some currencies overseas. Click here to read more

 

Benchmark indices were trading lower due to selling pressure in metal, banking, oil & gas and IT stocks amid firm Asian cues. The Sensex was trading down by 95.56 points or 0.27 per cent at 35,292.32 and the Nifty down 29.5 points or 0.27 per cent at 10,711.60.

Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Motors, HUL, Coal India, Sun Pharma and Wipro, while the major losers were Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's, HDFC, Infosys and IndusInd Bank.

NSE sectoral indices

 

As per provisional data, domestic institutional investors had bought shares worth Rs 229.06 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 699.22 crore yesterday.

Mitigates rate risk for conservative investors

 

If you are a conservative investor and do not wish to take interest-rate risk, you could invest in HDFC Short Term Opportunities Fund which runs an average maturity of 1.5-1.7 years, thus mitigating interest-rate risk. Click here to read more

 

PE investments jump to $2.4 billion

Private equity and venture capital investments in April were up 23 per cent at $2.4 billion, backed by large deals in sectors like e-commerce and life sciences. More on this

 

BSE gets SEC certification

The BSE has received the recognition certificate of ‘Designated Offshore Securities Market’ from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Read more

 

Most FMCG firms beat Street math in Q4

 

The consumer sector is among the few in the economy on which analysts and investors have pinned high hopes for a strong financial performance in the March quarter. And not without reason, given the low base of the post-demonetisation period and better macro environment compared to other industries. Click here to read more

Benchmark indices erased their early gains and were trading marginally down due to selling pressure in metal, oil & gas, healthcare and PSU stocks amid firm Asian cues.

The Sensex was down 59.22 points or 0.17 per cent at 35,328.66 and the Nifty down 14.6 points or 0.14 per cent at 10,726.50.

Top five Sensex gainers were Coal India, Tata Motors, SBI, Kotak Bank and Wipro, while the major losers were Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's, HDFC, Adani Ports and YES Bank.

 

What to watch

Bajaj Finance, Escorts and Central Bank are among over 50 companies that will declare their quarterly/annual results today. Read more

Bajaj Finance

 

What to watch

Divi’s Laboratories' unit at Choutuppal in Telangana has undergone successful inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration from May 14-16, without any observations. Read more

 

What to watch

Shares of Hindustan Adhesives will remain in focus, as the expansion of its BOPP packaging tapes manufacturing unit at Bhadreswar, Mundra, Kutch, Gujarat, has been completed and commercial production commenced. Read more

 

Broker's call

Anand Rathi

Kirloskar Brothers (Buy)

CMP: ₹282.45

Target: ₹389

Click here to view more

Day Trading Guide

Given below are supports and resistances for Nifty 50 futures and seven key stocks that can help in your intra-day trading:

₹2024 • HDFC Bank

 

₹1190 • Infosys

 

₹285 • ITC

 

Click here to view the full guide

 

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 13.55 points at 35,401.43 against the previous close of 35,387.88 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty up 21.1 points at 10,762.20 against 10,741.10.

Today's stock pick

Century Plyboards (₹280.6): Sell

The stock of Century Plyboards (India) plummeted 8 per cent with an above average volume on Wednesday, breaking below a key support level of ₹300. This decline provides an opportunity for short-term traders to sell the stock at current levels. Read more