BackSensex closes 499 pts lower, Nifty below 8,900; ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda drag
The Sensex closed 1.68% lower at 29,182.95, while the Nifty shed 1.6% to end at 8,808.90
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Mumbai: Benchmark indices S&P BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty fell nearly 1.6% each on Friday, led by losses in banking stocks after ICICI Bank Ltd and Bank of Baroda reported December quarter earnings.
The Sensex closed 1.68%, or 498.82 points, lower at 29,182.95, while the Nifty shed 1.6%, or 143.45 points, to end at 8,808.90.
In morning trade, the 30-share bellwether S&P BSE Sensex touched an all-time high of 29,844.16, up 0.55% or 162.39 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share Nifty hit a lifetime high of 8,996.60, up 0.49% or 44.25 points.
Among the gainers, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) rose 1.62% to ₹ 291.80 while Tata Power Co. Ltd rose 2.9% to ₹ 90.55 after the company shortlisted two plants, one owned by Avantha Group and another by Adhunik Group, for potential acquisitions, reports Mint. According to the report, the company may announce its acquisition plans before the current financial year end.
Among the losers, State Bank of India (SBI) fell 5.13% to ₹ 310, while ICICI Bank fell 4.95% to ₹ 361.15.
Among the sectoral indices, BSE Bankex index was the top sectoral loser, down 3.14%, followed by BSE Consumer Durables index which was down 1.85%.
Shares of public sector banks fell after Bank of Baroda reported disappointed earnings. Bank of Baroda fell 11.43% to ₹ 192.6 after the bank reported 68.13% drop in its third quarter net profit, as provisions rose to take care of its bad debts. Profit for the quarter ended December 2014 was at ₹ 333.98 crore, compared with ₹ 1,047.84 crore in the year ago quarter, the bank said in a filing with BSE.
Other banking firms like, Punjab National Bank fell 4.67% to ₹ 189.9, Bank of India slipped 4.86% to ₹ 267, Canara Bank Ltd fell 5.56% to ₹ 443.1, Indian Overseas Bank fell 3.72% to ₹ 57, Allahabad Bank fell 4.83% to ₹ 116.35, Syndicate Bank Ltd fell 3.9%, Union Bank of India fell 3.20% to ₹ 209, Oriental Bank of Commerce fell 5.37% to ₹ 266.05, while IDBI Bank Ltd fell 2.81% to ₹ 70.90.
Shares of realty sectors were trading higher ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s bi-monthly policy due on 3 February. Investors hopes that the RBI will cut the rates in this policy too. A lower interest rate will result in cheaper loans and therefore higher sales for property assets. Also cheaper rates will help the infrastructure companies which are under debt pressure.
Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) jumped 14.12% to ₹ 109.95, Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd gained 6.17% to ₹ 83.5, DLF Ltd rose 2.20% to ₹ 169.8, Unitech Ltd rose 4.48% to ₹ 18.65, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd rose 1.47% to ₹ 513.05, Anant Raj Ltd rose 3.94% to ₹ 50.15, Oberoi Realty Ltd rose 0.82% to ₹ 283.10.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) fell 3.81% to ₹ 360.85. CIL received bids for 5,931,315 shares compared with 12.63 crore shares on offer of bidding for retail category while general category received bids for 1.56 crore shares compared with 50.53 crore shares on offer of bidding of the OFS, as per data at 11.35am on NSE. The issue opened for subscription on Friday and will close at 3.30pm.
HCL Technologies Ltd rose 9% to ₹ 1,794.10 after the company beat the analysts’ expectations by posting a 28% rise in net profit to ₹ 1,915 crore for the three months ending 31 December, as compared with a year earlier. The board also recommended issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 1 share for every 1 share held.
Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd (HPCL) rose 19.18% to ₹ 34.8 after the company reported a four fold jump in its net profit to ₹ 27.14 crore from ₹ 5.39 crore a year ago on higher revenue and lower raw material cost.
Adani Group companies rose after its board approved of a scheme to restructure its businesses and list a group company. Adani Enterprises Ltd rose 7.79% to ₹ 629.5, Adani Power Ltd added 0.68% to ₹ 51.90. However, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd fell 0.90% to ₹ 340.5.
Man Infraconstruction Ltd rose 4.86% to ₹ 45.3 after investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bought 3 million shares or 1.21% in Man Infraconstruction at ₹ 36 per share on Thursday, data on BSE showed.
So far in 2015, the Sensex has gained 6.5%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $1.72 billion from local equity markets and $3.05 billion from the debt market.
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