Sensex Hit 3-Month Low, Nifty Below 10,200; Bank Stocks Down

Share Market News 07-March-2018

The Benchmark indices opened lower on Wednesday as Sensex slipped over 100 points & Nifty tested 10,200, due to weakness in the global market. The equity market extended losses in late morning deals as Sensex was down over 150 points while Nifty fell below 10,200, weighed by banks. Nifty PSU Bank index slumped 3% and Nifty Bank lost over 1% while Nifty Midcap index dropped 1.4%.

In the afternoon session, the market remained under selling pressure as Sensex was down over 200 points & Nifty continue to trade below 10,200, weighed largely by banks & oil stocks. The broader market underperformed as Nifty Midcap slipped over 1%. PSU banks were worst hit, with Nifty PSU Bank fell 3% while FMCG index outperformed, was up by .50%.

In last hour of trade, equity benchmark extended losses as Sensex cracked over 310 points bringing it below 33K while Nifty hit fresh 2018 low, fell over 100 points below 10,150. The market extended fall for 6th consecutive session amid selling pressure in bank & oil stocks. PSU Bank Index lost most, cracked over 3.5% while Nifty midcap lost over 1.5%. Sensex closed 284.11 points down at 33,033.09, Nifty down by 95.05 points at 10,154.20.

Top Gainers

HCL Tech by 1.62% to Rs.947.90, ITC by 1.21% to Rs.259.60, ZEEL by 0.98% to Rs.565, Bajaj Auto by 0.68% to Rs.2,919, Maruti Suzuki by 0.61% to Rs.8,669.30.

Top Losers

Adani Ports by -7.12% to Rs.376.40, SBIN by -3.45% to Rs.247.70, IBULHSGFIN by -3.35 to Rs.1,197.20, ICICI Bank by -2.80% to Rs.286.80, ONGC by -2.32% to Rs.181.10.

Analysis Of Top Gainer And Loser

HCL Tech is the top gainer in today's market as brokerage firm CLSA while maintaining a Buy call on HCL Technologies with a target price of Rs.1,170 per share, said the IT company is likely to see a growth recovery in infrastructure management services segment and applications & engineering segments are growing ahead of peers.

Adani Ports is the top loser in today's market as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday, where he termed industrialist Gautam Adani as the biggest Non-Performing Asset (NPA) trapeze artiste in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Key Market News

Ray Dalio, the founder of worlds largest hedge fund Bridgewater said that the overall level of indebtedness in India is low and a competitive advantage. "Unlike a country like Russia or China, which have negative population growth, you have positive population growth. And then on the output, if I look at these various factors the cost of an educated person, labour productivity, working attitudes, etc India compares favourably," he said.

The Cabinet is likely to consider a relief package for the financially-stressed telecom sector, a senior government official told PTI. The proposal is based on the recommendations of the inter-ministerial group (IMG) on the revival of the sector and includes extending the duration of spectrum payment for telcos.

Stocks To Watch

FDC Ltd. is on the upside while The Karnataka Bank Ltd. is on the downside.

FDC Ltd. is currently trading at Rs.304, up by Rs.15.10 or 5.23% from its previous closing of Rs.288.90 on the NSE. The scrip opened at Rs.288.90 and has touched a high and low of Rs.319.80 and Rs.287.25 respectively. So far 11,72,669 (NSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs.5,391.90 Crore. The NSE/BSE group stock has touched a 52 week high of Rs.319.80 on 07-March-2018 and a 52 week low of Rs.163.25 on 31-August-2017.

Karnataka Bank is currently trading at Rs.117.70, down by Rs.10.20 or 7.97% from its previous closing of Rs.127.90 on the NSE. The scrip opened at Rs.126.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs.127.50 and Rs.115.80 respectively. So far 99,97,426 (NSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs.3,320.64 Crore. The BSE/NSE group stock has touched a 52 week high of Rs.181 on 02-June-2017 and a 52 week low of Rs.115.80 on 07-March-2018.