Sensex Finishes Flat; Power Stocks Rally

Wed, 19 Apr Closing

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Indian share markets continued to trade range bound in afternoon session as investors turned cautious ahead of a slew of corporate results. The sentiments also remained dull due to mixed international markets.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 17 points, while the NSE Nifty finished down 2 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap and the S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. Gains were largely seen in power stocks and metal stocks.

National Aluminium Company Ltd share price plunged 7.8% after it was reported that the government will open the first divestment account today with up to 10% stake sale in Nalco and may mop up over Rs 6 billion.

Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.07%, while the Hang Seng & the Shanghai Composite fell 0.41% and 0.81% respectively. Meanwhile, European markets too are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.28% while the CAC 40 gains 0.25%. The FTSE 100 is even.

The rupee was trading at Rs 64.54 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 53.00 at the time of writing.

According to a leading financial daily, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India's annual growth estimate for 2017 by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2%, mainly owing to temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions from recent currency note withdrawal and exchange initiative.

However, the IMF, in its World Economic Outlook, also estimated that Indian economy would grow at 7.7% in 2018-19. The report also stated that the country's medium-term growth prospects are favorable, with growth expected to increase to about 8% due to implementation of key reforms, loosening of supply-side bottlenecks and appropriate fiscal and monetary policies.

Adding further, it said that in the recent years, Indian economy has grown at a strong pace due to the implementation of critical structural reforms, favorable terms of trade and lower external vulnerabilities.

According to the report, beyond the immediate challenge of replacing currency in circulation following the notebandi move, policy actions should focus on reducing labor and product market rigidities to ease firm entry and exit, expand the manufacturing base, and gainfully employ the abundant pool of labor.

It also pointed out that policy actions should also fillip financial stability through full recognition of non-performing loans and raising public sector banks' capital buffers and secure the public finances through continued reduction of poorly targeted subsidies and structural tax reforms, including implementation of the recently approved nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Moving on to news from steel stocks. Tata Steel is reportedly planning to pay US$663 million to its UK pensioners as a one-time settlement under a new and rare scheme called the Regulated Appointment Arrangement (RAA). The company is finalizing its terms with the British regulators to clear all its pension liabilities.

This move may help the company derisk its business it and help in future consolidation. This comes after the slow progress of its negotiations with the UK government post Brexit.

Tata Steel share price finished on a positive note (up 0.3%) on the BSE

In another development, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has spent a total of Rs 645.62 billion on modernization and expansion programs, which also includes Rs 23.24 billion investment in first nine months of the last financial year.

The company has undertaken the modernization and expansion of its integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur and Burnpur and special steel plant at Salem. In the ongoing modernization and expansion, the crude steel capacity is being enhanced from 12.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 21.4 MTPA.

The country's largest steel maker had earlier said it reached the last leg of its Rs 700 billion modernization program but expressed concerns that post modernization there would be 60-70% jump in production capacity, which is a challenge for the PSU as demand for domestic steel remained weak.

Meanwhile, the government's proposal to give domestic steel makers a preference in government projects should protect them from cheaper imports. In February, domestic steel output rose by 12.9% YoY, as large private steel producers such as Tata Steel and JSW Steel ramped up output. Imports during the first eleven months of FY17 dropped by 39% YoY.

No Takers For Domestic Steel

But the bigger concern is weak consumption growth. The consumption data over the past few months clearly show that there are no takers for domestic steel. So steel makers have been forced to export more, with overseas shipments up by 78% YoY in the fiscal till February.

SAIL share price finished the day up by 0.6%.

In news from pharma sector, Glenmark Pharma share price surged 2.2% in today's trade after the company received tentative ANDA approval for Dabigatran Etexilate Capsules, 75 mg, 110 mg and 150 mg.

According to IMS Health sales data for the 12-month period ending February 2017, the Pradaxa Capsules, 75 mg, 110 mg and 150 mg market achieved annual sales of approximately US$913 million.

Software stocks finished in red with Oracle Financial Services share price and Mphasis share price leading the losses.

Infosys share price was down for the fourth consecutive session, dropping about 5% since issuing a lower-than-expected revenue guidance for the year last week, while Tata Consultancy Services share price too fell (down 0.3%) after earnings marginally beat expectations on Tuesday.

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