Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 369 points down, Nifty above 10,650; Yes Bank, Bajaj Finance top losers

Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded RCom-backed Global Cloud Xchange’s (GCX) long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’. The global agency also cut the ratings of undersea-cable provider’s $350 million 7 per cent senior secured notes to ‘CCC’ from ‘B-‘ due on August 1 this year. “GCX has poor access to capital, due to the default and break-up of its parent, Reliance Communications Limited (Rcom),” Fitch Ratings said. The default appears to be in sight on account of  the delay in RCom’s exit from Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) plan due to the ongoing legal issues and reluctance of investors to offer fresh debt, it also said.

Also read: RCom’s GCX at risk of default; here’s why Fitch downgraded this Anil Ambani group company

In the normal budget process in the United States, Congress appropriates funds by September 30 of every year for the following fiscal year to various federal department and agencies in the country by passing the appropriation bill. These government agencies are dependent on the annual funding approved by the Congress and as per the procedural requirements, they need to submit their requests. Once the requests are submitted, Congress is required to pass them, following which the US President signs the budget legislation for the next fiscal year. If it does not happen, then a continuing funding resolution or a temporary funding measure is enacted. If the Congress can't even agree on that, then the government shutdown takes place.

Also read: What does US Shutdown mean and how does it affect the Indian economy?

India has replaced Japan as world’s second largest steel producing country, while China is the largest producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51 per cent of production, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel). The global steel body in its latest report noted that China’s crude steel output jumped 6.6% to 928.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2018 from 870.9 MT in 2017. China’s share increased from 50.3% in 2017 to 51.3% in 2018.  “India’s crude steel production in 2018 was at 106.5 MT, up by 4.9 per cent from 101.5 MT in 2017, meaning India has replaced Japan as the world’s second largest steel producing country. Japan produced 104.3 MT in 2018, down 0.3 per cent compared to 2017,” worldsteel said. Global crude steel production reached 1,808.6 MT for the year 2018 from 1,729.8 MT in 2017, a rise of 4.6 per cent, it said. Others in the top 10 steel producing countries include the United States, at the 4th position as the country produced 86.7 MT of crude steel in 2018, South Korea (72.5 MT, 5th place), Russia (71.7 MT, 6th), Germany (42.4 MT, 7th), Turkey (37.3 MT, 8th), Brazil (34.7 MT, 9th) and Iran (25 MT, 10th).

Also read: India replaces Japan as world's second largest steel producer

The domestic stock markets --Sensex and Nifty-- extended losses in the afternoon trade on Monday, tracking weak macro cues. The Sensex is down about 450 points to 35,573.13, while the Nifty is trading below 10,650-mark. ICICI Bank shares plunged by more than 5% to Rs 339.35, to emerge among the biggest losers in the Sensex. Bajaj Finance share price plunged more than 9% in the afternoon trade to hit the day's low at Rs 2,355. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

After opening marginally lower, the domestic stock markets –Sensex and Nifty– extended losses in the afternoon trade on Monday. The Sensex is down about 307 points to 35,718.15, while the Nifty is trading below 10,700-mark. ICICI Bank shares plunged by more than 5% to Rs 339.35, to emerge among the biggest losers in the Sensex. Yes Bank shares are trading 4.6% down at Rs 210.10. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

Asian shares ticked up on Monday though they retreated from earlier highs as relief on news of a deal to reopen the U.S. government following a prolonged shutdown gave way to edginess before a key round of Sino-U.S. trade talks. European shares are expected to dip at their open, with spread-betters looking to a fall of 0.3 percent in London's FTSE and a 0.4 percent drop in Frankfurt's DAX and Paris's CAC. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were last down 0.4 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat, pulling back after hitting its highest since Oct. 4 early in the session. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost almost 0.2 percent while South Korea's KOSPI was largely flat. Japan's Nikkei closed 0.6 percent lower while Australian financial markets were shut for their 'Australia Day' holiday. (Reuters reported)

Shares of Naresh Goyal-controlled Jet Airways gained in trade on Monday afternoon on reports that the firm is seeking shareholder approval in its February 21st meeting. Jet Airways share price rallied by more than 1% to Rs 261. Jet Airways seeks shareholders nod for converting loans into share and to raise authorised share capital. The EGM (extra-ordinary) to be held on Feb 21. The firm also proposes appointment of Directors by lenders, ET Now reported citing agencies.

Shares of India’s largest lender ICICI Bank plunged in trade on Monday morning, extending losses for the third consecutive day after investigating agency CBI registered an FIR against former CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon group MD Venugopal Dhoot in relation to a loan case. ICICI Bank shares plunged by more than 4% to a seven-week low of Rs 341.65. A day after the CBI booked former MD and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar along with her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group’s V N Dhoot for cheating and conspiracy, the officer investigating the case SP Sudhanshu Dhar Mishra was transferred out, according to a report by the Indian Express.  

Also read: ICICI Bank shares fall to seven-week low, extends losses after CBI registers FIR in Videocon loan case

Share price of Zee Entertainment rose more than 14 per cent in early trade Monday after Subhash Chandra-backed firm reached a deal with lenders on pledged shares. The stock jumped 14.29 per cent to touch a high of Rs 365 today on BSE. In an investor call held on Friday, company CEO Punit Goenka had said that the firm has not pledged any more shares as collateral after Friday’s drop.  Zee Entertainment shares were trading at Rs 349.45, up 30.10 points, or 9.43 per cent on BSE at the time of reporting.  Notably, Subhash Chandra-promoted two Essel group companies Zee Entertainment Enterprise and Dish TV on Sunday denied links with Nityank lnfrapower and Multiventures Ltd, a company being probed by the SFIO for suspicious demonetisation deposits, as claimed in a media report. Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL), in a regulatory filing, said Nityank lnfrapower and Multiventures Ltd is an “independent company and does not belong to Essel Group”.

After opening marginally lower on Monday, the domestic stock markets --Sensex and Nifty-- extended losses in the morning trade. The Sensex is down about 156 points to 36,869.73, while the Nifty is trading near the 10,700-mark. ICICI Bank shares plunged by more than 3% to Rs 346.95, to emerge among the biggest losers in the Sensex. L&T share price zoomed by more than 4% to Rs 1,337.90 after the firm's robust Q3 results. A look at Sensex heat-map.

Shares of intfra major Larsen & Toubro gained in trade on Monday morning, sfter the firm reported strong Q3 results. L&T shares zoomed by more than 4% to Rs 1,337.90 in the morning trade. On the back of strong execution momentum in project businesses and robust performance in services segment, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on Friday beat analyst expectations on all fronts for the three months ended December 31, 2018. The heavy engineering and infrastructure major reported a good 37% year-on-year jump in the consolidated net profit of the firm to Rs 2,042 crore, while the revenue from operations for the quarter surged a smart 24% y-o-y to Rs 35,709 crore. Strong performance by services and realty segment led to a 27% y-o-y growth in Ebitda to `4,000 crore.

Read more: L&T’s Q3 profit beats estimates

 The Indian rupee gained as much as 21 paise in the early morning trade on Monday to 70.96 per US dollar from the previous close of 71.17 per US dollar. The domestic currency today opened at 70.96 per US dollar, up 21 paise from the previous close, data available with the Bloomberg website showed. At 9:30 AM (IST), the domestic currency was trading at 71.07 per US dollar, up 9 paise from the previous close of 71.17 per US dollar, after touching an intraday low of 71.08 per US dollar and an intraday high of 70.96 per US dollar, data showed. On Friday, the rupee fell by 10 paise to close at 71.17 amid rising demand for the US currency from exporters and heavy selling in domestic equities.

Also read: Rupee gains 21 paise in early trade to 70.96 per US dollar; 10-year govt bond yields up

The domestic stock markets --Sensex and Nifty-- opened mildly lower on Monday, tracking mixed global cues, but soon turned positive. The Sensex is up about 40 points to 36,064.74, while the Nifty is trading above the 10,750-mark. Zee Entertainment shares zoomed by more than 14% to Rs 365, after the firm clarified in its conference call that that it won't provide any further pledge to lenders. Maruti Suzuki shares extended losses and tanked by more than 1% to Rs 6,430. L&T shares are trading nearly 4% higher at 1336, to emerge among the biggest gainers on the Sensex. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

Oil prices fell on Monday after U.S. energy firms added rigs for the first time this year in a sign that crude production there will rise further. U.S. spot crude oil futures were at $53.37 per barrel at 0027 GMT, down 32 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were at $61.37 a barrel, down 27 cents, or 0.4 percent. Analysts said high U.S. crude oil production, which hit a record 11.9 million barrels per day (bpd) late last year, was weighing on oil markets. In a sign that output could rise further, U.S. energy firms last week raised the number of rigs looking for new oil for the first time in 2019, adding 10 facilities, to 862, Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its weekly report on Friday. Beyond oil supply, a key question for this year will be demand-growth.

Also read: Oil prices fall on rising US rig count, economic slowdown

The upcoming interim Budget will likely offer a fresh push to gold schemes, laying out plans to tweak existing ones and announce new products, as earlier efforts to draw people to park their idle holdings with banks yielded little. The government is considering introducing a gold savings account that will enable banks to take deposits from customers in rupees but credit grams of gold into their accounts. Customers will get passbook facility and may have the recurring deposit option as well.

Also read: Budget 2019: Gold savings schemes to get a new push as govt eyes idle yellow metal holdings

Maruti Suzuki’s poor performance in the three months to December 2018 reflects the pain in India Inc. Consumer demand appears to be faltering as products become pricier. At UltraTech Cement, for instance, higher costs and weak realisations resulted in lower-than-anticipated numbers. While Larsen & Toubro delivered a splendid set of numbers on the back of some strong project execution, the fall in order inflows was a slight disappointment. ITC’s numbers were a shade below expectations while InterGlobe Aviation’s profits crashed. However, Asian Paints did well to cash in on the festive season as did TVS Motors. Most managements have alerted the Street to the impact of elevated raw material costs and how it is not easy to pass these on to consumers. The management at United Spirits, too, was tempered in its outlook for the coming months.

Also read: Maruti Q3 earnings: Sales strong, but margins hit by low pricing power

Gold slipped on Monday as a deal to reopen the U.S. government dented safe-haven demand, but prices hovered above the key $1,300-level on hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged this week. Spot gold had fallen 0.1 percent to $1,301.37 per ounce by 0114 GMT, while U.S. gold futures climbed 0.2 percent to $1,300.61 per ounce.  Asian stocks advanced on Monday as Wall Street rallied after a deal was announced to reopen the U.S. government following a prolonged shutdown that had shaken investor sentiment.

Also read: Gold prices hold above $1,300 on US rate pause hopes

Asian stocks advanced on Monday as Wall Street rallied after a deal was announced to reopen the U.S. government following a prolonged shutdown that had shaken investor sentiment. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.2 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI edged up 0.2 percent, New Zealand stocks were up a touch, while Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trends and eased 0.2 percent. Australian financial markets were shut for their ‘Australia Day’ holiday. Facing mounting pressure, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on Friday to temporarily end a 35-day-old partial U.S. government shutdown without getting the $5.7 billion he had demanded from Congress for a border wall.

Also read: Asian stocks rise after US government reopens for now

The dollar was down on Monday, not far off more than one-week lows as financial markets shifted their attention to this week’s Federal Reserve rates-setting review with traders wagering policymakers would signal a pause to their tightening cycle. The Federal Open Market Committee meets between Jan 29-30, and Chairman Jerome Powell is widely expected to acknowledge growing risks to the U.S. economy as global momentum weakens.

Also read: Dollar on back foot as focus shifts to Fed meeting; yen gains