Share Market HIGHLIGHTS: Sensex, Nifty settle lower on F&O expiry; ONGC, Coal India top gainers

Investors adopted a cautious approach and kept their activity at a low ebb in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan, brokers told news agency PTI. Market is also awaiting GDP numbers and fiscal deficit data scheduled for release later in the day.

BSE Sensex is trading at 35,858.99, down 46.44, or 0.13% at 1:14 pm.

Japan's Nikkei fell today as hopes for progress in Sino-US trade negotiations receded and as data showed the biggest decline in Japanese factory output in a year, dragging down cyclical stocks. The stocks widened their losses in late trade, with traders noting investors were closing their positions as they awaited more details from the US-North Korea summit in Vietnam.

Shares of Jet Airways fell by over 6 per cent Thursday after the company said seven more aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of lease rentals. The shares plunged 6.15 per cent to Rs 211 on BSE. On NSE, the shares tanked 6.30 per cent to Rs 210.15.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Thursday directed the NCLT Ahmedabad bench to take a decision on the Rs 42,000-crore resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal for debt-ridden Essar Steel by March 8.

After opening higher on Thursday morning, the stock markets- Sensex and Nifty have receded from day's highs. The Sensex is up about 78 points to 35,983.43, while the Nifty is trading below the 10,850-mark. Shares of Tata Motors are trading 2% higher at Rs 180.60, while ONGC shares are up 145.80 to emerge among the top Nifty gainers. According to stock market experts, the sentiment may remain muted as India-Pakistan geopolitical tensions weigh, impacting the F&O expiry. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

The Income Tax Department will “only” issue refunds via the e-mode into bank accounts of taxpayers beginning next month and they should link PAN with their accounts, the taxman said in its latest public communication. The department said refunds will be sent to bank accounts as it will issue “only e-refunds from March 1, 2019.” Link your PAN (permanent account number) with your bank account to get your refund directly, swiftly and securely, the department said in a public advisory issued Wednesday. It added the bank account could be either savings, current, cash or overdraft.

Also read: Link your PAN with bank for refunds: Income Tax Department to taxpayers

The Trump administration imposed a tariff on steel imports last year to get companies to buy more American metal. In some ways, the duty has the U.S. solar business doing the exact opposite. Consider the case of PanelClaw Inc., a supplier of steel racks that hold solar panels in place. Since President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum last year, the Massachusetts-based company has boosted its sourcing of completed racks from India, allowing it to skirt some of the duties that apply to raw metals only.

Also read: Unintended fallout: Donald Trump’s steel tariffs boost solar buying from India, China

There’s a wrinkle in plans made by Asia’s richest man to take on Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc on his home turf in India: his telecom and retail businesses can’t share data. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., has outlined how he will marry the might of his group’s 9,900-plus retail stores and 280-million strong telecom user base to bolster his e-commerce venture. A senior Reliance executive says that any data sharing on customers between the two, could run into a legal wall.

Read full story here: Mukesh Ambani’s data plan to take on Amazon in e-commerce battle runs out of validity

The rupee rose 10 paise to 71.14 against the US dollar in opening trade at the interbank forex market Thursday on mild selling of the greenback by exporters and a higher opening in the domestic equity market. Traders said unabated foreign fund inflows too supported the recovery in the Indian rupee. Meanwhile, the dollar rose from a three-week low overseas as investors grew cautious about US-China trade talks.

Also read: Rupee opens 10 paise higher against US dollar

The stock markets- Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Thursday, tracking positive global cues. The Sensex is up 163 points to 36,063.38, while the Nifty is nearing the 10,850-mark. Bharti Airtel share price jumped by 2% to Rs 326.95 on NSE, on expectations that fund raising may be on cards. ONGC shares are trading 1.5% higher at Rs 145.80, to emrge among the biggest Sensex gainers. According to stock market experts, the sentiment may remain muted as India-Pakistan geopolitical tensions weigh, impacting the F&O expiry. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

Though ONGC is digging appraisal wells at the Deen Dayal West (DDW) field it acquired from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), it is still to submit the field development plan (FDP) and has sought time till December 2019 from the empowered committee of secretaries (ECS). ONGC was initially supposed to submit the FDP by February 2018.

Also read: ONGC yet to submit development plan for GSPC field

Crisis-hit Jet Airways on Wednesday said seven more aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of lease rentals. So far this month, as many as 13 planes of the company have been grounded on account of non-payment of rentals to lessors. In a filing to the stock exchanges, the full-service airline said, “an additional seven aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements”.

Read full story here: Jet Airways crisis: Beleaguered airline grounds seven more planes

The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the state high court against the Airport Authority of India (AAI) handing over the operation and management of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to the Adani Group, which on Monday won the rights under the competitive bidding route.The move comes even as the civil aviation ministry is set to hand over the letters of award with regard to five non-metro airports, including the one in Thiruvananthapuram, to Adani Enterprises on Thursday.

Also read: Adani wins bid to run Thiruvananthapuram airport; Kerala govt moves HC against transfer

A day after India conducted air strikes deep inside Pakistan, Pakistan Air Force shot down a MIG fighter jet and an Indian Air Force pilot was caught by Pakistan’s Army complicating the escalation ladder between the two nuclear-armed countries. New Delhi on Wednesday said that the Pakistan Air Force had targeted “Indian military installations”, and said that though the attack was foiled successfully, one MIG fighter jet was shot down in the aerial confrontation and a pilot is “missing in action”.

Also read: Day after Balakot strike: IAF pilot in Pak custody, India says stop ‘vulgar display’, send him back

Asian stocks slipped on Thursday after cautious comments from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer dented some of the recent optimism towards Sino-U.S. trade relations, while the dollar held gains, supported by higher bond yields. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent. Australian stocks fell 0.1 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.5 percent and Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.5 percent.

Also read: Asian stocks slip as trade optimism retreats, dollar holds gains

The US has asked Pakistan to abide by its UN Security Council commitments to deny terrorists safe haven and block their access to funds. This US statement came after India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on specific details”of involvement of the Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country.

Also read: Pakistan must abide by UNSC commitments to deny terrorists safe haven, block access to funds: US

The dollar held firm above a three-week low on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over the progress in U.S.-China trade talks, while sterling rallied on bets that the chance of a no-deal Brexit was shrinking. The greenback held onto gains booked during the previous session after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Congressional hearing it was too early to predict an outcome in U.S.-China trade negotiations.

Also read: Dollar stands tall amid caution over Sino-US trade talks

U.S. oil prices were firm on Thursday amid a fall in U.S. inventories and as OPEC cuts supply, but record U.S. crude output of 12.1 million barrels per day (bpd) prevented prices rising further. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $57.01 per barrel at 0034 GMT, up 7 cents from their last settlement. International Brent crude futures had yet to trade. Crude prices rose by around 2 percent the previous session.

Also read: Oil firm on falling US fuel inventories, but record output drags on prices

The S&P 500 closed down slightly on Wednesday but well above its session low after testimonies to U.S. Congress from trade and central bank officials as well as President Donald Trump’s former lawyer brought few major surprises. U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer told a congressional hearing the United States and China still had hard work ahead to settle their trade dispute in his first public comments since Trump announced a delay to Chinese import tariffs on Sunday. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress the central bank would stop shrinking its $4 trillion balance sheet this year, ending a process investors say is at cross-purposes with its current pause on interest rate hikes.

Also read: Wall Street steadies after Lighthizer, Powell, Cohen testimonies

Gold prices on Thursday held near two-week lows touched in the previous session as the dollar rebounded after cautious comments from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer stoked concerns over progress in U.S.-China trade talks. Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,318.06 per ounce as of 0132 GMT, after touching its lowest since Feb. 15 at 1316.43 in the previous session.

Also read: Gold near 2-week lows as dollar rebounds on Sino-US trade concerns

Air travellers can now cancel tickets without having to pay anything within a day of the booking and also claim enhanced compensation for loss of baggage from airlines as the ministry of civil aviation on Wednesday finalised the new passenger charter, prescribing a series of consumer-friendly measures. However, as per the new charter, zero cancellation charge won’t apply if the tickets are booked less than seven days before the scheduled departure time of the flight.

Also read: New flight cancellation rules give air passengers a reason to smile

India’s Ambassador to the US, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, has said that India will not keep quiet to any act of terrorism and giving “appropriate response” to all terrorism incidents is the new normal for the country. In a first-of-its-kind interaction with Indian students from the various universities from the Greater Washington area, Shringla said that Pakistan needs to meet its international obligations to crackdown on terrorist networks and safe havens within its territory. Forty CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country.

Also read: India will not keep quiet to any act of terrorism, says Indian Ambassador to the US

Private Equity investments witnessed a 36% growth in January 2019 despite a fall in the investment volumes on account of increased follow-on investment rounds compared to the same period last year, according to a dealtracker report by Grant Thornton. Compared to December 2018, the private equity (PE) deal value in January 2019 fell by 39% primarily on account of Swiggy’s $1 billion funding. Excluding this deal, the investment values remained on a par with level of investment values recorded in December 2018, the report said.

Also read: Startup boom: Private equity investments witness 36% growth in January

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has put on sale non-performing assets (NPAs) worth nearly Rs 6,000 crore, including its Rs 1,838-crore exposure to Reliance Communications (RCom). The accounts are being offered on an all-cash basis. A notification inviting expressions of interest (EoIs) from asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) for 49 bad-loan accounts worth Rs 5,928 crore said the EoIs, with indicative prices, must be filed by March 7. Some of the other large exposures on the list are GVK Power Goindwal Sahib (Rs 266 crore), Asian Colour Coated Ispat (Rs 263 crore) and GMR Chhattisgarh Energy (Rs 218 crore).

Also read: RCom debt among Rs 6,000 crore NPAs put on the block by Bank of Baroda

The United States, Britain and France proposed on Wednesday that the United Nations Security Council blacklist the head of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, Masood Azhar, which said it attacked an Indian paramilitary convoy in disputed Kashmir. However, the move is likely to be opposed by China, which previously prevented the Security Council’s Islamic State and al Qaeda sanctions committee from sanctioning JeM leader Masood Azhar in 2016 and 2017. China’s U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new proposal.

Also read: US, UK, France ask UN to blacklist Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Masood Azhar

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out nearly $650 million from the bond markets in February, sending the benchmark yield to a three-week high. Coupled with the outflows in January, FPIs have sold over a billion dollars on a net basis so far this year. The old benchmark yield —7.17% yielding notes maturing in 2028 — closed nine basis points higher at 7.67% on Wednesday. According to bond market experts, foreign investors are seeking more clarity on the political front before making any major buying decisions. On the other hand, dealers also indicated that certain value buying opportunities in the emerging markets might have led to some amount of portfolio churn.

Also read: Capital flight: Foreign institutions pull out $650 million from debt market in February

In a bid to take on Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel has invited Vodafone Idea to partner in the independent optical fibre firm that it is putting in place. The proposal, if accepted, would shape up the single largest independent fibre company in the country. “We will have our fibre company in place by end of March and in that we have invited Vodafone to come and join,” Financial Express reported citing Bharti Enterprises Chairman’s interaction with a group of select journalists at the ongoing Mobile World Congress. 

Also read: Bharti Airtel may join Vodafone Idea in fight Reliance Jio; here’s what Sunil Mittal plans to offer

In a bid to take on Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel has invited Vodafone Idea to partner in the independent optical fibre firm that it is putting in place. The proposal, if accepted, would shape up the single largest independent fibre company in the country. “We will have our fibre company in place by end of March and in that we have invited Vodafone to come and join,” Financial Express reported citing Bharti Enterprises Chairman’s interaction with a group of select journalists at the ongoing Mobile World Congress.

Also read: Bharti Airtel may join Vodafone Idea in fight Reliance Jio; here’s what Sunil Mittal plans to offer

Shares of state-run Corporation Bank, Allahabad Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank jumped on Wednesday morning, after the PSU banks moved out out of RBI’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. Corporation Bank shares zoomed more than 10% to hit intra-day high of Rs 32.15 on BSE, while Allahabad Bank shares climbed 8.20% to hit the day’s high of Rs 47.45 on BSE. Private sector Dhanlaxmi Bank shares rose 10% to Rs 15.40 on BSE. Notably, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday took Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank out of the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, following an improvement in the two public-sector banks’ (PSBs) financial ratios after a fresh round of capital infusion in them.

Also read: PSU bank stocks Corporation Bank, Allahabad Bank jump after coming out of RBI’s PCA framework

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, stock market in Pakistan took a beating Wednesday, extending losses after the Indian Air Force carried out an air strike on terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. After falling 785 points to close yesterday, KSE100 further plunged by 1,490 points to intra-day low of 37,330.38 in trade on Wednesday, after  Indian Air Force shot down Pakistan’s F-16 jet, which reportedly violated Indian air space, in retaliatory fire.  The benchmark index has plunged by more than 2,000 points since yesterday, or more than 3.5%. KSE100 is currently trading 1.75% lower at 38,196.39.

Also read: Karachi stock exchange bleeds after IAF strikes down terror camps in Pakistan; here’s how much index tanked