Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 404 points higher, Nifty near 10,750; Tata Steel, VEDL gain 4.5%

In a departure from tradition, Nasscom will no longer provide guidance for the IT industry’s growth for FY20. The information technology trade body will not release its guidance even later, Rishad Premji, the chairman of the industry body, told media on the sidelines of a three-day annual summit today. “Rather than collating a number, we feel having a perspective would be better. We are not sharing the number as a philosophical decision,” he added.

Also read: NASSCOM breaks tradition, scraps annual guidance for IT; releases CEO survey

The stock markets- Sensex and Nifty extended gains in the afternoon trade on Wednesday, s metal, banking and realty stocks soared amid sustained buying by domestic investors. The Sensex closed 403.65 points higher at 35,756.26 while the Nifty ended 131 points higher at 10,735.45. Tata Steel share price zoomed by more than 4.75% t0 Rs 493.65, while Vedanta shares closed 4.77% higher at Rs 160.30, to emerge as the biggest gainer in the Sensex.

Shares of India's major private sector lender gained in trade on Wednesday afternoon, after Moody's affirmed Yes Bank's ratings, changing outlook to stable from negative. Yes Bank shares are trading 3.6% higher at Rs 219.60 on BSE. Yesrerday, after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rapped YES Bank for making a report marked ‘confidential’ public, the private lender said that the NPA divergence information followed due compliance. The bank stated that release of the report was made with intention to be fully compliant with SEBI regulations for information symmetry among market participants.

The liquidity concerns in the NBFC sector may have eased in January after being constrained during the period July-December due to an improvement in the overall fundraising, a research report has said. With the banking sector reeling under persisting NPAs and rising Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR), lending by the NBFC sector has increased remarkably in the last few years, CARE Ratings said in the research report.

Also read: NBFC sector revives: Liquidity concerns ease as fundraising improves

The GST Council on Wednesday deferred the decision to consider a reduction in tax on under-construction houses to Sunday. Since discussions in today’s GST Council meet remained inconsclusive as certain states wanted physical meeting for this agenda,  the real estate issue would be taken by the Council on Sunday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. The meeting took place via videoconference. Arun Jaitley  also said that because of the rush of filing of returns, the due date has been extended till February 22 for all states and February 28 for Jammu & Kashmir. The due date for filing summary sales return – GSTR-3B – is February 20, he informed.

Also read: Homebuyers’ wait for GST relief continues! Council defers decision on tax on under construction houses

US retail major Walmart said it is "disappointed" with recent changes in FDI policy for e-commerce firms in the country, and hopes for a collaborative regulatory process going forward which results in a level-playing field. The Bentonville-based retailing major, which invested USD 16 billion in Flipkart, said the changes in foreign direct investment (FDI) norms have not shaken its confidence and excitement about the Indian market, and it remains optimistic about e-commerce opportunity in the country.

Also read: Walmart not leaving India! Flipkart parent still optimistic on Indian e-commerce after new FDI rules

"The earnings in Q3FY19 has been much better compared to Q2FY19 since we have seen improvement in numbers that have been reported as compared to its previous quarters with many companies beating the estimates while also those companies that have missed the street expectations in last quarter has seen some spin around. Since we are focusing on Nifty 50 companies; 40% of the companies have been in line while moreover, the same percentage of the companies of the Index has seen Q3FY19 earnings within expectations. Companies that missed the earnings was interest rate sensitive, specifically, the Auto sector," Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research said in a note to FE Online.

Shares of Vesanta Ltd surged in trade on Wednesday morning, after the firm denied having discussions with JSW Steel for a possible last-minute joint bid for Essar Steel. Vedanta share price gained by more than 3.7% to hit the day's high at Rs 158.90 on NSE. 'This is in reference to the various news items appearing today with respect to alleged discussions between Vedanta and JSW Steel for a possible last-minute joint bid for Essar Steel. The above referenced news items are speculative and baseless. The Company confirms categorically that it is not in the process of submitting any revised bid for Essar Steel under the IBC process as mentioned in the articles,' Vedanta said in a statement to stock exchanges.

Shares of Anil Ambani-led Reliance group plunged Wednesday after Supreme Court held RCom chairman Anil Ambani guilty of contempt of court for wilfully violating its order by not paying dues worth Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. While RCom shares dropped as much as 9.2 per cent to Rs 5.45, Reliance Infrastructure fell as much as 8.7 per cent. The stock of Reliance Naval and Engineering are down as much as 3.4 per cent and Reliance Power tanked nearly 5 per cent.

Also read: Reliance ADAG stocks fall after SC ruling on RCom chairman Anil Ambani

In a major setback, the Supreme Court has held Anil Ambani guilty of contempt in Ericsson default case, and also directed RCom to pay balance payment of Rs 450 crore to Ericsson in 4 weeks. Notably, in case of default of payment to Ericsson, Anil Ambani will be sent to jail for 3 months, CNBC Tv18 reported Supreme Court as saying. Anil Ambani wilfully did not pay Rs 550 crore to Ericsson, and he a ‘cavalier’ approach, noted the apex court.

Also read: Big setback for RCom: Supreme Court holds Anil Ambani guilty of contempt in Ericsson default case

The rupee inched up 3 paise to 71.31 against the US dollar in early trade Wednesday even as foreign fund outflows continued amid firming oil prices. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic unit opened strong at 71.29 but gave up the gains to trade at 71.31. The rupee had closed at 71.34 versus the greenback Monday. Money markets were closed Tuesday on account of Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained in sell-off mode, offloading shares worth a net Rs 813.76 crore Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 1,163.85 crore, provisional data showed. (PTI reported)

ndia, an economy infamous for high and sticky inflation, is currently coming to terms with the opposite phenomenon—inflation over the last year is not just falling, but falling more than expected. Inflation forecast errors have become one-sided. Moreover, inflation components continue to confound, with persistent divergence between food and core prices. In the latest reading, food inflation is at -1.3% and core inflation is at 5.8%, with a mysterious 7 percentage point gap between them. 

Also read: Inflation-prone India witnessing opposite phenomenon

The stock markets- Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Wednesday, tracking postive global cues. The Sensex is up 250 points to 35,603.47 while the Nifty is trading above the 10,650-mark. Yes Bank shares gained by more than 2% to Rs 217.50 in the morning trade. VEDL share price rallied by more than 1.7% to Rs 156.80 to emerge among top Sensex gainers. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

BSE Sensex extended the fall on Tuesday as it continued its fall for the ninth straight session, closing the day 146 points lower, pulled down by IT stocks amid robust foreign fund outflows.  The 30-share index settled 145.83 points, or 0.41 per cent lower at 35,352.61, after a 489-point intraday swing. NSE Nifty plunged 36.60 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 10,604.35.

Also read: Sensex falls for 9th straight session, posts longest losing run in six years; key reasons

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has invested Rs 650 crore in ride-haling firm Ola, making it the largest investment by an individual in Ola till date. The investment is part of Ola’s larger Series J funding round, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. The funding will provide more power to Ola to compete with rival Uber and also reduce its dependence on another investor, SoftBank, which is the largest shareholder in the firm. Reportedly, SoftBank has offered to invest more in Ola and increase its stake. It is not clear whether Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal will take more funds from.

Also read: Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal invests Rs 650 crore in Ola

2012 was among the crucial years in Indian startup ecosystem history from the regulatory perspective when former minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced section 56(2)(viib) in the Income Tax Act. The controversial tax structure (labelled as angel tax) that saw massive backlash from startups and venture capital investors was otherwise set up with the purpose to check on money laundering. However, that inadvertently led to throwing the book at almost every entity that called itself a startup.

Also read: 5 things Suresh Prabhu said after solving angel tax issue for startups

After Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rapped YES Bank for making a report marked ‘confidential’ public, the private lender said that the NPA divergence information followed due compliance. The bank stated that release of the report was made with intention to be fully compliant with SEBI regulations for information symmetry among market participants. RBI mandates that no part of the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) other than any information on divergence can be made public.

Also read: After RBI rap, YES Bank says report released to comply with SEBI norms

The goods and services tax (GST) Council on Wednesday will consider various proposals to cut tax rates on under-construction residential property, including a tiered structure with 2-3 rates corresponding to different base prices of the houses, officials privy to the discussions in the relevant group of ministers told FE.

Also read: Lower GST on under-construction houses; council to look at proposals

Loans written off by a clutch of 19 large and mid-sized public-sector banks (PSBs) in the December quarter of FY19 rose 34% year-on-year (y-o-y) to nearly Rs 41,000 crore, contributing to a reduction in their non-performing assets (NPAs). These banks had written off loans worth only `33,259 crore in Q2FY19, up 24% y-o-y, indicating a gathering of pace in the write-off exercise.

Also read: Bad loans: SBI writes off Rs 10,000 cr; total by 19 PSU banks at Rs 41,000 cr

US stocks gained ground on Tuesday as upbeat results from Walmart boosted investor sentiment and high-level U.S.-China trade talks resumed in Washington. All three major U.S. equity indexes closed higher, with the Nasdaq ending its seventh consecutive day in the black. Stocks have recovered broadly from their year-end selloff, with the Nasdaq up almost 21 percent from its Dec. 24 low and the S&P 500 more than 18 percent. More stocks are making 52-week highs than at any time since Wall Street was taking those indexes to records in August and September. (Reuters reported)

Asian stocks advanced to 4-1/2-month highs on Wednesday as investors bet that Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators would be able to secure a deal to de-escalate their year-long tariff war. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose nearly 1.0 percent to reach its highest levels since Oct. 2.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1 percent to six-month highs, while Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's index recovered to levels last seen in early October. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.75 percent to two-month highs. Chinese shares rose 0.4 percent, extending their run of gains to 18 percent from their Jan. 4 trough, thanks to inflows of foreign funds. (Reuters reported)