On the sectoral front, the S&P BSE Power index rose 0.2 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Metal index which gained 0.15 percent, and the S&P BSE Banking index rose 0.1 percent.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed flat after witnessing a volatile day of trade on Wednesday which was largely weighed down by concerns over Italy’s political crisis and renewed trade war fears which pushed stock markets across the globe lower.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 43 points lower at 34,906.11 ahead of May F&O expiry on Thursday while the Nifty50 managed to hold above 10,600 to close at 10,614, down 18.95 points.
The possibility of fresh general election and Eurosceptic political parties strengthening their vote share has raised concerns about stability in the Eurozone.
Italy is Eurozone’s third-largest economy and has been weak for several years. The country’s debt currently stands at 130 percent of its economic output. The recent developments have led to nervousness in the European and global markets.
“Italy’s political paroxysms have sent jitters across most asset classes including equity, bonds, currencies as well as commodities,” Gaurang Somaiya, Analyst – Currencies, Motilal Oswal Commodities told Moneycontrol.
“This uncertainty has caused fears amongst market participants raised and questions that ‘Will Italy stay in the Euro bloc?’ Stocks across the globe fell following fear that escalating crisis in Italy could deepen further,” he said.
On the sectoral front, the S&P BSE Power index rose 0.2 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Metal index which gained 0.15 percent, and the S&P BSE Banking index rose 0.1 percent.
On the losing front, the S&P BSE Healthcare index which dropped 0.7 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Infrastructure index dropped 0.71 percent, and the S&P BSE Capital Goods index was down 0.68 percent.
The S&P BSE Midcap index rose marginally by 0.03 percent, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index slipped 0.19 percent.
Top Sensex gainers include names like M&M (up 3.08 percent), Coal India (up 2.3 percent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.4 percent), and Yes Bank (up 1.3 percent).
Top Sensex losers include names like Tata Motors DVR (down 2 percent), followed by Tata Motors (down 1.9 percent), ICICI Bank (down 1.8 percent), and Bajaj Auto (down 1.1 percent).
Stocks in news:
Manpasand Beverages continued its sharp downfall for the third consecutive day as investors could have chosen to be cautious of its auditor’s abrupt exit ahead of Board meeting. The stock was locked in a lower circuit of 10 percent.
Fortis Healthcare informed exchanges that the board meeting scheduled today to consider and approve the audited financial results for the quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2018 stands deferred to June 11, 2018. The stock closed 1.1 percent higher.
Coal India’s shares gained 2.3 percent as brokerages remain upbeat on better price hike realisations. Brokerage house Nomura has maintained its neutral call on the stock with a target of Rs 332 apiece. It observed that the company had a strong March quarter as price hikes in January materialized. Its realisation on fuel supply agreement front surprised and has driven the sizeable earnings beat. In fact, the revenue was 9 percent above consensus estimates.
CRISIL stock price rose 13.7 percent after 6.33 lakh equity shares (representing 0.9 percent of total equity) exchanged hands on the National Stock Exchange at Rs 1851.05 per share.
Borosil Glass Works share price rallied 5.6 percent after March quarter profit shot up 66 percent year-on-year to Rs 14.8 crore and revenue grew by 16.3 percent to Rs 87.5 crore.
M&M rose 3 percent after global brokerage firms such as CLSA, Credit Suisse, and Jefferies maintains their rating but raised their respective target price for M&M Ltd post Q4 results. The most aggressive target of Rs 1075 for M&M was given by CLSA which translates into a gain of 23 percent from Tuesday’s closing price of Rs 868.80.
In other news/Global Update:
Prices of petrol and diesel have been cut by 1 paise and not 59 paise as mentioned earlier. Indian Oil (IOC) had published the wrong prices of the commodity earlier today.
The credit rating agency Moody’s on Wednesday slashed India’s GDP growth forecast for 2018 from 7.5 percent to 7.3 percent. The government will announce GDP data for the quarter ended March on Thursday at 05:30 PM. The Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on Monday it was expected that annual growth was between 7.3 and 7.5 percent in the March quarter.
Globally investors worried over Eurozone break-up risk due to political turmoil in Italy. Asian markets closed lower, tracking the overnight correction in US and European markets. China’s Shanghai Composite, Japan’s Nikkei, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi ended down 1-2.5 percent.
European markets were mixed, with the Germany’s DAX rising half a percent while France’s CAC fell half a percent.
Brent crude oil futures gained half a percent at $75.78 a barrel amid worries over rising output from Saudi Arabia and Russia.
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