Indian shares opened lower, tracking mixed set of global cues, and as a disappointing set of third quarter earnings from the country's third largest private sector lender weighed on sentiment.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped as much as 0.4 percent to 27,196 while the NSE Nifty too lost 0.4 percent and slipped briefly below the 8,400-mark before paring some of its losses.
Here are the stocks that are moving the markets this morning:
Axis Bank: Bad Quarter
Shares of the private lender fell as much as 6.6 percent to Rs 452 after its net profit plummeted 73 percent to Rs 576.6 crore in the December quarter. Net interest income rose 4.1 percent to Rs 4,333.7 crore, which missed the estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg pegged at 4,595.4 crore.
Asset quality of the bank also worsened with the gross non performing assets rising to 5.22 percent during the quarter from 4.17 percent in the previous quarter.
TOP NEWS
Axis Bank's asset quality worsens https://t.co/DWtsk13Z2Y
Yes Bank sees a strong Q3 https://t.co/7kZNRUQ020 pic.twitter.com/9w9LlQa90kCement Stocks: Penalty Woes
Seven cement companies fell on the exchanges on Friday morning after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalised them for trying to rig bids for Haryana government contracts in August 2012. The aggregate penalty comes up to Rs 206 crore, according to the CCI order.
The CCI order said the companies quoted higher than the rates set in August 2011 for substantially lower quantities of cement. The total tendered quantity was divided among the seven companies so that each bidder could get the contract, the CCI said.
- UltraTech (-1.1 percent to Rs 3,421)
- JK Lakshmi (-1.9 percent to Rs 360)
- Shree Cement (-2.2 percent to Rs 15,300)
- Ambuja Cements (-1.6 percent to Rs 216)
- ACC (-1 percent to Rs 1,347)
- Jaiprakash Associates (-2 percent to Rs 10)
- JK Cement (-0.8 percent to Rs 710)
Vedanta: Positive Outlook
Shares of the company fell 1.1 percent to Rs 242, snapping a two-day gaining streak. The stock has gained 13 percent so far this year. The resource company announced its plan to invest $10 billion in its oil and gas, zinc, iron ore and glass businesses in the upcoming financial year.
Anil Agarwal, chief executive officer of Vedanta, is bullish on the commodity sector and expects prices to increase by 10 to 15 percent, he said in an interview with BloombergQuint's Menaka Doshi on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos.
#wef17 #Davos | @VedantaLimited to invest $10 billion in its various businesses in 2017-18, says @AnilAgarwal_Ved. https://t.co/twNduyKz1r
Motherson Sumi: New Purchases
Shares of the car parts maker and engineering group rose 1.3 percent to Rs 330 after it agreed to buy Finnish truck wire maker PKC Group for $609 million.
The board of directors of PKC has unanimously decided to recommend the tender offer to its shareholders and the holders of the stock options.
Motherson Sumi will gain control of more than 90 percent of the PKC shares and outstanding stock options, if the open offer is successful.
Mahindra & Mahindra: To Strengthen Agri-Tech Business
Shares of the vehicle maker rose 0.5 percent to Rs 1,216 after it inked a share purchase agreement with Hisarlar to buy 75.1 percent of its share capital for Rs 127 crore approximately. Hisarlar is a Turkey based agricultural tech company that builds industrial cabinets and agricultural machinery.
Mahindra is acquiring Kisarlar in order to "get both distribution network in Turkey market as well as further strengthen its current agri-machinery product portfolio in Europe," Mahindra said in a statement to the exchanges.
Idea Cellular: ‘Perfect Match' With Vodafone
Shares of the telecoms operator rose 3 percent to Rs 71 on Friday morning.
Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Miittal said the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, if it were to indeed materialise, would be a ‘perfect match'.
“The strength and weaknesses match very well. Rural - urban, structured portfolio...makes for a good business case and I would support it,” Mittal told BloombergQuint on the sidelines of the 47th World Economic Forum at Davos.
Global brokerage CLSA also voiced similar views, adding that the merged entity would dethrone Bharti Airtel in revenue market share and create a new leader in the Indian telecom landscape.
Orient Green Power: Merger On The Cards
Shares of the power producer rose as much as 6.7 percent to Rs 12 after the company said it was evaluating a merger of its wind power business with IL&FS Wind Energy.
The merger of the wind assets of the two firms will create a company with 1.2 gigawatts of operating assets, Orient Green Power said in an exchange filing.
Both companies have entered into a non-binding agreement with an exclusivity period of 90 days.
Earnings Watch
- Indiabulls Housing Finance (+1 percent to Rs 760)
- JSW Energy (+1.3 percent to Rs 60)
- RBL Bank (+1.1 percent to Rs 382)
- Adani Power (-1.3 percent to Rs 38)
Earnings Reaction
- Mindtree (-3 percent to Rs 470)
- Alembic (-1.7 percent to Rs 37)
Sensex, Nifty: Movers & Shakers
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