BackSensex falls for fourth week in row; longest losing streak since Aug 2013
Sensex closed higher by 0.42%, or 109.19 points, at 26,108.53 points, taking losses for the week to 0.7%
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Mumbai: Indian shares ended higher on short covering on Friday, but declined for the week, posting the fourth such weekly decline in a row—the longest such losing streak in 14 months—tracking a global sell-off triggered by fears of a slowdown in Europe, spread of the Ebola epidemic and weakening sales in the US.
According to dealers, investors also chose to remain on the sidelines ahead of the results of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, expected on Sunday.
The benchmark 30-share S&P BSE Sensex closed higher by 0.42%, or 109.19 points, at 26,108.53 points, taking losses for the week to 0.7%. It declined for the fourth consecutive week, its longest losing streak since early August 2013. The National Stock Exchange’s broader barometer 50-share CNX Nifty ended up 0.41%, or 31.50 points, at 7,779.70 points.
“The momentum is broken, due to the fears of slowdown of growth in Europe and China. All that has caused a huge amount of damage," said Amisha Vora, joint managing director of Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd.
Since the beginning of this year, the Sensex has gained 23.32%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $13.40 billion from local equity markets. However, they have been net sellers in eight of 13 previous sessions.
“India’s outperformance from here on now depends on how the new government acts on policy issues in the near future. Despite the most critical government, some most important decisions are yet to be taken," added Vora.
The gainers included Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel), which rose 3.4% to ₹ 226.55 and HDFC Bank Ltd, which rose 3% to ₹ 885.30.
Among the losers, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) fell 8.7% to ₹ 2,444.90—it’s biggest single-day fall since May 2009—after the company reported organic revenue growth of 3.6% in dollar terms, nearly 1 percentage point lower than the mean estimate of five large institutional brokers. The company reported a 5.8% sequential drop in its rupee net profit to ₹ 5,568 crore as customers shied away from spending on large outsourcing deals.
Sesa Sterlite Ltd fell 2.8% to ₹ 232.75.
Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, the Bankex index was the top sectoral gainer, up 2.5%. The consumer durables and capital goods indices were up 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively. The power and realty indices were up 1.3% and 1%, respectively. The auto and healthcare indices were up 0.7% each. The IT index was the top sectoral loser, down 4%. The teck index was down 2.7%.
HCL Technologies Ltd fell 9.1% to ₹ 1,505.55—its biggest single-day fall since April 2009—after it posted a 32% rise in net profit to ₹ 1,873 crore for the September quarter. Net sales rose 10% to ₹ 8,735 crore. In dollar terms, net income stood at $307 million on a revenue of $1.433 billion, lower than analysts’ expectations. Analysts were on average expecting the company to post consolidated net profit of $285.45 million on revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, according to a Bloomberg poll of analysts. In rupee terms, net profit was estimated at ₹ 1,753.4 crore on net sales of ₹ 8,815.1 crore.
CMC Ltd fell 14.4% to ₹ 1,872.65—its biggest single-day fall since February 2009. The company posted a 13% increase in its September quarter net profit at ₹ 76 crore. Also, TCS has obtained its board’s approval to merge its public listed subsidiary CMC with itself, as per a stock market disclosure.
Rallis India Ltd fell 6.5% to ₹ 211.80 after the company reported weak earnings. It reported a marginal decline in its consolidated net profit to ₹ 73.43 crore for the September quarter as compared with ₹ 74.75 crore a year ago.
Tata Motors Ltd fell 1.7% to ₹ 475.75 after the company reported an 8.25% decline in global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover, at 80,104 units in September.
Crompton Greaves Ltd rose 1.2% to ₹ 190.95. The company reported a 19% increase in consolidated net profit to ₹ 69.59 crore in the September quarter—below analysts’ projection of ₹ 79.03 crore. The company also announced the demerger of its consumer products business unit into a separate company.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd rose 3.1% to ₹ 2,877.10 after it posted a 59% jump in the September quarter net profit to ₹ 763 crore, beating market estimates. The rise in profit was helped by innovation and technological improvements. Margins were flat sequentially, helped by cost cutting initiatives.
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