Key equity barometers ended with decent gains on Wednesday, supported by strong gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL). The Nifty ended just below the 12,000 level. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex hit fresh record high of 40,816.38 in morning today.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 181.94 points or 0.45% to 40,651.64, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 59 points or 0.49% to 11,999.10, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.02%.

The market breadth was tilted in the favor of sellers. On the BSE, 1203 shares rose and 1354 shares fell. A total of 200 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index gained 3.26%, extending gains for fourth straight session. The index has risen 6.73% to 8,102.90 from a recent closing low of 7591.45 on 14 November 2019.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 5.87%), Strides Shasun (up 4.91%), Lupin (up 3.99%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 3.29%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.03%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.64%), Cipla (up 2.33%), Cadila Healthcare (up 2.26%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.92%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.37%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.7%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.47%) advanced.

Wockhardt (down 4.47%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 1.51%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 2.60% to Rs 1549.10. Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), a subsidiary of RIL said it will increase in tariffs in next few weeks in a manner that does not adversely impact data consumption or growth in digital adoption and sustains investments.

A foreign brokerage raised the target price for the shares of RIL to Rs 1,400 from Rs 1,210 per share as it continued to maintain neutral rating on the scrip.

According to the research house, Jio's tariff increase could bring an annual cash flow of more than $1.5 billion, which will help the company achieve zero net debt target by FY21.

Wipro slipped 0.54% to Rs 249.05. The IT major signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Oulu, Finland, to collaborate in the areas of wireless communications in 5G/6G at GHz, THz and light wave frequencies under the University's 6G flagship program.

Yes Bank rose 2.49% to Rs 65.75. Yes Bank said divergence in gross NPAs as of 31 March 2019 was at Rs 3,277 crore and divergence in net NPAs was at Rs 2,299 crore. The bank clarified that the incremental Gross NPA of Rs 2,018 crore is across four accounts of which exposure of Rs 1,041 crore across 3 accounts was internally rated and disclosed as 'BB&Below' as on 30 September 2019. Bank intends to convene board meeting by end of November to finalise capital raising, it said.

Siemens fell 2.74% to Rs 1536.45. The company reported 18.28% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 333.90 crore on 6.38% rise in total income to Rs 4,290.10 crore in Q4 September 2019 over Q4 September 2018.

NBCC (India) rose 0.95% to Rs 37.25. The firm said it has received Rs 500 crore order from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate, Government of India to provide Principle Project Consultancy and Executing agency for the Development of the National Museum of Natural History at Bhairon Marg, New Delhi.

Shree Cement rose 1.39% to Rs 20,300 after the company announced the commencement of the qualified institutions placement (QIP) of equity shares from 19 November 2019. The company's qualified institutions placement committee approved and set the floor price for QIP at Rs 19,806.46 per equity share based on the pricing formula as per SEBI norms. The said decisions were taken at the company's board meeting held on 19 November 2019.

Ultratech Cement rose 0.28% to Rs 4111.25. The company is considering a proposal to raise funds by issuance of 2,500 rated, listed, non-convertible, redeemable, unsecured NCDs of Rs. 10 lakh each aggregating to Rs. 250 crore on private placement basis, including the terms and conditions of the issue, on or after 22nd November, 2019.

Central Bank of India reported Rs 2,565 crore divergence in Net Non-Performing Assets, where RBI assessed a net NPA of Rs 13,898.24 crore as against Rs 11,333.24 crore reported by the bank as on 31 March 2019. Shares of the state run bank fell 4.84% lower at Rs 21.65.

Bandhan Bank fell 2.48% to Rs 522.70 on reports that some women borrower groups staged protests in Assam, seeking a ban on microfinance companies.

SpiceJet rose 1.60% at Rs 111.15 after the domestic airline company announced the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gulf Air for exploring cooperation. The MoU will be focused in the area of interlining and code sharing agreement, coordinating cargo services and pilot training.

Foreign Markets:

Overseas, European stocks continued to trade lower while most Asian stocks declined in the absence of progress in US-China trade talks.

The United States Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that would require an annual review of the special treatment Hong Kong receives under US law following almost six months of unrest in the Asian financial hub. The vote will be seen as boost for Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters, and a challenge to the Chinese government at a time of strained US-China relations.

US stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 retreating from records, on disappointing earnings results and doubts about a US-China trade deal. The Nasdaq, however, notched a record finish on the strength of technology shares.

The United States would raise tariffs on Chinese imports if no deal is reached with Beijing to end a trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said on Tuesday, threatening an escalation of the spat that has damaged economic growth worldwide.

In U.S. economic data, U.S. home building rose in October and permits for future home construction jumped to a 12-year high. Housing starts increased 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.314 million units last month. Housing starts rose 8.5% on a year-on-year basis in October.

The benchmark indices ended with decent gains after a volatile session on Tuesday. Media updates on the PSU disinvestment front led to heavy buying momentum in the last hour of trade. Telecom shares shot up on proposals to raise tariffs from December. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries hit a record high level.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 185.51 points or 0.46% to 40,469.70, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 72.65 points or 0.61% to 11,957.15, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.05% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.31%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1151 shares rose and 1387 shares fell. A total of 194 shares were unchanged.

Media reports suggested that the proposal to lower government stake in the PSUs below 51% may come up in the next cabinet meeting. The group of ministers (GoM) on divestment are likely to approve a list of PSUs where the government's stake will go below 51%.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto fell 0.68% to 8,063.95, extending decline for third straight session. The index has fallen 1.54% to 8,073.95 from a recent closing high of 8,190.90 on 14 November 2019.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.12%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.4%), Tata Motors (down 1.35%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.9%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.77%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.43%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.03%) declined.

Eicher Motors (up 1.17%) and Escorts (up 0.24%) advanced.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) reported that vehicle registrations in October showed a positive momentum due to festivals. Attractive offers boosted the overall positive mood of the buyer.

Vehicles registrations rose by 4% to 17,09,610 units in October 2019 as against 16,38,832 units in October 2018. 2-wheeler registration was up by 5% while 3-wheeler registration was up by 4% on YoY basis.

Commercial Vehicle segment continued to witness a slow down as registration in October 2019 de-grew by 23% to 67,060 units on YoY basis.

FADA continues its recommendation to its members to tread with caution, especially with regards to inventory and costs during this dynamic time of fluctuating consumer sentiment due to overall weak economic situation and BS6 transition. FADA will also continue to engage with all the stakeholders for a smooth transition into the BS6 Regime for its members.

The FADA data offers a reaffirmation of the view stated early in November by SIAM.The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), commenting on auto sector's performance in October 2019, said that festive season did manage to bring some cheer in passenger vehicles segment. However, the remaining auto segments continued to prevail in the negative territory.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Telecom major Bharti Airtel advanced 6.83% to Rs 437.10. The scrip has hit 52-week high of Rs 435 in intraday today.

In an exchange filing, Airtel said that it will appropriately increase price offerings in the month beginning December. While continuing to provide affordable tariffs to customers, it would balance the needs of the company to remain viable and thereby continue to invest in the much needed digital infrastructure and maintain the quality standards required by its customers.

Vodafone Idea spurted 30.87% to Rs 5.85. Vodafone Idea reiterated its commitment to play its due role in realising the vision of Digital India by continuing to provide seamless mobile services to customers across India. To ensure that its customers continue to enjoy world class digital experiences, Vodafone Idea will suitably increase the prices of its tariffs effective 1 December 2019.

Index pivotal Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 3.34% at Rs 1507.20. It hit a record high of Rs 1,511.90 in intraday today.

Tata Steel fell 1.90% to Rs 402.40. Tata Steel outlined proposals for a transformation programme in Europe. The programme is needed to ensure the business can thrive despite severe market headwinds which have led to a sharp decline in profitability. At the same time, it aims to secure the foundation for investments required to accelerate innovation and the company's journey towards carbon-neutral steelmaking.

TCS declined 1.94% to Rs 2110. TCS announced the setting up of a new Microsoft Business Unit (MBU). Offering a full complement of services and solutions around Microsoft technologies, and catering to all stakeholders in the enterprise, the new unit will work with customers worldwide to accelerate their Business 4.0 transformation journeys.

TCS in a seperate exchange filing said that it has expanded its partnership with Virgin Atlantic for creating and innovating new customer experience. The partnership will help Virgin Atlantic in identifying the next digital innovation, including real-time analysis of data, automated re-fuelling and various proofs of concepts in areas such as voice-enabled bookings.

Accelya Solutions India surged 12.69% to Rs 1205 after the company announced that it is being acquired by Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises slipped 2.67% to Rs 286.20 after Brickwork Ratings downgraded rating on company's 6% Cumulative Redeemable Non-Convertible Preference Shares. Brickwork Ratings revised ratings from BWR AAA to BWR AA+ with negative implications.

Siemens rose 1.48% to 1576.25, ahead of its Q4 earnings today.

Foreign Markets:

Overseas, European stocks continued to trade higher while Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited clarity on the progress of trade negotiations between the two major economies.

US stocks eked out fresh all-time highs on Monday, notching slight gains as progress toward a so-called phase-one U.S.-China trade agreement remained elusive.

The Trump administration on Monday issued a 90-day extension of a license allowing U.S. companies to continue doing business with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the country's top trade negotiator, reportedly held a phone conversation with U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday, describing the discussions as constructive.

Key equity market barometers ended slightly lower after opening higher on Monday. The indices traded in a narrow range for most part of the session. Gains in metals, pharma and banks offset the losses in FMCG and auto stocks. Despite hitting an intraday high of 11,946.20, the Nifty 50 index closed below the 11,900 mark.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, fell 72.50 points or 0.18% to close at a 40,284.19, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 1.50 points or 0.01% to 11,893.95, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.44% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.27%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1169 shares rose and 1395 shares fell. A total of 207 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.69% to 2,541.10, buoyed by the positive developments on the US-China trade front. The index fell 6.02% in five sessions to end at 2498.80 on Friday from a recent closing high of 2659.05 on 7 November 2019.

Hindalco Industries (up 2.96%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.2%), JSW Steel (up 1.86%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.68%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.21%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.04%), Vedanta (up 0.95%), NMDC (up 0.65%) and National Aluminium Company (up 0.24%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shares of Cadila Healthcare gained 3.69% to Rs 243. The company has received the tentative approval from the USFDA to market Apremilast Tablets (US RLD— Otezla) 10 mg, 20 mg, and 30 mg. This medication is used to treat a certain type of arthritis (psoriatic arthritis) and a certain type of skin condition (moderate to severe plaque psoriasis). t is also used to treat mouth sores in people who have Behcet's disease, a type of inflammatory disorder and helps to reduce the pain and improve the healing of these mouth sores.

Unichem Laboratories advanced 2.47% to Rs 153.55. Unichem Laboratories announced that it has received ANDA approval for its Buspirone Hydrochloride Tablets USP, 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, and 30 mg from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS), Buspar Tablets, 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, and 30 mg.

Tata Motors rose 1.01% to Rs 170.30. The company said that the board approved committee has approved allotment of 5000 Rated, Listed, Unsecured, Redeemable, Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) E28-A Series of face value Rs 10 lakh each, at par, aggregating to Rs 500 crore in three tranches, on private placement basis.

HIL surged 6.20% to Rs 1251. HIL said the company has added additional capacities and commenced the production of its CpVC, UpVC and 'SWR (Soil, Waste & Rain) Pipes at its plant located at Thimmapur, Telangana.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals spurt 21.96% to Rs 367.35 after a foreign brokerage upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'sell'. The foreign brokerage house has also hiked price target to Rs 410 from Rs 350 backed by attractive valuation after Q2 2019 earnings and strong business in USA on QoQ basis.

Tata Steel rose 3.45% to Rs 407.90. The steel maker's long-term rating has been reportedly affirmed by S&P at 'BB-'. The outlook has been revised to 'stable' from 'positive'.

The company, in an exchange filing post trading hours on Friday, informed about the completion of stake sale in NatSteel Vina Co (NSV). NatSteel Holdings (NSH), a step-down subsidiary of Tata Steel, signed an agreement with the Vietnam-based Thai Hung Trading joint stock company to divest its entire equity stake held in NSV (56.5%).

Parag Milk Foods jumped 14.04% to Rs 144.55 after the promoter increased stake in the company. Parag Milk Foods in an exchange filing reported that Devendra Shah, promoter of the company has bought 2 lakh equity shares of the company on 15 November 2019. Following the acquisition, the promoter increased his stake in the company to 18.08% from 17.84%.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) advanced 3.58% to Rs 524 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly said that the government will conclude the sale of Air India and BPCL by March 2020.

Speaking to the media, the finance minister confirmed that the government is focused on divesting the two state-run companies by the end of the financial year. This will form a crucial chunk of the government's plan to raise Rs 1 lakh crore in the current fiscal as India continues to tackle a steep demand slowdown, the reports added.

Telecom shares spurted after Finance Minister Niramla Sitharaman assured that the government does not want any telecom companies to shut down on account of Supreme Court's AGR verdict. FM also said that the Government is looking for ways to support the debt laden telecom sector.

Vodafone Idea advanced 18.48% to Rs 4.36. Bharti Airtel was up 3.71% at Rs 407.80. Bharti Infratel slipped 0.53% at Rs 226.50.

Foreign Markets:

Most European stocks were trading lower while most stocks in Asia ended higher Monday as investors look for further developments on US-China trade.

The US stock market finished session at fresh record highs on Friday on revived hopes for a US-China trade deal after White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow statement that the US and China were getting closer to reaching a resolution.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had a phone call Saturday morning with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding a 'phase-one' trade deal, Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported.

The two sides had constructive discussions about each other's core concerns and agreed to remain in close contact. The call came at the request of Mnuchin and Lighthizer, according to Xinhua.

Key equity barometers ended with minor gains on Friday, mirroring gains in other Asian stock markets following reports that the United States and China are getting close to an interim trade pact.

The Nifty 50 index hit an intraday high of 11,973.65, supported by firmness in banks and pharmaceutical shares. Profit selling in the last one hour of the trade dragged the index below 11,900 level.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 70.21 points or 0.17% to close at a 40,356.69, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 23.20 points or 0.20% to 11,895.30, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.63% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index ended 0.13% lower.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1137 shares rose and 1467 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index rose 0.83% to 31,005.35. Public sector banks rallied after the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday said the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) should not interfere with the decisions of the committee of creditors (CoC) in the Essar Steel insolvency case. Accordingly, SC gave more weightage to the financial creditors.

The SC decision overruled NCLAT's judgment dated 5 July 2019 that operational creditors should be treated on a par with financial creditors for distribution of funds from ArcelorMittal's bid in the Essar Steel insolvency case. The verdict paves the way for Arcelor's takeover of the bankrupt company.

Corporation Bank (up 17.83%), Central Bank of India (up 9.07%), Bank of India (up 4.91%), State Bank of India (up 4.88%), Syndicate Bank (up 3.69%), IDBI Bank (up 3.3%), Canara Bank (up 2.7%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.57%), United Bank of India (up 2.33%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 2.14%), Indian Bank (up 2.1%), Andhra Bank (up 1.46%), Union Bank of India (up 1.43%), Bank of Baroda (up 1.23%), UCO Bank (up 1.14%) and Allahabad Bank (up 0.59%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Prime Focus was locked in a lower circuit of 20% at Rs 67.35 after company's subsidiary in United Kingdom, DNEG Plc, decided to postpone its initial public offering due to on-going market uncertainty. Earlier, DNEG announced it will go public on 15 October 2019.

Shares of GIC Housing Finance fell 2.16% to Rs 149.50. GIC Housing Finance had received show cause notice from National Housing Bank (NHB) in connection with the inspection carried out for Financial Year 2017-18. Based on inspection and reply submitted by Company, NHB has directed the company to pay a penalty of Rs.15,000 (plus GST) which has been paid by the company.

ONGC slipped 0.26% to Rs 135.90. The company reported 36.21% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 5,275.51 crore on 11.19% fall in total income to Rs 103,237.18 crore in Q2 September 2019 over in Q2 September 2018.

Vedanta declined 0.90% to Rs 142.65. As per media reports, the company has lowered the capex guidance by $200 million to $1.2 billion for the financial year ending March 2020 with an optionality to spill into the next fiscal.

Steel Authority of India fell 2.01% to Rs 36.55. The steel maker reported a net loss of Rs 248.08 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net profit of Rs 609.76 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income slumped 15.56% to Rs 14128.96 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

MOIL declined 4.68% to Rs 140.45. The manganese-ore mining company reported 15.72% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,859.21 crore after revenue from operations fell 29.25% to Rs 25,311.37 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

The reduction in the company's turnover and profit during the current reporting period is mainly due to changes in product mix containing higher proportion of medium and low grade ore available for sale as compared with corresponding quarter and fall in prices of manganese ore in international market, resulting in price correction by MOIL

Divi's Laboratories jumped 5.30% to Rs 1745.65 after the USFDA successfully completed cGMP inspection of company's Unit-I facility at Lingojigudem, Telangana. The company received zero 483 observations from USFDA. The inspection was carried out from 11 November 2019 to 15 November 2019.

Balkrishna Industries rose 5.18% to Rs 865.50. The company reported 31% jump in profit after tax to Rs 291 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 222 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income of the company, however, fell 19% to Rs 1107 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 1370 crore in Q2 September 2018. The company has written-off tax expenses to the tune of Rs 35 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a tax expense of Rs 116 crore in Q2 September 2018.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals advanced 6.98% to Rs 302. Consolidated net profit was at Rs 255.54 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 as compared to Rs. 414 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Consolidated revenues rose 9.05% to Rs 2815.04 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 2581.33 crore in Q2 September 2018.

The company reported that the net profit is not comparable to the previous corresponding quarter on account of an exceptional income of Rs 167.18 crore recorded in the second quarter of the previous financial year.

Bharti Airtel jumped 8.15% to Rs 392.20. Bharti Airtel reported consolidated net loss of Rs 23,044.90 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared with net profit of Rs 118.80 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income rose 5.5% to Rs 21514.50 crore in Q2 September 2019 over in Q2 September 2018.

On the AGR issue, the company has provided for an additional amount aggregating Rs 28,450 crore as a charge for the quarter (comprising of Principal of Rs. 6,164 crore, interest of Rs. 12,219 crore, penalty of Rs. 3,760 crore, and interest on penalty of Rs. 6,307 crore) with respect to the license fee as estimated based on the Court Judgement and spectrum usage charges (SUC) as estimated based on the definition of AGR. These provisions have been made without prejudice to the company's right to contest DoT's demands on facts as well as on rights available in law.

Vodafone Idea jumped 21.36% to Rs 3.58. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 50,921.90 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared with net loss of Rs 4,973.80 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income rose 42.36% to Rs 11,275.90 crore in Q2 September 2019 over in Q2 September 2018.

Foreign Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia edged higher on Friday, as investors digested recent developments on US-China trade.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said negotiations over the first phase of a trade agreement with China were coming down to the final stages, with the two sides in close contact.

The US stock market finished session mixed on Thursday, 14 November 2019, as risk sentiments subdued amid mixed global economic data.

In economic news, US initial jobless claims climbed to 225,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000, a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed.

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing US producer prices rebounded by 0.4% in October after falling by 0.3% in September. The bigger than expected increase in producer prices came amid a substantial rebound in energy prices, which surged up by 2.8% in October after tumbling by 2.5% in each of the two previous months. Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices still rose by 0.3% in October as against an expectation of 0.2% and following a 0.3% drop in September.

Key equity barometers ended with decent gains on Thursday after oscillating between gains and losses for the first half of the trading session. The Nifty 50 index managed to close above the 11,850 level. Trading was volatile due to weekly expiry of index options. Sentiment was embittered after Moody's cut India's GDP growth forecast to 5.6% for 2019.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 170.42 points or 0.42% to close at a 40,286.48, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 30 points or 0.25% to 11,870.45, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.14% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index ended 0.01% lower.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1006 shares rose and 1506 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

Domestic Macro:

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday cut India's economic growth forecast for current year to 5.6% from 5.8% estimated earlier, saying GDP slowdown is lasting longer than previously expected. It expected economic activity to pick up in 2020 and 2021 to 6.6% and 6.7%, respectively, but the pace to remain lower than in the recent past.

India's wholesale inflation, or Wholesale Price index (WPI), dipped marginally for the month of October at 0.16% compared to 0.33% in September 2019 and 5.28% in October 2018. The index was supported by higher food prices which prevented the index from falling into negative territory.

India's retail inflation for the month of October breached the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term target of 4% for the first time since July 2018 due to higher food prices. The all-India general consumer price index (CPI) inflation touched 4.62% in October, according to the data released by the statistics office on Wednesday, compared to 3.99% in September. The CPI was 3.38% in October last year.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index was up 0.94% to 15,384.05, reversing its three-day losing streak. The index had fallen by 2.45% to 15,240.95 at yesterday's close, from a recent closing at 15,624.40 on 7 November 2019.

Persistent Systems (up 6.16%), Infosys (up 1.97%), Hexaware Technologies (up 1.14%), MindTree (up 0.84%), TCS (up 0.76%), MphasiS (up 0.36%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.35%) and HCL Technologies (up 0.32%) advanced.

Oracle Financial Services Software (down 2.27%) and Wipro (down 0.04%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries declined 0.95% to Rs 1458. Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Reliance Industries' (RIL) Baa2 domestic long-term issuer rating and foreign currency senior unsecured rating.

At the same time, Moody's has affirmed the Baa2 backed domestic currency senior unsecured debt ratings on the USD denominated bonds issued by Reliance Holding USA, Inc., with a guarantee from RIL. The outlook on the ratings above is stable.

Aurobindo Pharma fell 8.86% to Rs 395. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspected the company's unit IV, a general injectable formulation manufacturing facility situated at Pashamylaram, Hyderabad, from 4th to 13th November 2019. At the end of the inspection, the company has been issued a 'Form 483' with 14 observations. The pharma company said that it will respond to the USFDA within the stipulated timeline.

Cadila Healthcare rose 4.21% to Rs 234.10. On a consolidated basis, net profit fell by 74.3% to Rs 107.20 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 417.50 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales, however, recorded a growth of 14.1% to Rs 3244.20 in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

SpiceJet fell 6.02% to Rs 106.85. The airline company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 461.21 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net loss of Rs 382.71 crore in Q2 September 2018. Revenue from operations for quarter ending September 2019 jumped by 51% to Rs 2848 crore on YoY basis.

IRCTC fell 2.29% to Rs 910.45. IRCTC announced its first ever quarterly result after getting listed on exchanges on 14 October 2019. IRCTC's net profit rose 14.01% to Rs 172.15 crore on 3.77% rise in net sales to Rs 972.61 crore in H1FY2020 over H1FY2019.

ARSS Infrastructure Projects hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 25.20. The company has received a work order of Rs 75.42 crore from Rail Vikas Nigam.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) fell 2.99% to Rs 42.20. On consolidated basis, company reported a net loss of Rs 28.25 crore in Q2 September 2019 compared with net profit of Rs 510.55 crore in Q2 September 2018. Consolidated net sales tumbled 22.27% to Rs 2,363.55 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

IRCON International declined 6.93% to Rs 407.80 after consolidated net profit fell 4.35% to Rs 82.82 crore on 26.43% increase in net sales to Rs 1,237.36 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Telecom stocks fell after media reported suggested that the department of telecommunications (DoT) has issued a notice to telecom operators to pay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues within three months as directed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court (SC) on 24 October 2019 ruled in favor of the government on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, with grave revenue implications to the tune of over Rs 92,000 crore for the ailing telecom sector.

Bharti Airtel was trading 1.51% lower at Rs 362.95. The telecom operator will be in focus as it will announce its Q2 2019 earnings today.

Vodafone Idea fell 20.81% to Rs 2.93. Grasim Industries slipped 0.93% to Rs 732.20. Grasim Industries has exposure to the telecom sector via its 11.55% stake in Vodafone Idea.

Grasim Industries reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1002 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net loss of Rs 1468 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net revenue rose 3% to Rs 18,430 crore while EBITDA increased by 7% to Rs 3,180 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Vedanta fell 2.87% to Rs 144. On consolidated basis, net profit soared 43.68% to Rs 2,730 crore on a 3.08% decline in net sales to Rs 21,739 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Vedanta, in a separate announcement said that it had participated in and emerged as the highest bidder for the Jamkhani coal block in Sundargarh district, Odisha, in the 10th tranche of the captive coal block auction conducted by Ministry of Coal, Government of India.

The approved per annum capacity of the mine is 2.6 million tonnes. It has an extractable reserve of 114 million tonnes. Once operational, it will provide fuel security, improve power availability and further strengthen the company's aluminum operations and performance.

Foreign Markets:

Overseas, most shares in Europe and Asia declined after China's October industrial production data missed expectations. Sentiment was soured after trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are understood to have hit a roadblock.

German GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 0.1% in the third quarter, exceeding the -0.1% contraction expected and narrowly avoiding a technical recession.

Chinese industrial production data for October grew 4.7% year-on-year as compared against expectations of a 5.4% growth, media reports said.

Japan's economic growth touched a 1-year low in the third quarter, the media reported on Thursday citing government data. GDP grew 0.2% on an annualized rate in the third quarter, well lower than a median market forecast of a 0.8% rise.

The US stock market finished session modest higher on Wednesday, 13 November 2019, on the back of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testimony that U.S. central bankers see a sustained expansion ahead for the country's economy. Also, factors supporting the rally include the resumption of short dated debt buying to add liquidity to money markets and a surge in government spending. However, market gains were capped amid lingering uncertainty about a potential U.S.-China trade deal.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer price index climbed by 0.4% in October after coming in unchanged in September. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices edged up by 0.2% in October after a 0.1% uptick in September.

The U.S. federal government's budget deficit in October rose 34% from a year earlier to $134.5 billion, putting the U.S. on course to top the $1 trillion mark in fiscal 2020 for the first time in eight years, or nearly 5% of gross domestic product.

The benchmark indices ended with significant losses on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 index fell below the 11,850 level. Losses in ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys and HDFC overshadowed gains in Reliance Industries and TCS. Sentiment was affected due to weak domestic economic data and negative global cues.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex fell 229.02 points or 0.57% to close at a 40,116.06, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 73 points or 0.61% to 11,840.45, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.77% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 1.13%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 969 shares rose and 1602 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.

Domestic Macro:

India's industrial production shrank for the second consecutive month in September, its worst performance in the series that began April 2012. As per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), factory output contracted 4.3% in September 2019 as compared to September 2018. The contraction was mainly due to poor performance in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) in its report predicted a 4.2% GDP growth for India in the second quarter. The bank attributes it to low automobile sales, deceleration in air traffic movements, flattening of core sector growth and declining investment in construction and infrastructure. The growth forecast for FY20 has now come down to 5% from 6.1% earlier, the report said. India's GDP was at a six-year low of 5% in Q1.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index tumbled 2.16% to 2,553.60. The index has fallen 3.96% in three sessions from a recent closing high of 2,659.05 on 7 November 2019.

Jindal Steel & Power (down 5.67%), National Aluminium Company (down 5.21%), Steel Authority of India (down 4.17%), Hindustan Copper (down 3.33%), Vedanta (down 2.79%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.07%), JSW Steel (down 0.93%) and Tata Steel (down 0.49%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ICICI Bank fell 2.12% to Rs 486.40. Axis Bank slipped 3.17% to Rs 710.35. Infosys lost 1.89% to Rs 691.15.

HDFC declined 1.13% to Rs 2209.65.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.85% to Rs 1468.50.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 3.82% to Rs 2179.85. TCS announced an expansion of its long-term partnership with Phoenix Group, Europe's largest life and pensions consolidator, to drive the growth and transformation of the Standard Life business and meet the future needs of its customers, workplace clients and their advisers.

The expanded partnership will result in the digital transformation of Standard Life's pensions and savings operations onto the TCS BFSI Digital Platform, powered by TCS BaNCS. The transformation is expected to take approximately three years to complete, with a number of Standard Life employees transferring to TCS by the end of that period.

Coal India fell 1.38% to Rs 206.95. The company's consolidated net profit rose 14.21% to Rs 3,522.70 crore on 6.27% fall in total income to Rs 22,012.94 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Hindalco Industries slipped 3.77% to Rs 192.85. The company's net profit fell 74.8% to Rs 78 crore on 8.1% fall in net sales to Rs 9,965 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) fell 4.37% to Rs 370.60. On consolidated basis, APSEZ reported a 10.9% rise in profit before tax (PBT) to Rs 886.34 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

The profit after tax (PAT) of APSEZ jumped 72.44% to Rs 1059.20 crore in quarter ending September 2019 as against the corresponding quarter of the previous year. PAT was supported by one time tax gain of Rs 319 crore in Q2 2019 over Q2 2018. Revenue from operations rose 8.17% to Rs 2821.16 crore in Q2 2019 from Rs 2608.01 crore in Q2 2018.

Britannia Industries surged 4.48% to Rs 3256 after consolidated net profit rose 32.90% to Rs 402.73 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 303.03 crore in Q2 September 2018. The biscuit maker's total revenue from operations in Q2 September 2019 stood at Rs 3048.84 crore, up by 6.25% from Rs 2869.59 crore the company clocked in the year ago period.

NMDC fell 3.03% to Rs 100.65. The iron-ore producer reported a 10.5% rise in net profit to Rs 703.27 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. NMDC reported an 8% drop in net sales to Rs 2241.76 crore in quarter ending September 2019 over September 2018.

Hindalco Industries fell 3.57% to Rs 193.30. The company's consolidated net profit slumped 32.73% to Rs 974 crore on 8.76% fall in net sales to Rs 29,657 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Mahanagar Gas advanced 3.39% to Rs 1002.5. The natural gas distribution company reported 98.6% increase in net profit to Rs 270.62 crore while net sales rose by 12.5% to Rs 783.58 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Indian Hotels Co jumped 7.03% to Rs 156.80. The company announced consolidated net profit of Rs 71.31 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against net loss of Rs 5.21 crore in Q2 September 2018. The hospitality chain reported a 4.4% rise in net sales to Rs 1007.44 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Hindustan Aeronautics rose 4.88% to Rs 802.60 after consolidated net profit surged 116.41% to Rs 621.66 crore on 32.20% surge in net sales to Rs 3,451.07 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Adani Enterprises tumbled 5.78% to Rs 198.70 after consolidated adjusted net profit fell 0.9% to Rs 179.23 crore on 7.5% decline in net sales to Rs 8,464.19 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Sheela Foam rose 2.33% to Rs 1270. On a consolidated basis, net profit jumped 142% to Rs 59 crore on a 7.1% decline in net sales to Rs 497 crore on a YoY basis. EBITDA for Q2 September 2019 increased 66.67% to Rs 70.5 crore from Rs 42 crore in corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Foreign Markets:

Overseas, shares in Europe and Asia edged lower as conflicting signals over the extent of progress made in US-China trade talks and concern about intensifying unrest in Hong Kong hurt demand for risky assets.

The moves in Hong Kong came after political turmoil in the embattled city escalated this week. Leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that protestors 'paralyzing' the city were selfish. On Monday, protests that started nearly six months ago took another violent turn.

Hong Kong Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung told reporters Tuesday that the city's society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown, according to media reports.

The US stock market finished modest higher on Tuesday, 12 November 2019, spurred by gains in trade-sensitive technology stocks, after President Donald Trump suggested signing a phase one trade deal with China could happen soon but did not offer clarity on a rollback of import tariffs.

Markets were keenly focused on trade negotiations between the U.S. and two of its major counterparts, Europe and China. At the Economic Club of New York, President Donald Trump gave an update Tuesday afternoon on trade negotiations with China, saying both sides are close to a phase-one deal, but that he would only accept it if the agreement worked to the advantage of U.S. workers and businesses. News reports also suggested Trump may put off for another six months a decision on whether to place tariffs of up to 25% on European auto imports, ahead of the Wednesday deadline.

US-China are looking to hammer out the first phase of an agreement that would ease some tariffs but details of a potential deal remain in flux. The U.S. is pushing for more open markets and the elimination of intellectual property theft. China, for its part, wants Washington to drop some $250 billion in tariffs imposed since the trade war began.

Attention now will shift to back-to-back testimony on Wednesday and Thursday by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The benchmark indices ended with limited gains after a volatile session on Monday. Buying in the banking vertical helped the indices end in the green. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex rose 21.47 points or 0.05% to close at a 40,345.08, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 4.80 points or 0.04% to 11,912.95, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.29% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.17%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1251 shares rose and 1292 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.

On the macro front, India's industrial production data and Manufacturing production data for September 2019 will be announced today, 11 November 2019.

Politics:

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and went on an all-out attack against the party. Raut also said that Shiv Sena is ready to form the government in Maharashtra with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The Congress has decided to go into wait and watch mode on supporting Shiv Sena's bid to form the government as the saffron party heads to the Governor at 5 p.m. to stake its claim to power. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar met in Mumbai today and decided to wait for the Congress to come to a decision.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index rose 1.32% to end at 31,154.75, extending its gaining streak for fourth straight session. The index has risen 3.09% to 31,154.75 from a recent closing low of 30,219.85 on 5 November 2019.

Among the private sector banks, Yes Bank (up 5.8%), RBL Bank (up 5.68%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.65%), ICICI Bank (up 1.44%), Federal Bank (up 1.22%), Axis Bank (up 1.21%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.99%), City Union Bank (up 0.84%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.69%) edged higher.

Among the public sector banks, Canara Bank (up 1.09%), Bank of India (up 1.05%), United Bank of India (up 1.02%), State Bank of India (up 0.89%), Central Bank of India (up 0.74%), Allahabad Bank (up 0.58%), Union Bank of India (up 0.55%) and Punjab National Bank (up 0.41%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NTPC rose 1.58% to Rs 119.20 after the company reported 36.37% rise in net profit to Rs 3400.84 crore on 5.66% rise in total income to Rs 26266.05 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Nestle India fell 2.66% to Rs 14090. Nestle India's net profit rose 33.5% to Rs 595.41 crore on 9.5% increase in net sales to Rs 3,199.31 crore in Q3 September 2019 over Q3 September 2018.

Bank of Baroda rose 2.72% to Rs 96.35 after the bank registered 73.2% increase in net profit to Rs 736.68 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 425.38 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income rose 64.5% to Rs 22,097.91 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Tata Power Company lost 3.36% to Rs 57.50 after consolidated net profit slipped 19.5% to Rs 270.17 crore on 4.4% increase in net sales to Rs 7,677.82 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Net profit declined mainly due to favourable tariff order in Mumbai licensed area in the previous year.

Lupin rose 2.14% to Rs 733.80. Lupin announced that it has received approval for its Zileuton Extended-Release Tablets, 600 mg, from the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA), to market a generic equivalent of Zyflo CR Extended-Release Tablets, 600 mg, of Chiesi USA, Inc.

Dr. Lal PathLabs gained 2.70% to Rs 1491 after the company recorded 41.48% jump in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 80.50 crore on 15.15% increase in revenues to Rs 365.60 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.21% to Rs 7114. Maruti Suzuki India reported a fall in total automobile production in October 2019 over October 2018. Maruti Suzuki India's total automobile production fell 20.67% to 1.19 lakh units in October 2019 from 1.50 lakh units in October 2018. Total passenger vehicles produced in October 2019 stood at 1.17 lakh units, down by 20.95% from 1.48 lakh units in October 2018. The production of light commercial vehicles fell 10.33% to 1,954 units in October 2019 as against 2,179 units in October 2018.

Tata Motors rose 1.77% to Rs 172.15. Jaguar Land Rover retail sales in October 2019 were 41,866 vehicles, down 5.5% compared to October 2018.

Sales continued to recover in China (up 16.2% year-on-year), the fourth consecutive month of double-digit sales growth in the region. UK sales were down 18.7% for the month, bringing the year-to-date figure to 4.2% down, which is in line with industry trends. Sales were relatively flat (down 0.3%) in North America and down in Europe (down 7.9%) and overseas (down 10.8%).

Real estate developer Sobha fell 3.26% to Rs 427.50. The real estate development company's consolidated net profit rose 9.1% to Rs 67 crore on a 19% increase in net sales to Rs 783.90 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Akzo Nobel India slumped 8.35% to Rs 1975. The global paints and coatings company's consolidated net profit increased by 34% to Rs 49.25 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 36.75 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales, however, fell to Rs 633.82 crore in Q2 September 2019, down by 11.2% from 713.80 crore in Q2 September 2018.

Amara Raja Batteries surged 8.68% to Rs 710.75. The battery maker reported 81.8% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 218.61 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The company's net sales recorded a de-growth of 3.3%, falling to Rs 1,695.31 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 1753.05 crore in Q2 September 2018.

Novartis India fell 3.61% to Rs 659.95 after the company reported a net loss of Rs 5.22 crore in Q2 September 2019 compared with net profit of Rs 9.37 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales increased 10.5% to Rs 117.78 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced at the fag end of trading hours on Friday, 8 November 2019.

Equitas Holdings slumped 7.35% to Rs 90.15 after consolidated profit after tax fell 19.30% to Rs 41.4 crore in Q2 FY20 from Rs 51.3 crore in Q2FY19. Total income rose by 19.11% to Rs 704.81 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to Rs 591.70 crore in Q2 September 2018.

Equitas Small Finance Bank's profit after tax (PAT) was down by 2.26% to Rs 47.6 crore in Q2 FY20 as compared to Rs 48.7 crore in Q2 FY19, impacted by deferred tax asset (DTA) write down of Rs 24.5 crore due to changes in corporate tax rate. Net interest income (NII) of the small finance bank grew by 29% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 350.5 crore while the net interest margin (NIM) stood at 8.83% in Q2 September 2019 as compared to Q2 September 2018.

Narayana Hrudayalaya jumped 6.09% to Rs 291 after consolidated net profit jumped 233.8% to Rs 45.33 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 13.58 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales improved 15.6% to Rs 822.30 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 711.28 crore in Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 8 November 2019.

Motherson Sumi Systems rose 3.75% to Rs 134.10 after consolidated profit after tax rose by 4% to Rs 385 crore in Q2 FY20 from Rs 371 crore in Q2 FY19. Revenues increased by 6% to Rs 15,709 crore in Q2 September 2019 from Rs 14,854 crore in Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 11 November 2019.

IDBI Bank rose 1.98% to Rs 33.45 after the bank reported net loss of Rs 3,458.84 crore in Q2 September 2019, lower than net loss of Rs 3,602.49 crore during Q2 September 2018.

Total income rose 1.12% to Rs 6,231.02 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 8 November 2019.

Foreign Markets:

Overseas, most European markets were trading lower amid a dampening of optimism over US-China trade, after U.S. President Donald Trump denied that he had agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese goods.

Hopes of trade progress rose on Thursday when China's Commerce Ministry said Beijing and Washington had agreed to lift existing tariffs on one another's goods, but Trump on Friday said he had not agreed to any rollbacks.

Back in Europe, a survey released Monday showed British employers' hiring plans have climbed off an 18-month low, indicating a slightly more upbeat picture of the labor market than that which caused two Bank of England policymakers to advocate for a cut to interest rates last week.

Further, U.K.'s sovereign credit rating was placed on negative outlook by Moody's Investors Service, which said the country's ability to set policy has weakened in the Brexit era along with its commitment to fiscal discipline.

Asian stocks ended lower led by slide in Hong Kong shares after two protesters were shot by police during the morning commute.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 2.6% as political turmoil in the city worsened. At least two protesters were said to be injured when local police opened fire on Monday at mass demonstrations. Over the weekend, three pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested.

In US, the three major stock indexes posted record closing highs on Friday as investors brushed aside worries over the progress of U.S.-China trade talks, and as Walt Disney shares rose.

Meantime, Saudi Aramco will allow investors to start bidding for shares starting on November 17. The firm said it'll provide the number and percentage of shares sold at a later stage, with book-building kicking off this week.

The market reversed two-rising streak amid broad based selling pressure on Friday. Sentiment was affected after Moody's cut India's credit ratings outlook to negative from stable, citing the government's struggle to lift economic growth and narrow the budget deficit. Investors also mirrored negative global stocks amid uncertainty about the ongoing China-US trade war.

Metal, IT and auto stocks witnessed major selling pressure. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex fell 330.13 points or 0.81% to close at a 40,323.61, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex scaled fresh all time high of 40,749.33 in afternoon trade.

The Nifty 50 index fell 103.90 points or 0.86% to 11,908.15, as per the provisional closing data. The index hit an intraday high of 12,034.15 in afternoon trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.79% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.53%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1045 shares rose and 1475 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Credit rating agency Moody's lowered nation's outlook to negative from stable, while retaining the issuer rating at Baa2. The rating agency said its decision to change the outlook to negative reflects increasing risks that economic growth will remain materially lower than in the past, partly reflecting lower government and policy effectiveness at addressing long-standing economic and institutional weaknesses, leading to a gradual rise in the debt burden from already high levels. Moody's cited a growing debt burden and the government's struggle to narrow the budget deficit.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday chaired a meeting with members of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). The FSDC is an apex-level body constituted, with an aim to strengthen and institutionalise the mechanism of maintaining financial stability and financial sector development among others, by the government of India with the finance minister as its head.

The body also includes the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor and chairpersons of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) as its members along with finance ministry officials. The last meeting of the FSDC was held on June 19, in which the global and domestic economic situation and financial stability issues including, inter-alia, those concerning banking and NBFCs were reviewed among others.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index fell 1.73% to 2,612.95, reversing all the gains acquired in past two sessions. The index had risen 1.60% to end at 2,659.05 in yesterday's session from a recent closing low of 2,616.95 on 5 November 2019.

Vedanta (down 3.51%), NMDC (down 2.93%), Steel Authority of India (down 2.63%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.29%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 2.02%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.7%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.1%), JSW Steel (down 0.93%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.68%) and Tata Steel (down 0.55%) declined.

Q2 earnings:

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 0.14% to Rs 579.60. M&M witnessed 24% decline in combined profit after tax (after EI) to Rs 1,355 crore on a 15% decline in revenues to Rs 10,935 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

The company reported a combined operating margin of 14.1% in Q2 FY20 as against 14.5% in Q2 FY19.

The company sold 1.10 lakh vehicles in Q2 FY20, lower by 21% from 1.41 lakh units in Q2 FY19. The total tractors sales decrease by 6% to 68,359 units in Q2 FY20 as against 73,012 units in Q2 FY19. Total exports slumped 21% to 10,540 units in Q2 FY20 as compared to 13,377 units in Q2 FY19.

The results include the combined results of M&M and Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers (MVML), which is a manufacturing unit of M&M.

Eicher Motors rose 1.25% to Rs 21699. On consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 1.19% on YoY basis backed by corporate tax rate cut during the current quarter. The company reported profit after tax at Rs 573 crores in Q2 September 2019 as compared to Rs 549 crores in Q2 September 2018. Total revenue from operations fell 9% amid slowdown in auto segment. The company reported revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,192 crore in Q2 2019 compared with Rs 2,408 crore in Q2 2018. EBITDA stood at Rs 541 crore in Q2FY19, down by 26% compared to Rs 729 crore in Q2FY2018.

Power Grid Corporation of India shed 1.34% to Rs 191.55. The company reported 9.49% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2571.10 crore on 2.34% fall in total income to Rs 9659.79 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) declined 2.21% to Rs 50.45. BPCL reported 2.68% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1502.63 crore on 10.99% fall in total income to Rs 65015.28 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare slipped 2.78% to Rs 8982. The company reported 25.34% rise in net profit to Rs 345.31 crore on 4.57% rise in total income to Rs 1423.22 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

UPL fell 4.14% to Rs 555.90. The company's consolidated net profit fell 59.4% to Rs 126 crore on 83.6% surge in net sales to Rs 7,817 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Stocks in Focus:

Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) announced the results of the November 2019 semi-annual index review for the MSCI equity indexes. All changes will be implemented as of the close of 26 November 2019.

HDFC Asset Management (up 5.20%), DLF (up 5.14%), ICICI Prudential Life (up 0.38%), SBI Life Insurance Co (down 0.68%), Siemens India (down 1.11%) and Berger Paints India (down 4.19%) were included in the MSCI India Domestic Index.

Indraprastha Gas (up 6.22%) and Info Edge (India) (up 1.31%) were also added in the MSCI India Domestic Index. Simultaneously, these two stocks were excluded from the MSCI India Domestic Small Cap Index.

Indraprastha Gas reported 101.25% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 415.82 crore on 19.93% rise in total income to Rs 1773.84 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

DLF reported 140% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 414.72 crore on 11.7% decline in net sales to Rs 1331.19 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Reliance Industries fell 0.94% to Rs 1445.05. Reliance Strategic Business Ventures (RSBVL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reliance Industries has acquired further shares in SkyTran Inc. on 6 November 2019, to increase its shareholding in SkyTran Inc. to 17.37% on a fully diluted basis.

Raymond hit 20% upper circuit at Rs 808.40. The company announced the demerger of its core lifestyle business into a separate entity that will be listed through mirror shareholding structure. Every shareholder of Raymond will be issued the shares of the new company in the ratio of 1:1. The move will create a clear demarcation of lifestyle & other businesses leading to the simplification of the group structure.

In another development, Raymond announced the allotment of equity shares and compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to J. K. Investo Trade (India) (JKIT), an associate company, against the infusion of net proceeds of JKIT land sale that was announced in October 2019. A total of Rs 350 crore will be used to repay the debt thus deleveraging the balance sheet of Raymond.

Bajaj Finance fell 1.59% to Rs 4160. The company allotted 2.17 crore shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers at the issue price of Rs 3,900 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 8,499 crore. The issue opened on 4 November 2019 and closed on 7 November 2019.

Foreign market:

European stocks declined while most Asian markets ended lower amid uncertainty about the fate of the trade negotiations between the United States and China. Worries the pact could fall apart are now prompting some investors to sell heading into the weekend.

China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday that the world's two largest economies had agreed to lift existing tariffs in phases. Shortly thereafter, a White House spokesperson told Fox News that she was “very optimistic” that Washington and Beijing would reach a trade deal soon.

It prompted a surge of optimism in financial markets on Thursday, but worries that the pact could fall apart has since dampened investor sentiment.

German exports posted their biggest rise in almost two years in September, data showed on Friday.

China's exports and imports declined less than expected in October.

In US, the Dow and S&P 500 notched record closing highs on Thursday as the latest signs of progress in U.S.-China trade relations relieved investors, but a report raising fresh worries about the outlook for a deal limited the day's gains.

The benchmark indices extended gains for second straight session, reacting to development on the US-China trade front. Media reports suggested that China and the U.S. have agreed to roll back tariffs on each other's goods in phases as they work toward a deal between the two sides.

Buying was broad based with realty, metal and FMCG stocks in demand. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex rose 183.96 points or 0.45% to close at a 40,653.74, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex scaled fresh all time high of 40,676.44 in early trade.

The Nifty 50 index rose 50.05 points or 0.42% to 12,016.10, as per the provisional closing data. The index hit an intraday high of 12,021.40. The Nifty closed above the crucial 12,000-mark for the first time since 4 June 2019. The NSE benchmark index is just 87 points away from its record high.

The broader market outperformed the benchmark index. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.69% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.54%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1341 shares rose and 1178 shares fell. A total of 192 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 30 stocks advanced and 20 stocks declined.

Economy:

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the establishment of a 'special window' fund to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stalled housing projects that are in the affordable and middle-income housing sector. For the purposes of the fund, the government shall act as the sponsor and the total commitment to be infused by the government would be upto Rs 10,000 crore.

The fund will be set up as a Category-11 AIF (alternate investment fund) debt fund registered with Sebi and would be professionally run. For the first AIF under the special window, it is proposed that SBICAP Ventures shall be engaged to be the investment manager. This fund would in turn provide relief to developers that require funding to complete a set of unfinished projects and consequently ensure delivery of homes to the home-buyers. Since the real estate industry is intrinsically linked with several other industries, growth in this sector will have a positive effect in releasing stress in other major sectors of the Indian economy as well.

Q2 earnings:

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 3.61% to Rs 443 after the company announced a decent Q2 2019 numbers during market hours today. On consolidated basis, net profit stood at 1,064.09 crore in Q2 September 2019 over a net loss of Rs 269.60 crore in Q2 September 2018. The consolidated net sales jumped 16.10% to Rs 7949.19 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018.

Shares of HPCL were down 1.21% at Rs 310. The firm announced its Q2 earnings during market hours today. Net profit fell 3.63% to Rs 1,052.31 crore on 9.40% decline in total income to Rs 66,850.89 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Average gross refining margin during the six months ended 30 September 2019 was $1.87 per BBL as against $5.93 per BBL during the corresponding period of previous year.

Kalpataru Power Transmission was trading 0.35% higher at Rs 439.85. The company announced its Q2 2019 earnings after market hours yesterday. On consolidated basis, company net profit rose 16% to Rs 137 crore on a 29% rise in revenue to Rs 3216 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The company also posted a 30% rise in EBITDA to Rs 420 crore on YoY basis.

Auto parts maker Bosch rose 0.72% to Rs 15,350. The auto ancillary company announced its Q2 2019 earnings after market hours yesterday. The company's consolidated net profit slumped 45.58% to Rs 228.61 crore on 26.92% decline in net sales to Rs 2,312.68 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 0.58% at Rs 540.05. The exchange announced weak Q2 numbers after market hours yesterday. The company's net profit declined 22% to Rs 36 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Rs 46 crore in Q2 September 2018. Revenue from operations were down 5% to Rs 109 crore on YoY basis.

Shares of Voltas were trading 0.8% lower at Rs 667.4. On a consolidated basis, the company's year-on-year profit after tax was flat at Rs 107 crore in Q2 September 2019. Total income inched up 1.91% at Rs 1495 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. PBT rose 7.14% to Rs 150 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The company reported a 8.53% decline in employees expense to Rs 157.60 crore during the period under review. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 7 November 2019.

Tata Steel was down 0.35% to 402.95. The firm announced its Q2 earnings after market hours yesterday. On consolidated basis, the steel major reported a 6% rise in net profit to Rs 3,302.31 crore on the back of one time deferred tax gain of Rs 4365.33 crore in Q2 September 2019. Adjusted profit after extra-ordinary item fell 10.88% to Rs 3,123.65 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Net sales fell 15.77% to Rs 33,953.75 crore during the period under review. Adjusted EBITDA dropped 46% to Rs 3817 crore on YoY basis. The company had a favorable tax impact of Rs 4,233 crore of which Rs 2,425 crore was on adoption of the new corporate tax rate by Tata Steel Standalone and some subsidiaries in India and Rs 1,808 crore was on account of recognition/reversal of deferred tax assets and liabilities in offshore subsidiaries.

Indiabulls Housing Finance jumped 8.73% to Rs 238.40 after the board approved fund raising plans. The company plans to issue secured and/or unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs), in one or more tranches, by way of a public issue and/or private placement of up to Rs 10,000 crores. The NCDs are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India, BSE or any other stock exchange, as may be decided by the Board of Directors of the Company from time to time. The company reported its Q2 earnings after market hours yesterday. On consolidated basis, company's net profit declined 32.15% to Rs 702.18 crore on a 19.62% drop in total revenue from operations to Rs 3419.54 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The board has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 7 per equity share.

Stocks in spotlight:

Hindustan Unilever shed 1.83%. HUL said that the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, has sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation among GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and HUL and their respective shareholders and creditors.

MSTC was locked in an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 147.8. Larsen and Toubro has appointed MSTC as the selling agent as per the terms of selling agency agreement entered by both the parties on 29 October 2019 for the sale of scrap and rejected/condemned/obsolete secondary arising (ferrous and non-ferrous) as well as surplus obsolete stores, equipments and misc. articles etc. for buildings and factories IC of L&T in India through MSTC's e-Auction website.

Foreign markets:

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow Jones Industrial Average could rise 147 points at the opening bell today, 7 November 2019.

Shares in Europe and Asia edged higher after China said the world's two largest economies had agreed to cancel additional tariffs imposed in their months-long trade war.

China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday that Washington and Beijing had over the past two weeks agreed to a phased removal of duties on billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods.

If China, U.S. reach a phase-one deal, both sides should roll back existing additional tariffs in the same proportion simultaneously based on the content of the agreement, which is an important condition for reaching the agreement, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said Thursday.

China's key demand since the beginning of negotiations has been the removal of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which by now apply to the majority of its exports to the U.S.

The benchmark indices ended in the green after opening on a weaker note. Clarification from the Infosys management in reference to the whistleblower controversy provided the necessary boost to the markets.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex rose 221.55 points or 0.55% to close at a 40,469.78, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex hit a record high of 40,606.91 in intraday today.

The Nifty 50 index rose 43.80 points or 0.37% to 11,961, as per the provisional closing data. The index hit an intraday high of 12,002.90.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.36%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1221 shares rose and 1282 shares fell. A total of 200 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 27 stocks advanced and 23 stocks declined.

Economy:

Fitch Solutions has raised India's fiscal deficit forecast to 3.6% of the GDP for this fiscal year, from 3.4% previously, due to weak revenue collections resulting from sluggish economic growth and government's sweeping corporate tax rate cut.

Fitch said it was revising the fiscal deficit forecast as revenue collection is likely to fall far short of the projections in the FY2019/20 Union Budget due to weak goods and services tax (GST) and corporate income tax collections.

Buzzing sectors:

The Nifty Realty index jumped 2.30% to 273.85, reversing losses incurred in past two sessions.

Anant Raj (up 7.87%), Peninsula Land (up 6.44%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 4.95%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 4.82%), Sobha (up 4.22%), DLF (up 4.02%), Unitech (up 3.85%), D B Realty (up 3.72%), Godrej Properties (up 3.65%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 2.13%), Sunteck Realty (up 1.39%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.96%) and Omaxe (up 0.38%) advanced.

Realty stocks buzzed in trade on hopes that the government's next round of reforms are likely to be focused on real estate sector. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was quoted by the media as saying on Tuesday, that the real estate sector requires a lot more attention because the sluggishness which prevails there has got to be addressed. The government is very keen and is working very clearly together with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to see how best we can make necessary tweaks to the existing blocks to help the people who are affected in this one sector which I have not really completely addressed till now, she added.

The Nifty Bank index rose 1.32% to 30,617.45, reversing yesterday's losses.

Among private sector banks, RBL Bank (up 1.91%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.75%), HDFC Bank (up 1.5%), Axis Bank (up 1.17%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.16%), Yes Bank (up 0.51%) and Federal Bank (up 0.12%) edged higher.

ICICI Bank was up 2.62%. MSCI is due to announce the results of its semi-annual index review on November 8, including a list of stock additions and removals, along with changes in weightages. The changes will be effective November 27.

Thanks to foreign portfolio investors reducing their stake in ICICI Bank during the preceding quarter, its weightage in the MSCI index is likely to double. According to a domestic broking firm, MSCI rejig will result in a flow of approximately $1.2 billion into the ICICI Bank stock.

Among public sector banks, Central Bank of India (down 4.5%), United Bank of India (down 3.56%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 3.26%), Bank of Baroda (down 3.04%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 2.96%), UCO Bank (down 2.43%), Allahabad Bank (down 1.83%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.93%), Bank of India (down 0.78%), State Bank of India (down 0.58%), Indian Bank (down 0.31%) and Union Bank of India (down 0.09%) declined.

Canara Bank was up 1.48%. The bank's net profit rose 21.83% to Rs 364.92 crore on a 14.06% rise in total income to Rs 14,461.73 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The bank reported an improvement in asset quality. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 8.68% as on 30 September 2019 as against 8.77% as on 30 June 2019 and 10.56% as on 30 September 2018.

Earnings watch:

Titan Company slumped 9.37% to Rs 1163.55. The company lowered guidance of its jewellery business for the rest of the year due to weak consumer sentiment and high gold prices.

The company on Tuesday said that its consolidated net profit fell 1% to Rs 302.79 crore on a 1.7% rise in net sales to Rs 4600.71 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Standalone net profit rose 1.83% to Rs 320.16 crore on 0.4% rise in net sales to Rs 4,370.82 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

IT firm Tech Mahindra slipped 0.21% to Rs 771.50. The company reported 17.2% rise in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 1124 crore on a 4.8% rise in revenue to Rs 9070 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q1 June 2019.

EBITDA rose 14.2% to Rs 1501 crore while the EBITDA margins rose by 130 bps to 16.5% in Q2 September 2019 over Q1 June 2019.

Divis Laboratories rose 1.23% to Rs 1708. The company reported 11.63% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 356.78 crore on 9.19% rise in net sales to Rs 1445.57 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Gujarat Gas fell 4.53% to Rs 196.05. The company reported 1161.05% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 517.03 crore on 27.93% rise in net sales to Rs 2512.91 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Torrent Power rose 4.22% to Rs 291.65. The company reported 83.03% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 754.41 crore on 11.54% rise in net sales to Rs 3842 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Gillette India fell 3.09% to Rs 7654. The company reported 5.49% fall in net profit to Rs 61.76 crore on 1.25% rise in net sales to Rs 462.20 crore in Q1 September 2019 over Q1 September 2018.

Titagarh Wagons jumped 6.87% after the company announced a turnaround in Q2 2019 result after market hours yesterday. On consolidated basis, company reported a net profit of Rs 12.31 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net loss of Rs 15.18 crore in Q2 September 2018. The company's net sales rose 71.9% to Rs 416.13 crore on YoY basis in Q2 2019.

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company slumped 4.22% to Rs 302.95. The financial services company's consolidated net profit rose 2.7% to Rs 306.94 crore on a 29.9% rise in total income to Rs 2212.48 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Exide Industries fell 1.19% to Rs 186.50. The battery maker reported 15.6% increase in net profit to Rs 247.2 crore on a 4% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 3778.5 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Bajaj Electricals slipped 7.28% to Rs 354.15. The company reported a net loss of Rs 32.4 crore in Q2 September 2019 over a net profit of Rs 30.2 crore in Q2 September 2018. Revenue declined 31.5% to Rs 1095.7 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC) fell 2.88% to Rs 205.35. GNFC reported a dismal Q2 result after market hours yesterday. On consolidated basis, company's net profit declined 71.5% to Rs 85.07 crore on a 18.8% drop in net sales to Rs 1332.35 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Drug major Cipla advanced 2.38% to Rs 478.75. Net profit rose by 25% to Rs 471 crore on a 10% in total revenue from operations to Rs 4,395.78 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. EBITDA jumped by 21% to Rs 909 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to Rs 753 crore in corresponding quarter in the last fiscal. Revenue and EBITDA growth were aided by growth across key businesses.

Shares of Alkyl Amines jumped 8.37%. On consolidated basis, company net profit advanced 105.84% to Rs 54.93 crore on a 7.72% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 234.97 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Godrej Consumer Products was up 2.23%. Net profit rose 13.14% to Rs 334.57 crore on a 0.66% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1,490.45 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The board has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per equity.

Stocks in spotlight:

IT major Infosys rose 2.52% to Rs 713.30 after chairman Nandan Nilkeni said that co-founders had no role in the whistleblower complaints. The company said it strongly condemns the mischievous insinuations made by anonymous sources against the co-founders and former colleagues, suggesting their involvement in the recent whistleblower allegations.

According to Nandan Nilekani, chairman, Infosys, These speculations are appalling and seem to be aimed at tarnishing the image of some of the most accomplished and respected individuals. I have deep regard for the life-long contribution of all our cofounders. They have built this institution and have served this company selflessly and even today, remain committed to the long-term success of Infosys.

As previously stated, the audit committee has appointed an external law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations made in the complaints. The firm will share the outcome of the investigation at the relevant time with all stakeholders, the company added in its statement issued during trading hours today, 6 November 2019.

Hero MotoCorp rose 0.78% to Rs 2684.50. The board of directors of Hero MotoCorp has considered and approved an investment of upto Rs 450 crore in its associate company, Hero FinCorp (HFCL) by subscribing to the issue of shares by way of private placement in one or more tranches.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.07% to Rs 7306. Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Tsusho Group announced setting up one-of-its-kind vehicle dismantling and recycling joint venture, Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India (MSTI). The joint venture is between Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) and Toyota Tsusho Group (Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) and Toyota Tsusho India (TTIPL)) with each owning a 50% equity.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 0.67% to Rs 427. The drug major and its subsidiaries and/or associate companies announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca UK (AstraZeneca) to introduce certain novel readyto-use (RTU) infusion oncology products in China. The agreement will help to bring cost effective and quality drugs to patients in China.

Vedanta rose 0.76% to Rs 158.60. The Government of India, acting through the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has granted its approval for a 10-year extension of the production sharing contract (PSC) to Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta, for the Ravva block in Andhra Pradesh. With this extension, the PSC is now valid effective 28 October 2019, for the next 10 years.

Aurobindo Pharma fell 4.32% to Rs 453.05. The company said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Form 483 to the company with four observations after inspecting its Hyderabad facilities in October 2019.

Motherson Sumi Systems rose 0.63% to Rs 127.30. Moody's Investors Service, on 4 November 2019 affirmed its Baa3 rating on the company while it has revised the outlook to 'negative' from 'stable'.

As per Moody's, the negative outlook principally reflects the weak performance of Motherson's greenfield operations as well as slowing global auto sales, and our concerns around timely recovery, in turn weighing on the company's consolidated earnings and cash flow generation.

PI Industries advanced 0.84% to Rs 1395.50. The company along with its wholly owned subsidiary, PI Life Science Research, acquired Isagro (Asia) Agrochemicals, from lsagro SpA for a cash consideration of Rs 345 crore.

Isagro Asia is engaged in the business of manufacture, sale and distribution of agrochemicals (including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and other speciality chemicals) from its manufacturing plant situated at Panoli (Gujarat). The proposed acquisition would provide PI access to additional manufacturing capacities to meet growing demand of global customers.

Shilpa Medicare were trading 2.32% higher at Rs 317.05 after the company received USFDA approval for Erlotinib Tablets. Erlotinib Tablets are a generic equivalent of TARCEVA used in the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. According to IQVIA MAT Q2 2019 data, the US market for Erlotinib Tablets is approximately $172 million.

Shares of V.S.T. Tillers Tractors were trading 1.62% lower at Rs 1294. The firm reported their October 2019 sales data after market hours yesterday. Power Tillers' sales rose 5.54% to 1104 units in October 2019 over October 2018. The company's tractor sales rose 2.88% to 857 units in October 2019 as against 833 units in October 2018.

Foreign markets:

Most European shares were trading lower while most Asian stocks ended higher on Wednesday as investors awaited new developments toward scaling back a bruising trade war between the United States and China.

China is reportedly pressing U.S. President Donald Trump to roll back tariffs the U.S. imposed in September before a phase one trade deal is signed between the world's two biggest economies.

UN economists warned in a report on Tuesday that the Sino-U.S. trade war was a lose-lose situation, costing China $35 billion in the first half of this year while U.S. consumers and companies bore the brunt of the most expensive tariffs.

Meanwhile, media report on Tuesday suggested that finalizing a location for a meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has become another hurdle for the deal. However, traders are largely optimistic that the preliminary agreement could be signed as early as this month.

US stocks were mixed on Tuesday as investors paused in the wake of a rally buoyed by hopes of a trade deal between the United States and China that sent the three main U.S. stock indexes to record highs in the previous session.

Key equity indices declined on Tuesday, as investors locked profits after seven-day rising streak. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex fell 53.73 points or 0.13% to close at a 40,248.23, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 22.70 points or 0.19% to 11,918.60, as per the provisional closing data.

The BSE Sensex rose 3.28% in seven trading sessions to end at its record high of 40,301.96 in yesterday's session from a recent closing low of 39,020.39 on 24 October 2019.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.80% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.32%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1017 shares rose and 1462 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 23 stocks advanced and 27 stocks declined.

Macro data:

The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index rose to 49.2 in October 2019 from 48.7 in September 2019.

The Composite PMI Output Index fell from 49.8 in September 2019 to 49.6 in October 2019.

The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month and below 50 an overall decrease.

Buzzing sector:

The Nifty Metal index fell 0.98% at 15,517.15, as the index witnessed some profit booking. The index rose 5.65% in two trading sessions to end at 2642.15 in yesterday's session from a recent closing low of 2500.75 on 31 October 2019. The recent rally in the index was buoyed by the positive developments US-China trade war front.

Hindustan Copper (down 3.34%), Steel Authority of India (down 3.1%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 2.11%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.69%), JSW Steel (down 1.54%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.43%) declined.

NMDC (up 1.55%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.46%) and Vedanta (up 0.19%) advanced.

Earnings in focus:

NOCIL lost 7.18% to Rs 109.85. The company reported 3.94% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 54.93 crore on 22.93% fall in total income to Rs 211.80 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Indian Overseas Bank slumped 11.27% to Rs 10.63. The bank reported net loss of Rs 2253.64 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to net loss of Rs 487.26 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income fell 6.06% to Rs 5024 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Future Enterprises jumped 7.62% to Rs 26.85. The company announced a decent Q2 numbers during market hours today. On consolidated basis, company's net profit jumped 30.65% to Rs 21.78 crore on a 6.11% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1699.84 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Dabur India rose 4.80% to Rs 481.80. The FMCG company reported a 6.91% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 403.64 crore on 4.09% rise in net sales to Rs 2,211.97 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 5 November 2019.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) fell 4.99% to Rs 64.80. The bank reported its Q2 earnings during market hours today. The bank reported a net profit of Rs 507.05 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net loss of Rs 4532.35 crore in Q2 September 2018.

The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 16.76% as on 30 September 2019 as against 16.49% as on 30 June 2019 and 17.16% as on 30 September 2018. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 7.65% as on 30 September 2019 as against 7.17% as on 30 June 2019 and 8.9% as on 30 September 2018.

Apollo Tyres slipped 2.80% to Rs 108.45. On consolidated basis, company's net profit declined 43.12% to Rs 83.07 crore on a 6.35% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 3926.06 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018.

Berger Paints fell 0.83% to Rs 499.40. The paint company reported its Q2 numbers during market hours today. On consolidated basis, company's net profit jumped 67.1% to Rs 194.7 on a 7.3% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1598.6 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Bharat Electronics slumped 5.23% to Rs 113.20 after consolidated net profit fell 40.9% to Rs 343.85 crore on a 19.1% decline in net sales to Rs 2663.57 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The company's order book as on 1 October 2019 stood at Rs 56,178 crore, of which orders worth Rs 7088 crore were received during the quarter ended on 30 September 2019.

Stocks in spotlight:

Yes Bank rose 3.71% to Rs 68.55. According to the bulk deal data, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, purchased 1,29,50,000 shares, or 0.51% stake, in Yes Bank at an average price of Rs 67.10 on the BSE yesterday, 4 November 2019.

InterGlobe Aviation rose 1.46% to Rs 1457. Reports suggested that the company and Qatar Airways will make a strategic business announcement on 7 November 2019. IndiGo is planning an aggressive push to more international destinations and the airline's CEO Ronojoy Dutta and Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker will talk about the vision and future for both the airlines, reports suggested.

Qatar Airways CEO later confirmed to the media that he has no plans for making any investment in IndiGo.

Mahindra & Mahindra fell 1.06% to Rs 580.25. M&M announced the proactive inspection & replacement of suspension component, on a limited batch of XUV300 vehicles manufactured till 19 May 2019. The inspection and subsequent rectification will be carried out free of cost for all XUV300 customers, who will be individually contacted by the company.

Bajaj Finance rose 2.39% to Rs 4214.25. The NBFC said that the special committee of the board has at its meeting held yesterday authorized the opening of the qualified institutions placement from 4 November 2019. The company's special committee has recommended a floor price of Rs 4,019.78 per equity share. The company may offer such discount on the floor price as may be approved by the special committee.

In a separate announcement, Bajaj Finance said that a meeting of the special committee is scheduled to be held on 7 November 2019 to consider and approve the issue price, including a discount for the equity shares to be allotted to qualified institutional buyers, pursuant to the issue.

Varun Beverages surged 12.65% to Rs 709.40. A global brokerage has maintained buy rating with a price target of Rs 860 per share. The company has posted strong growth in the international segment and it remains as our preferred pick in the consumer space, the brokerage said.

Economy:

India on Monday declined to join a 16-nation grouping led by China known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

RCEP is a proposed agreement between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners. The pact aims to create an integrated market with 16 countries, making it easier for products and services of each of these countries to be available across this region. The RCEP countries include the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

A summit of the leaders of RCEP left open the door for India to still join if it can resolve issues before the deal is set to be signed in 2020.

Foreign markets:

Overseas, most European shares were trading higher as investors awaited updates on a potential U.S.-China trade deal and monitored global economic developments.

New data published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) on Tuesday showed that consumer spending in the U.K. saw its strongest year-over-year increase in October for six months. However, the organization warned that sales growth over a 12-month period fell to a new low of 0.1%.

PMI data from IHS Markit showed that the euro zone's manufacturing sector continued to contract during October.

Back in Asia, stocks ended higher following record closes overnight on Wall Street. A private survey of China's services sector showed activity slowing to a eight month low in October. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for October came in at 51.1 - its lowest reading since February. The 50-point level separates expansion from contraction in PMI readings.

The US stock market finished session at fresh record high on Monday, 4 November 2019, as investors risk sentiments boosted up on hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal, third-quarter earnings season, and an improving U.S. economy.

Media reports suggested that US President Donald Trump has invited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to sign the phase one of a bilateral trade deal when it is agreed upon.

The U.S. market commenced trading with firm footing after Mr. Ross's comments reignited hopes that an initial agreement is in the cards. The U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Sunday that U.S.-China trade deal expected to be signed between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ross said the agreement could be reached by the two leaders in one of several locations, including Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii or somewhere in China.

The deal was originally anticipated to be inked at this month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile, an event that has since been canceled due to protests in the country. Last month, the U.S. and China agreed to finalize the first phase of a trade agreement, which includes a pause in tariff escalation and China buying U.S. agriculture products.

Key equity indices extended their winning streak for seventh trading session and ended with decent gains on Monday, supported by positive global cues. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex rose 136.93 points or 0.34% to close at a record high of 40,301.96, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 54.55 points or 0.46% to 11,945.15, as per the provisional closing data.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.22%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1428 shares rose and 1153 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 27 stocks advanced and 23 stocks declined.

The Nifty registered a gap up opening and surged in early trade. It hit an intraday high of 11,989 level in mid-morning trade. The 50-unit index pared gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty managed to hold 11,900 throughout the session. The index firmed up once again in mid-afternoon trade and managed to close near 11,950 level.

Buzzing index

Metal stocks shined in today's session. The Nifty Metal index was up 3.46% at 2,650.30 while the S&P BSE Metal index surged 3.4% higher at 9,862.48.

Jindal Steel & Power (up 11.23%), JSW Steel (up 12.4%), Steel Authority of India (up 3.72%), Vedanta (up 3.63%), Tata Steel (up 2.8%), Tata Steel (up 2.44%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.17%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.1%) and National Aluminium Company (up 2.07%) surged higher.

Q2 earnings:

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) rose 2.33% to Rs 2178.10. HDFC reported 80.38% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 10,388.61 crore on a 43.14% increase in total income to Rs 32,850.89 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. On a standalone basis, the housing finance company reported 60.58% increase in net profit to Rs 3,961.53 crore on a 19.87% increase in total income to Rs 13,494.12 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Yes Bank fell 0.6%. The bank reported net loss of Rs 600.08 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to net profit of Rs 964.70 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income fell 4.28% to Rs 8332.21 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Yes Bank's overall profitability was hurt by a deferred tax asset (DTA) impact that resulted in a one-time additional charge of Rs 708.61 crore arising on account of change in corporate tax rate regime. Excluding this onetime impact, adjusted profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 109 crore in Q2 September 2019. The bank's profit before tax stood 122.19 crore in Q2 September 2019, down by 91.43% from 1426.46 crore in Q2 September 2018. The total income of the bank fell 4.28% to Rs 8332.21 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Advanced Enzyme Technologies gained 0.77%. On consolidated basis, company's net profit rose 23.1% to Rs 31.84 crore on an 8% increase in net sales to Rs 111.44 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018. The company's EBITDA surged 12% to Rs 47.3 crore on YoY basis.

Varun Beverages was up 2.33%. On consolidated basis, the company's net profit jumped 83.71% to Rs 81.1 crore on a 49.2% rise in net sales to Rs 1739.7 crore in Q3 September 2019 over Q3 September 2018. The company's EBITDA also jumped 54.2% to Rs 325.7 crore on YoY basis.

Relaxo Footwear rose 3.73% at Rs 563.45 after the company announced its Q2 earnings on Saturday. On standalone basis, the company's net profit jumped 78.8% to 70.54 crore on a 14.5% increase in net sales to Rs 621.77 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to Q2 September 2018. The company's PAT margin improved to 11.3% in Q2 2019 from 7.3% in Q2 2018. The revenue growth was driven mainly by premiumization, product mix and price increase in selected categories. EBITDA jumped 42% to Rs 105 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against 74 crore in Q2 September 2018. The EBITDA margin improved to 16.8% in Q2 2019 from 13.5% in Q2 2018.

Auto ancillary firm, WABCO India declined 1.58% after the company announced a dismal Q2 September 2019 result during market hours today. Net profit dropped 64.5% to Rs 3385.71 crore on a 40.85% drop in revenue from operations in Q2 September 2019 as compared to Q2 September 2018.

J K Lakshmi Cement surged 5.48% to Rs 305.85. The cement company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 48.67 crore in Q2 September 2019 compared with net loss of Rs 4.80 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales rose 5.6% to Rs 1012.36 crore in the quarter ended on 30 September 2019 as compared to the corresponding quarter in last fiscal.

JSW Energy rose 4.06%. Consolidated net profit rose 11.7% to Rs 352.98 crore on 12.8% decline in net sales to Rs 2,118.55 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Consolidated EBITDA climbed 5% to Rs 1,048 crore in Q2 September 2019 compared with Rs 998 crore in Q2 September 2018.

V-Mart Retail lost 5.32% after the company reported net loss of Rs 18.04 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to net loss of Rs 4.02 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales rose 19.82% to Rs 314.16 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Stocks in spotlight:

Commercial vehicles manufacturer, Ashok Leyland was down 1.12%. The company said that it will observe non-working days in November 2019 in order to align production with market demand.

Eicher Motors declined 1.02% to Rs 21,746.35. Total Royal Enfield sales rose 2% to 71,964 units in October 2019 over October 2018. Royal Enfield exports surged 987% to 4,426 units in October 2019 over October 2018.

Tata Motors fell 1.46% to Rs 177.95. The auto maker's total sales in the domestic & international market fell by 33.58% to 41,354 units in October 2019 as compared to 62,264 units during October 2018.

Cadila Healthcare declined 4.29% to Rs 244.35 after the company said that a warning letter has been issued by USFDA relating to its Moraiya formulation facility in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The pharmaceutical company assured that this warning letter would not affect the existing business of the company in the US and the existing product supplies from the Moraiya facility will continue.

MOIL rose 0.94% to Rs 140.10. The manganese-ore mining company has slashed prices of all grades of manganese ore having manganese 37% and above have by about 20% while the prices of the ores having manganese less than 37% and below have been decreased by about 25% on the prevailing prices since 01 October 2019.

Coal India advanced 3.75% to Rs 214.70. The coal mining and refinery company registered a de-growth of 20.9% in its total coal production to 39.35 million tonnes while the total coal offtake decreased by 18.9% to 40.50 million tonnes in October 2019 over October 2018.

KEC International was up 0.48% at Rs 272.9 after the company announced that it has secured new orders worth Rs 1806 crore from railways, transmission & distribution segment, civil business and cables segment.

Foreign markets:

Overseas, European markets were trading higher while most Asian markets closed on a positive note as growing optimism over U.S.-China trade talks and upbeat U.S. job data boosted global investors' appetite for riskier assets.

U.S. stocks gained on Friday as the S&P 500 set a closing record for the third time in five days after an upbeat U.S. jobs report and data on Chinese manufacturing eased concerns about slowing global growth.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 128,000 in October, a Labor Department report showed, overshadowing data showing a contraction in the manufacturing sector for the third straight month.

The United States and China both said on Friday that they had made progress in talks aimed at defusing their protracted 16-month-long trade war, and U.S. officials reportedly said a deal could be signed this month.

Key equity benchmarks ended with tepid gains on Friday. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex rose 58.09 points or 0.14% to 40,187.14, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 16.15 points or 0.14% to 11,893.60, as per the provisional closing data. Gains were capped as weak domestic economic data spoiled sentiment. Domestic shares have seen steady gains in the last few sessions supported by better-than-expected Q2 results.

The broader market outperformed the key benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.32%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1430 shares rose and 1163 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 26 stocks advanced and 24 stocks declined.

The Nifty edged higher in early trade but soon witnessed profit booking at higher level. Selling pressure in morning trade dragged the index lower as it hit the day's low of 11,843.55. The 50-unit recovered from lows in early afternoon trade and remained range bound for most part of the day. The Nifty finally managed to end a tad below 11,900-mark.

Index pivotal Reliance Industries (RIL) (down 0.48%) and IT major TCS (down 2.91%) weighed on the benchmark indices.

Macro data:

India's unemployment rate in October rose to 8.5%, the highest since August 2016, and up from 7.2% in September, according to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on Friday, reflecting the impact of a slowdown in the economy.

The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI fell to a two-year low of 50.6 in October 2019 from 51.4 in September. The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease.

India's fiscal deficit reached nearly 93% of the budget estimate at Rs 6.52 lakh crore at the end of September in the current financial year, government data showed on Thursday. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit or the gap between expenditure and revenue was Rs 6,51,554 crore as on 30 September, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). The deficit stood at 95.3% of the 2018-19 budget estimate (BE) in the corresponding month a year ago. The government has pegged the fiscal deficit for the current financial year at Rs 7.03 trillion, aiming to restrict the deficit at 3.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The output of the core sector fell a record 5.2% in September, with production by seven of the eight industries declining. In September 2018, it had risen 4.3%, and 0.1% in August 2019. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and includes industries like coal, crude oil, natural gas refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.

Q2 earnings:

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories fell 0.9%. The company reported 117% jump in net profit to Rs 1,093 crore on a 26% increase in revenue to Rs 4,801 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The drugmaker's revenue was aided by a tax write-back of Rs 330 crore and a licence fee worth Rs 720 crore for selling territory rights for two neurology brands to U.S.-based Upsher-Smith Laboratories, the filing said.

Bank India (BOI) fell 0.49%. The bank announced its Q2 2019 earnings during market hours today. The bank reported a net profit of Rs 266 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net loss of Rs 1156 crore in Q2 September 2018. The bank's total income rose 10.97% to Rs 11985.50 crore YoY basis. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 16.31% as on 30 September 2019 as against 16.50% as on 30 June 2019 and 16.36% as on 30 September 2018. The bank's provisions and contingencies fell 38.61% to Rs 2052.27 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The bank's capital adequacy ratio improved to 14.09% in Q2 2019 as against 10.93% in Q2 2018.

Blue Dart Express rose 0.75%. The company's net profit soared 144.40% to Rs 14.64 crore on 1.69% increase in net sales to Rs 802.17 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net profit, however, declined 35% to Rs 14.64 crore on a 0.3% rise in net sales to Rs 802.17 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 31 October 2019. Effective 1 April 2019, Blue Dart adopted the Ind AS 116 new accounting standard due to which there is higher impact on profit as these are long term leases related to air infrastructure.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial rose 1.24%. The company announced a decent Q2 result after market hours yesterday. Microfinance institution Spandana Sphoorty reported a drop in net profit on the back of rising deferred tax expense. Net profit fell 42.2% to Rs 42.50 crore on a 40.1% rise in total income to Rs 360.54 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018. The company's Deferred Tax Expense rose 262% to Rs 144.81 crore in Q2 September 2019 shrinking company's net profit drastically. Deferred tax impact on company's P&L during Q2 2019 was notionally high since the actual tax outflow in Q2 2018 was only Rs 39.94 crore.

Laurus Labs advanced 2.92%. The company reported 248.86% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 56.55 crore on 19.2% rise in total income to Rs 713.78 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TVS Motor Company fell 3.59% to Rs 467. The company registered sales of 3.23 lakh units in October 2019 as against sales of 3.98 lakh units in the month of October 2018, registering a decline of 18.83%. The auto maker, however, witnessed 2.53% increase in auto sales as compared with 3.15 lakh units in September 2019.

Bajaj Auto reported a 9% decline in total auto sales, selling 4.63 lakh units in October 2019 as against 5.06 lakh units October 2018. However, the total auto sales rose 15% on a month-on-month basis from 4.02 lakh units in September 2019. Total domestic sales fell 13% to 2.78 lakh units in October 2019 as against 3.19 lakh units in October 2018. Total exports fell 1% to 1.84 lakh units in October 2019 as against 1.86 lakh units in October 2018. The announcement was made during market hours today, 1 November 2019.

Shares of commercial manufacturer Escorts were trading 0.18% lower after the company announced a rise in October 2019 sales. Domestic tractor sales grew 1.3% to 13,034 units in October 2019 as against 12,867 units in October 2018. Exports surged 16.8% for the month of Ocrober 2019 to 319 tractors as against 273 tractors sold in October 2018.

Ashok Leyland fell 10.78% to Rs 76.1. The auto company reported a 35% fall in total vehicle sales to 9857 units in October 2019 as against 15149 units in October 2018. The company's net sales grew 12.27% to 9857 in October 2019 as against 8,780 units in September 2019.

Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.63% to Rs 7,604.85 after the car major reported 25.11% increase in total sales in October 2019 compared with 1.22 lakh units in September 2019. The company's total auto sales rose 4.5% to 1.53 lakh units in October 2019 over October 2019.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) fell 2.89%. M&M reported 11% decline in total auto sales, selling 51,896 units in October 2019 as against 58,416 units in October 2018. M&M recorded 19.73% increase in total sales from 43,343 units in September 2019. M&M's Farm Equipment Sector (FES) reported 4% fall in total tractor sales to 47,376 units in October 2019 as against 45,433 units in October 2018.

SML Isuzu declined 1.3% after the auto maker reported a major drop in October monthly sales. Total sales tumbled 37.9% to 515 units in October 2019 over 829 units in October 2018. With respect to YTD, sales fell by 11.8% to 6,945 units in April-October 2019 as against 7,871 units in April-October 2018.

Ahluwalia Contracts (India) surged 3.18% after the company secured three new orders. The company won an order of Rs 208 crore for construction of NICL Work at Corporate Office Building in Kolkata. The company secured another new order of Rs 161 crore for construction of Parivahan Parisar at Patna, Bihar. The company secured third order of Rs 152.71 crore for Construction of Bluegrass Residences in Pune. The company reported that total order inflow during the FY 2019- 20 stood at Rs 1449.30 crore.

Foreign market:

European stocks were trading higher as investors await corporate earnings and monitor global trade developments.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher Friday amid renewed concerns over the potential for a long-term trade deal between China and the U.S.

A private survey of factory activity in China showed manufacturing activity in the country expanded more than expected in October. The Caixin/Markit Purchasing Managers's Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose from 51.4 in September to 51.7 in October.

The US stock market finished session lower on Thursday, 31 October 2019, on skepticism about a U.S.-China trade truce deal and weakening manufacturing data. Concerns around trade and the economy dampened the enthusiasm around strong earnings from Apple and Facebook.

Concerns over trade tensions resurfaced after reports that Chinese officials are doubtful that they will be able to reach a comprehensive, long-term trade deal with the U.S. The preliminary deal was meant to be signed at the APEC meeting in Chile, but the South American country announced this week that it will no longer be hosting. President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday China and the USA are working on selecting a new site for signing of Phase One of Trade Agreement, about 60% of total deal.

The tariff war between the world's two biggest economies has disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets for more than a year

The market ended with decent gains on Thursday, supported by banks and IT stocks. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex rose 77.18 points or 0.19% to 40,129.05, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 37.1 points or 0.31% to 11,881.20, as per the provisional closing data.

Steep volatility was witnessed on account of monthly expiry of F&O contracts. The Sensex pared gains after hitting a fresh record high of 40,392.22 in intraday today.

The market sentiment was boosted as data showed that foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian stocks. The trading activity showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 7192.42 crore yesterday, 30 October 2019, as per data released by the stock exchanges.

Investors awaited India's fiscal deficit data for April-September period and infrastructure output data for September 2019 which will be announced later today, 31 October 2019.

The broader market outperformed the key benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.14% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.94%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1539 shares rose and 1017 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 32 stocks advanced and 18 stocks declined.

The Nifty opened higher and advanced above 11,900 mark in morning trade. The Nifty remained firm throughout the session amid broad based buying support. The index hit an intraday high of 11,944 in mid-afternoon trade. Profit selling in last hour of the session dragged the index below 11,900 level.

Index pivotal Reliance Industries (RIL) hit a record high of Rs 1,489.50. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever hit a record high of Rs 2,187 today.

Buzzing sector:

The Nifty Bank index continued its winning streak for fifth consecutive session. The banking index was up 0.47% at 30,129.35. The index managed to close above the crucial 30,000-mark.

Yes Bank surged 24.03% to Rs 70.45 after the bank said it received a binding offer from a global investor for an investment of $1.2 billion in the bank through fresh issuance of equity shares. The offer is subject to regulatory approvals/conditions as well as bank's board and shareholders approvals, the bank said during trading hours today.

PSU banks supported the uptrend. United Bank of India (up 13.15%), Bank of India (up 8.12%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.98%), Oriental Bank of Commerce (up 2.94%), Canara Bank (up 2.05%), State Bank of Baroda (up 1.94%), Allahabad Bank (up 0.93%), Union Bank of India (up 0.62%) and Bank of India (up 0.56%) advanced.

Q2 results

RPG Life Sciences hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 254.7. The company reported 352.31% rise in net profit to Rs 9.77 crore on 8.92% rise in total income to Rs 98.64 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019.

Ramco Industries fell 2.77% to Rs 182.5. Consolidated net profit rose 39.66% to Rs 50.60 crore on 0.49% fall in total income to Rs 243.67 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019.

Shares of Tata Global Beverages rose 7.91%. The firm's consolidated net profit fell 18.5% to Rs 153.59 crore on 4.2% rise in net sales to Rs 1,834.06 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019. The company said that during the second quarter, it had a one-time impact of the tax rate change on the group consolidated net profit with a charge of Rs 9 crore, arising mainly on account of reversal of opening net deferred tax assets. The group consolidated net profit, excluding the impact of one off items as explained above, is higher by 45% as compared to corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Balaji Amines fell 1.19%. The company reported 7.23% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 28.74 crore on 5.07% rise in total income to Rs 228.72 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019.

Lakshmi Machine Works dropped 4.36%. The company reported 71.31% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 12.16 crore on 48.71% rise in total income to Rs 433.20 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019.

Container Corporation of India (Concor) was down 0.55% to Rs 589.05. Concor reported consolidated net loss to Rs 331.95 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared with net profit of Rs 335.10 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income fell 5.14% to Rs 1800.45 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019.

JBM Auto fell 1.22% to Rs 226. The commercial vehicle manufacturer's consolidated net profit fell 22.15% to Rs 16.27 crore on a 14.63% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 388.13 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Stocks in spotlight:

TVS Motor Company fell 1.81%. The firm announced their partnership with Cadisa, one of the largest, respected business groups across Guatemala and El Salvador. As a part of this association, Cadisa will facilitate the opening of 15 flagship outlets for TVS Motor Company in a phase-wise manner. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 October 2019.

Adani Transmission rose 3.22%. The company said that it has received the letter of intent (LOI) from REC Transmission Projects Company (RECTPCL) to build, own, operate and maintain a transmission project in the state of Gujarat for a period of 35 years.

Shares of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) were locked in an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 10.06 on reports of Haldiram Snacks, the Pune-based builder, Aniruddha Deshpande, and UV Asset Reconstruction Company (UVARC) offering to buy out Lavasa Corporation. Promoted by HCC, Lavasa was set up as a private, planned hill city built near Pune in Maharashtra in 2000. It reportedly defaulted on Rs 4,150 crore in loans to banks. Thereafter, an operational creditor of Lavasa filed application before NCLT for admission of Lavasa into corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) under IBC and the same was admitted on 30 August 2018.

Cadila Healthcare was up 0.74% to Rs 251.80. The firm informed that its formulations manufacturing facility located at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US drug regulator. Shares of the pharma company rose 2.74% to Rs 256.80. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had conducted an inspection at the facility from 15th to 19th July 2019. The EIR report stated that the classification of the facility is 'no action indicated (NAI)'.

Global markets:

European shares were trading in the red while Asian markets closed on a mixed note on Thursday. The US Federal Reserve cut rates for the third time this year but signaled its rate-cut cycle might be at a pause.

The US stock market ended at record high after swinging between gains and losses on Wednesday, 30 October 2019, on the back of the policy statement by the U.S. Federal Reserve that cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. However, market gains capped as the APEC summit in Chile was canceled, removing hopes for Trump to sign a trade deal there with Xi Jinping.

U.S. President Donald Trump said this week he hoped to sign an interim trade deal with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the Nov. 16-17 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile. Chilean officials said they canceled the summit to focus on restoring law and order in the country.

The White House said afterwards the United States still expects to sign an initial trade agreement with China next month, but no alternate location had yet been set for Xi and Trump to meet.

The US Fed announced its widely expected decision to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1.5% and 1.75%, but dropped a previous reference in its statement to act as appropriate to support the economic expansion, which could signal the Fed may hold off on future rate cuts.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan announced Thursday that it would be keeping monetary policy steady, but signaled in its forward guidance a readiness to cut rates if required.

Factory activity in China shrank for the sixth straight month in October, official data showed. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 49.3 in October, dipping from 49.8 in September.

The market ended with strong gains on Wednesday, supported by banks and IT stocks. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 220.03 points or 0.55% to 40,051.87, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 57.25 points or 0.49% to 11,844.10, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.65% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.36%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1382 shares rose and 1120 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 28 stocks advanced and 22 stocks declined.

Sentiment was upbeat amid speculations that the government is mulling over changes in income tax implications on equity investment. The media reported Tuesday that existing structures of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax, the securities transaction tax (STT) and dividend distribution tax (DTT) are being reviewed by the Prime Minister's Office in consultation with the Finance Ministry's Revenue Department and NITI Aayog. The steps are likely to be announced before or in the February Union Budget.

A recent strong set of quarterly earnings from some frontline companies like ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and State Bank of India also underpinned sentiment.

The Nifty opened higher but quickly pared gains in early trade amid profit selling. The Nifty slipped below 11,800 in morning trade amid selling pressure. The 50-unit index firmed up once again as fresh buying emerged in early afternoon trade. The Nifty closed below 11,850 amid profit booking at higher levels.

Index pivotal Reliance Industries (RIL) hit a record high of Rs 1484. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever hit a record high of Rs 2175 today.

The Nifty Bank index rose 0.44% to 29,970.45, extending gains for fourth consecutive session. The index has risen almost 3% from its recent closing low of 29,107.95 on 24 October 2019.

PSU banks made the biggest up moves. United Bank of India (up 19.95%), Syndicate Bank (up 8.3%), UCO Bank (up 6.64%), Bank of India (up 5.96%), Union Bank of India (up 5.34%),Andhra Bank (up 5.2%), Corporation Bank (up 5.1%), State Bank of India (up 3.28%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 3.24%), Allahabad Bank (up 3.1%), Punjab National Bank (up 2.82%), Canara Bank (up 2.64%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.63%), and Indian Bank (up 1.62%) advanced higher.

Petronet LNG gained 2.02% after the company reported 90.09% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 1089 crore on 13.04% fall in total income to Rs 9449.70 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 29 October 2019.

SKF India fell 3.86% after the company reported a muted Q2 result. The company reported a 0.38% rise in net profit to Rs 84.62 crore on 2.17% fall in total income to Rs 770.42 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 29 October 2019.

Tata Metaliks was up 0.85%. The company reported 50.79% drop in net profit to Rs 23.39 crore on 5.73% fall in total income to Rs 517.06 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 29 October 2019.

Graphite India declined 3.54% to Rs 282.35 after the company announced poor Q2 numbers during market hours today. On consolidated basis, company's net profit tanked 83.8% to Rs 185 crore on a 62.39% drop in revenue from operations to Rs 882 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018.

Indoco Remedies surged 4.06% to Rs 160.25 after the drug maker reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 7.3 crore in Q2 September 2019 over a net loss of Rs 7.8 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net revenues rose 21.07% to Rs 285.6 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Rs 235.9 crore in Q2 September 2018. Consolidated EBIDTA jumped 172.03% to Rs 32.1 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Rs 11.8 crore in Q2 September 2018.

The Ramco Cements advanced 3.09% after announcing Q2 numbers during market hours. On consolidated basis, the net profit jumped 43.18% to Rs 172.26 crore onn a 11.32% increase in revenue to Rs 1,332.08 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Shares of Bharti Airtel rose 2.57% to Rs 369.20. Bharti Airtel reported a fall in its average revenue per user (ARPU) in the September quarter. The company recorded an ARPU of Rs 128 in the September quarter, down from Rs 129 in the June quarter. Monthly subscriber churn - the percentage of users leaving the network - dropped to 2.1% from 2.6% in the previous quarter, while average data usage per customer jumped almost 10% on quarter and over 42% on year to 13.11 GB, while voice usage per customer fell 4.5% on quarter but rose 23.7% on year. Airtel's revenue from mobile services in India was Rs 10,811 crore in the three months ended 30 September, up from Rs 10,724 crore in the June quarter. Its subscriber base grew from 276.81 million in the preceding quarter to 279.43 million in the September quarter.

The company, meanwhile, delayed its Q2 results from 29 October 2019 to 14 November 2019 as it requires more clarity on the annual gross revenue (AGR) matter arising out of recent judgement of the Supreme Court. The firm is approaching Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to seek clarity on the total amounts involved and request for them for their support to deal with the current situation.

BEML surged 4.6% to Rs 1055. Media reports suggested that the government has revisited plan for strategic stake sale in the company. The government may soon issue expression of interest (EoI) for 26% stake sale in BEML with management control. Government of India holds 54.03% stake in BEML (as on 30 September 2019).

Cochin Shipyard advanced 0.98% after the company said it signed a Rs 175.70 crore contract for designing and constructing 23 hybrid-electric passenger ferries for Kochi Water Metro Project.

Bandhan Bank lost 1.64%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on the bank for non-compliance with the guidelines on promoter holding contained in 'Guidelines for Licensing of New Banks in Private Sector' dated 22 February 2013. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI taking into account the default committed by the bank in complying with the aforesaid licensing guidelines and conditions.

InterGlobe Aviation soared 7.21% to Rs 1511.95. IndiGo has placed a firm order for 300 A320neo Family aircraft. This marks one of Airbus' largest aircraft orders ever with a single airline operator. This latest IndiGo order comprises a mix of A320neo, A321neo and A321XLR aircraft. This will take IndiGo's total number of A320neo Family aircraft orders to 730. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 29 October 2019.

Overseas, European stocks were mixed while most Asian stocks declined in Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, set to be announced later stateside.

The US Fed began its two-day policy meeting yesterday, 29 October 2019 and interest rate decision will be announced today, 30 October 2019. The Fed is largely expected to slash interest rates by 25 basis points later this week. That would mark its third rate cut for this year.

Back in Europe, the UK has confirmed it will hold a general election on 12 December after Prime Minister Boris Johnson gained approval from Parliament Tuesday night.

U.S. stocks ended with small losses on Tuesday as trade headlines and a spate of corporate earnings weighed on shares.

The market ended with robust gains on Tuesday, supported by auto and metal shares. Media reports of a likely major tax tweak from the government boosted investor sentiment. Optimism over US-China trade deal and the European Union extending Brexit deadline to 31 January 2020, also triggered buying.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 581.64 points or 1.48% to 39,831.84, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 159.70 points or 1.37% to 11,786.85, as per the provisional closing data.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.55%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1436 shares rose and 1029 shares fell. A total of 212 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 39 stocks advanced and 11 stocks declined.

The media reported that existing structures of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax, the securities transaction tax (STT) and dividend distribution tax (DTT) are being reviewed by the Prime Minister's Office in consultation with the Finance Ministry's Revenue Department and NITI Aayog. The steps are likely to be announced before or in the February Union Budget.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia will invest in downstream oil and gas projects in India as part of a strategic partnership between the two countries. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Riyadh to participate in an investor summit, will meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later on Tuesday.

On the equity front, Axis Bank (up 4.44%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 4.31%%), TCS (up 3.80%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.60%) edged higher.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.97% to Rs 1476.75. The index heavyweight hit 52-week high today.

The board of directors of RIL approved the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) for digital platform initiatives and investment of Rs 1,08,000 crore in the WOS through OCPS. The WOS will also acquire RIL's equity investment of Rs 65,000 crore in Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL). Consequent to the above, RJIL will become virtually net debt free company by 31st March 2020, with exception of spectrum related liabilities.

Metal stocks were in demand as chances of an early US-China deal on trade brightened. The S&P BSE Metal index was up 3.82% to 9,349.91, outperforming the benchmark Sensex.

Among the metal stocks, Tata Steel (up 6.12%), JSW Steel (up 6.11%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 6.06%), Steel Authority of India (up 4.55%), NMDC (up 4.05%), Vedanta (up 3.6%), Hindustan Copper (up 2.05%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.84%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.26%) and National Aluminium Company (up 0.93%) advanced.

Telecom shares lagged the rally. Bharti Airtel fell 3.46% to Rs 359.75 while Vodafone Idea tumbled 10.02% to Rs 3.77.

Bharti Airtel was to announce its Q2 results today, 29 October 2019. It, however, clarified before trading hours today that the result announcement has been deferred till 14 November 2019 as more clarity is needed on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter arising out of recent judgement of the Supreme Court. The company is approaching DoT to seek clarity on the total amounts involved and request for their support to deal with this adverse outcome.

The Supreme Court has reportedly instructed telecom companies to deposit the dues sought by the government in three months in accordance with the court's Thursday order backing a broader definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel are affected the most by the SC order with pending licence fee and spectrum usage charge (SUC) dues of Rs 39,000 crore and over Rs 41,000 crore, respectively.

Media reports suggested that Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba headed Committee of Secretaries will review the financial stress on the telecom sector and examine all aspects and suggest measures to mitigate the same following the Supreme Court ruling on the AGR issue. A reference is being made to the telecom regulator to make viable pricing for voice and data tariff so as to curb further revenue erosion of the incumbents, the reports added.

Adani Enterprises gained 5.51% to Rs 193.50. The company said it formed a strategic partnership with U.S. based Digital Realty for building India's Data Center Infrastructure. According to the MoU signed, Adani Enterprises and Digital Realty, will jointly evaluate developing and operating data centers, data center parks and cultivating undersea cable provider communities of interest across India.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 3.66% to Rs 611.10. The auto major announced on Sunday, 27 October 2019, that its auto division delivered close to 13,500 vehicles across the country on the day of Dhanteras. This figure was substantially higher than the deliveries last year on Dhanteras.

Dhanteras, which was on Friday (25 October 2019), is the first day that marks the festival of Diwali in India. On this day, Hindus consider it as an auspicious day to make new purchases.

Tata Motors advanced 16.15% to Rs 171.85, extending gains for the second day after announcing Q2 numbers. The stock is up 35.36% in two trading sessions to its current market price of Rs 167.25.

On consolidated basis, Tata Motors reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 227.62 crore in Q2 September 2019 over a consolidated net loss of Rs 873.27 crore in Q2 September 2018.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) improved its performance this quarter and delivered a well-rounded performance. In particular, the improvement in China on the back of better operational metrics is reassuring. JLR generated pre-tax profits of £156 million in the quarter, £246 million better year-on-year. The improvement reflects favourable wholesale volume and mix, operating costs, depreciation and amortization, and foreign exchange. Profit margins were also significantly improved with an EBIT margin of 4.8% and an EBITDA margin of 13.8%.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories added 0.72% to Rs 2806.40. The USFDA completed the audit of API Srikakulam plant in Andhra Pradesh on 25 October 2019 with 'four' Form 483 observations. The company assured that it will work comprehensively within the stipulated timeline.

Excel Industries rose 5.98% to Rs 964.90. The chemicals maker announced after market hours on Friday, 25 October 2019, that it successfully completed the acquisition of the chemical manufacturing unit of NetMatrix Crop Care located in Andhra Pradesh on 25 October 2019.

GVK Power hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company reported that three global firms have agreed to invest Rs 7,614 crore in the company's airport maintenance business. The company entered into definitive agreements with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Public Sector

Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) for investing Rs 7,614 crore into GVK Airport Holdings. The company in an exchange filing further assured that proceeds from the transaction will be used to retire debt obligations of its holding companies and fund the purchase of additional shares in MIAL by GVKAHL from Bidvest.

FMCG major Marico tumbled 6.13% to Rs 367.65 as weakness in the domestic business dented sentiment.

FMCG major Marico posted 16.5% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 247 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Its net sales during the quarter under review were down 0.44% to Rs 1,829 crore as against Rs 1837 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenue was almost flat on a YoY basis, with an underlying domestic volume growth of 1% and constant currency growth of 9% in the international business. The Q2 result was announced after trading hours on Friday, 25 October 2019.

In the backdrop of an accelerated slowdown in consumption witnessed during the quarter, Marico's domestic business clocked a turnover of Rs 1,398 crore, down 3% on a year-on-year basis. In Q2 September 2019, Marico's International business grew by 9% in constant currency terms to Rs 431 crore led by broad based growth in Bangladesh.

Edelweiss Financial Services hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 89.50. Edelweiss announced that US-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) has acquired a minority stake by way of primary equity infusion in Edelweiss Insurance Brokers (EIBL), post approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The latter is a subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services.

NTPC rose 0.55% to Rs 119.50. The electric power distribution company informed that it has entered into a joint venture & shareholders' agreement with the Ceylon Electricity Board for incorporation of 50:50 joint venture company for development of 300 MW ±15% LNG power project at Kerawalapitiya, Sri Lanka.

Tata Coffee rose 4% to Rs 81.95 after the company announced a decent Q2 result on after market hours on Friday, 25 October 2019. On consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 11.3% to Rs 40.13 crore on a 5.5% rise in net sales to Rs 481.23 crore on YoY basis. The company in an exchange filing stated that the Instant Coffee business, part of the Value-Added business segment, continued its good quarterly sales volume with all the geographies registering higher sales volume over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. However, the margins were under pressure due to the prevailing global environment.

In the overseas market, European shares declined while Asian shares ended mixed as traders continued to monitor the progress in U.S.-China trade discussions.

In Europe, traders expected a fresh push from U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for an early general election. Johnson on Monday lost his third bid to force a general election on December 12 after falling short of the two thirds majority needed in Parliament, but will now attempt to introduce a bill requiring a simple majority. He would still need support from some opposition party lawmakers for the bill to pass.

The push for early polls comes after Johnson accepted the EU's three-month extension to the U.K.'s Brexit deadline, pushing the departure date to January 31.

In the US market, the S&P 500 hit a record high on Monday as investors cheered strong earnings and progress on US-China trade. Microsoft shares contributed to Monday's gains on news the company won a $10 billion cloud contract from the Defense Department.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Monday that Washington will consider extending certain tariff exclusions on $34 billion worth of imports from China. The USTR said last week that China and the U.S. are close to finalizing a phase one deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said the deal with China is expected to be signed 'ahead of schedule,' but did not elaborate on the timing. Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua also pointed to progress being made on trade.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting today, 29 October 2019 and interest rate decision will be announced on 30 October 2019. A third consecutive interest rate cut of 25 basis points is widely expected, as the central bank attempts to avert a slowdown that has gripped much of the developed world.

Key equity barometers ended with marginal gains after a volatile session on Friday. The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 37.67 points or 0.10% to 39,058.06, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 1.30 points or 0.01% to 11,583.90, as per the provisional closing data.

The Nifty opened higher but quickly pared gains in early trade. The index turned range bound and traded above 11,550 level in mid-morning session. Selling pressure intensified in afternoon trade as Nifty briefly slipped below 11,500. The 50-unit index regained momentum in mid-afternoon session and regained reclaimed 11,600. Fresh selling in last half hour dragged the index near the flat line.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.39%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1084 shares rose and 1350 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

The BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) will remain open for a special one-hour trading session on Sunday, 27 October. This session is popularly known as Muhurat Trading and coincides with the beginning of the Hindu calendar year (Vikram Samvat 2076).

The pre-opening session will be held between 6 pm and 6:08 pm. The opening bell ceremony will be held at 6.15 pm and trading will continue for an hour up to 7.15 pm.

On the NSE, 33 securities hit 52-week high which included names like Abbott India (up 2.05%),Adani Enterprises (up 0.84%), Adani Green Energy (up 3.54%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 2.33%), Granules India (down 0.72%),Hindustan Unilever (up 0.37%), ICICI Bank (up 3.17%), ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (down 0.99%), Pfizer (up 3.21%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (%), Relaxo Footwears (down 1.68%), Reliance Industries (down 0.45%) and Titan Company (down 3.08%).

State Bank of India jumped 7.25% to Rs 281.75 after the bank's net profit rose 218.75% to Rs 3011.73 crore on a 9.37 increase in total income to Rs 72,850.78 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 25 October 2019. Gross slippages fell by 17.91% YoY and 45.69% QoQ to Rs 8,805 crore in Q2 September 2019.

ITC fell 0.32% to Rs 248.15. The company reported 37.12% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 4119.16 crore on 6.62% rise in total income to Rs 13497.27 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 24 October 2019.

Colgate-Palmolive (India) fell 3.27% to Rs 1513.65. The company reported 24.31% rise in net profit to Rs 244.11 crore on 4.57% rise in total income to Rs 1230.43 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 24 October 2019.

InterGlobe Aviation slumped 11.90% to Rs 1468.05. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 1061.99 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to net loss of Rs 651.54 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income rose 31.1% to Rs 8539.78 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 24 October 2019.

PNB Housing Finance jumped 9.87% to Rs 490.80. The company reported 44.99% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 366.81 crore on 23.34% rise in total income to Rs 2230.34 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 24 October 2019.

United Spirits rose 3.05% to Rs 627.75. The company reported 27.77% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 163.10 crore on 3.09% rise in total income to Rs 2318.80 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 24 October 2019.

Raymond fell 2.16% to Rs 587.50. The company reported 33.5% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 83.96 crore on 2.18% rise in total income to Rs 1916.59 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 24 October 2019.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) slipped 0.42% to Rs 1425.95. L&T won an order from Chalet Hotels for construction of civil and steel structure works at proposed commercial building in Powai. The order is worth Rs 319.5 crore.

Piramal Enterprises tumbled 7.73% after the company said its board approved raising fresh capital of Rs 5,400 crore through a rights issue and preferential allotment of compulsory convertible debentures.

Bharti Airtel rose 1.41% to Rs 377.70. On the London Stock Exchange, the Bharti Airtel's African arm, Airtel Africa, announced its half yearly earnings, ended on 30 September 2019.

Airtel Africa's profit after tax in H1 FY20 was $ 228 Mn, an increase of 11.9% over in H1 FY19 driven by an increase in operating profit and lower finance costs partially offset by higher tax charges. Revenue increased by 8.4% to $ 1,640 Mn in H1 FY20 over in H1 FY19.

In a separate announcement, Bharti Airtel announced that it has entered into an agreement on 24 October 2019 for acquisition of 52.92% stake in Vahan Inc for cash consideration. Vahan Inc specializes in providing jobs to blue collar job seekers (like delivery boys) by using AI driven bot and a messaging platform. The acquisition is expected to be completed by 31 October 2019.

Sterlite Technologies slumped 14.04% to Rs 124.90. Consolidated net profit rose 21.6% to Rs 159.56 crore on a 25.4% increase in net sales to Rs 1359.69 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

IDFC First Bank rose 4.89% to Rs 40.75. The bank reported a net loss of Rs 679.50 crore in Q2 September 2019 over a net loss of Rs 369.69 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income jumped 78% to Rs 4367.12 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

The bank's chairman, V. Vaidyanathan, was quoted by the media saying that the net interest margin was expanding by 15 bps every quarter.

Bandhan Bank rose 4.13% to Rs 594. The bank's board approved the proposal for increase in the shareholding limits for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIls) from 24% to 49% of the paid-up share capital of the Bank under the overall permissible foreign limit in the Bank of 49% of its total paid-up share capital.

Further, the bank's board will seek approval from shareholders to reduce authorized share capital to Rs 3,200 crore from Rs 5,200 crore.

Tata Steel rose 0.68% to Rs 362.30. The steel maker offered clarification w.r.t. news article titled Tata Steel subsidiary bags Misrilall Chrome mine in e-auction in Odisha dated 23 October 2019. Tata Steel clarified that the company and its subsidiary had participated in the e-auction in response to the notice inviting tender (NIT) by Government of Odisha for the Misrilall Chrome Mine. The company and the subsidiary are awaiting the outcome of the e-auction in the form of a formal communication from the Government of Odisha.

Shriram Transport Finance Co. was up 3.60% to Rs 1108.20. Consolidated net profit rose 25.4% to Rs 768.29 crore on a 6.9% increase in total income to Rs 4219.82 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Westlife Development rose 4.15% to Rs 363.65 after consolidated net profit rose 15% to Rs 4.68 crore on a 14.2% rise in net sales to Rs 394.87 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Consolidated EBITDA rose 30.9% to Rs 43.32 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Rs 33.11 crore in Q2 September 2018. The company's adjusted restaurant operating margin also rose 32.8% to Rs 62.92 crore in Q2 2019 as compared to Rs 47.39 crore in Q2 2018.

Infosys gained 0.18% to Rs 636.55. The company informed that 2,298,020 stock incentives in the form of restricted stock units were granted to 6,949 mid-level eligible employees of the company /subsidiary companies under the 2015 stock incentive compensation plan. The date of grant for these stock incentives is 1 November 2019, in line with the company's compensation calendar timelines. The exercise price will be the par value of shares. These RSUs will generally vest in 4 equal installments.

Strides Pharma Sciences advanced 8.14% to Rs 372.50 after the company announced decent Q2 earnings during market hours today. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 141.91 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against a net loss of Rs 8.70 crore in Q2 September 2018. The pharma company's total income rose 37.51% on YoY basis and 4.6% QoQ to Rs 728.08 crore in Q2 September 2019.

Atul fell 1.69% to Rs 4237.70 after the company reported Q2 2019 earnings during market hours today. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 70.05% to Rs 210.02 crore on a 0.97% increase in total income from operations to Rs 1,045.63 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Overseas, shares in Europe were trading lower after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to push for a fresh general election in December, while corporate earnings season remains in focus.

European Union member states are in the process of discussing the length of a proposed extension to the U.K.'s October 31 deadline for leaving the EU, with most states understood to favor a three-month delay with an option to leave earlier if Johnson's new Withdrawal Agreement Bill is ratified by British parliament.

The prime minister meanwhile has offered to give British lawmakers more time to debate his deal if they back a general election on December 12, with Members of Parliament set to vote Monday on a motion to send the U.K. to the polls again.

The European Central Bank (ECB) kept rates unchanged on Thursday. The central bank also kept its forward guidance unchanged, suggesting that its main interest rates will remain at their current or lower levels until there's strong evidence of a pick up in prices.

The Asian shares ended mixed on Friday as as investors searched for guidance regarding both Brexit and the U.S.-China trade war.

The US stock market finished session slight higher on Thursday, 24 October 2019, as better than expected quarterly results from technology companies offset weak results from 3M Co and Twitter Inc. Traders have braced for weaker results this earnings season amid concerns about the costly trade war between the U.S. and China, and increased signs of slowing economic growth worldwide.

In economic news, US durable goods orders tumbled by 1.1% in September after rising by a revised 0.3% in August, a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed. US initial jobless claims dipped to 212,000 in the week ended October 19th, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 218,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

Key equity barometers ended with small losses on Thursday. Trading was volatile on account of weekly index options expiry today. Traders keenly watched the Assembly election results in Maharashtra and Haryana. Risk appetite was affected as BJP was seen struggling to reach majority mark of 46 seats in Haryana.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, fell 38.44 points or 0.10% to 39,020.39, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 21.70 points or 0.17% to 11,582.40, as per the provisional closing data.

After opening higher, the Nifty pared gains in early trade and slipped below 11,600 mark in mid-morning session. The 50-unit index struggled to regain 11,600 mark in early afternoon trade. Selling picked up pace in afternoon session as Nifty hit the day's low of 11,537. Bargain hunting emerged in the last hour of trade, which pushed index near 11,580 level.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.39% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.19%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1079 shares rose and 1378 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.

On the political front, the Election Commission (EC) is set to declare the results for the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. EC began the counting of votes at 8:00 IST and the final results will be declared by the evening.

In Haryana, Congress is leading on 22 seats and won 10 seats; BJP is ahead on 26 seats and won 13 seat. Jannayak Janta Party is leading on 5 seats and won 5 seat.

In Maharashtra, official trends showed BJP leading in 80 constituencies and won 19 seats; Shiv Sena leading in 43 constituencies and won 14 seats; NCP leading in 45 constituencies and won 10 seats; and Indian National Congress in 31 and won 13 seats. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the 50:50 formula of ruling decided on before elections will be followed.

Voting in Maharashtra's 288 constituencies and Haryana's 90 constituencies was held on 21 October. In Maharashtra, 61.3% voters turned up to cast their vote while the voter turnout in Haryana was 68.31%.

On the equity front, telecom shares were in spotlight. The sector barometer, the BSE Telecom index fell 0.67% to 942.88.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel rose 3.01% to Rs 371.35, after falling 9.68% in intraday. Vodafone Idea slumped 23.36% to Rs 4.33.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favour of the government on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, with grave revenue implications to the tune of over Rs 92000 crore for the ailing telecom sector.

Grasim Industries fell 4.93% to Rs 706.55. Grasim Industries has exposure to the telecom sector via its 11.55% stake in Vodafone Idea.

Car major Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.03% to Rs 7363 after the company announced its Q2 numbers during market hours today. The company's consolidated net profit dropped 38.99% to Rs 1,391.10 crore on 24.26% decline in total revenue from operations to Rs 16,997.90 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The automobile firm sold a total of 3.38 lakh vehicles during Q2 September 2019, lower by 30.2% on comparison to the corresponding quarter last year. The sales in domestic market stood at 3.12 lakh units, lower by 31.4% in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018 and its exports stood at 25,798 units this quarter.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 0.21% to Rs 1434. L&T reported 13.31% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2527.26 crore on 14.67% rise in total income to Rs 36143.65 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 23 October 2019.

Hero MotoCorp shed 0.39% to Rs 2701.70. The company reported 9.98% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 879.45 crore on 16.53% fall in total income to Rs 7838.83 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 23 October 2019.

HCL Technologies advanced 2.22% to Rs 1120. The company reported 19.4% rise in net income to Rs 2651 crore on 6.7% rise in revenue to Rs 17528 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q1 June 2019. The board of directors also recommended issue of one bonus share for every one equity share held by the equity shareholders of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 23 October 2019.

MTNL hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 6.19. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, 23 October 2019, approved the proposal for revival of BSNL and MTNL by administrative allotment of spectrum for 4G services, debt restructuring by raising of bonds with sovereign guarantee, reducing employee costs, monetisation of assets and in-principle approval of merger of BSNL & MTNL.

Bandhan Bank rose 1.57% to Rs 564.65 after net profit jumped 99.28% to Rs 971.79 crore on a 66.15% rise in total income to Rs 3,050.54 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 1.76% as on 30 September 2019 as against 1.7% as on 30 June 2019 and 1.29% as on 30 September 2018. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 0.56% as on 30 September 2019 as against 0.59% as on 30 June 2019 and 0.69% as on 30 September 2018.

IT major Infosys fell 2.44% to Rs 634.90. An anonymous whistleblowers accused the chief executive officer (CEO) Salil Parekh and chief financial officer (CFO) Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices.

Infosys clarified that consistent with company's practice and whistleblower policy, complaints are presented to the audit committee of the board and thoroughly reviewed and appropriately dealt with. While dealing with these complaints, the company evaluates the requirements of various regulations including disclosures. As disclosed in the company's stock exchange filings made on 22 October 2019, the anonymous whistleblower complaints have been placed before the audit committee who has retained the law firm of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. to conduct an independent investigation. Before conclusion of the investigation of the generalized allegations in the complaints, a disclosure was not required. The disclosure made on 22 October 2019 was to respond to multiple media inquiries and reports. The company undertakes to continue making timely disclosures.

Infosys added that it has been in touch with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding the anonymous whistleblower complaints (“Anonymous Complaints”) and has learnt that the SEC has initiated an investigation into this matter. The company will cooperate with the SEC's investigation. Also, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has requested additional information from the company concerning the anonymous complaints. The company will provide the information as per SEBI's request. The company is also aware of a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed against the Company in federal court in the United States based on the generalized allegations in the anonymous complaints. The company intends to defend itself vigorously in such a lawsuit.

Biocon fell 5.30% to Rs 244.55 after the company announced its Q2 earnings after market hours yesterday, 23 October 2019. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit fell 24.6% to Rs 148.20 crore on a 19% increase in net sales to Rs 1572.20 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Biocon's standalone net profit, however, rose 17.5% to Rs 106.10 crore on a 14.7% increase in net sales to Rs 523.90 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Agro-chemicals major, P I Industries advanced 7.04% to Rs 1425.95 after the company reported its Q2 numbers. The stock also hit a 52-week high of Rs 1427.65 today. On consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 30.2% to Rs 123.20 crore on a 25.5% rise in net sales to Rs 907.40 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Q2 September 2018.

The Nifty Bank index fell 1.25% to 29,091.50, snapping its four-day winning streak. Among the private sector banks, Yes Bank (down 6.15%), IndusInd Bank (down 3.85%), RBL Bank (down 3.32%), Federal Bank (down 2.88%), Axis Bank (down 1.16%), HDFC Bank (down 0.35%), City Union Bank (down 0.33%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.24%) declined.

Among the public sector banks, State Bank of India (down 4.88%), Union Bank of India (down 4.29%), Bank of India (down 3.69%), United Bank of India (down 3.63%), Bank of Baroda (down 2.86%), Punjab National Bank (down 2.69%) edged lower.

Meanwhile, India has moved 14 places to be 63rd among 190 nations in the World Bank's ease of doing business ranking released on Thursday on the back of multiple economic reforms by the Narendra Modi government. The country's score improved from 67.3 last year to 71.0 this year, as per The Doing Business 2020 study, released by the World Bank on Thursday morning. However, it failed to achieve government's target of being at 50th place.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, 23 October 2019, approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Rabi crops (the crop which are grown in winter and harvested in the spring) of 2019-20 to be marketed in Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2020-21.

The increase in MSP for Rabi Crops for RMS 2020-21 is in line with the principle of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all India weighted average cost of production (CoP), which was announced in the Union Budget 2018-19. This MSP policy whereby the farmers are assured of a minimum of 50% as margin of profit is one of the important and progressive steps towards doubling farmers' income by 2022 and improving their welfare substantively.

Overseas, European stocks traded higher as corporate earnings season gathers pace. Traders remain in limbo over an expected delay to the U.K.'s departure from the European Union. Investors, meanwhile, look ahead to the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.

Asian stock markets ended higher as bullish sentiments engulfed the world markets with Japanese index, Nikkei hitting a year-high during the afternoon trade.

Corporate earnings buffeted trading as investors remained anxious about the business impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war while Brexit uncertainties kept overall sentiment in check.

U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors shrugged off lackluster quarterly reports from industrial bellwethers Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc.

EU member states on Wednesday delayed a decision on whether to grant Britain a three-month Brexit extension. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said if the deadline is deferred to the end of January, he would call an election.

Key equity barometers resumed uptrend after a day's breather. The Nifty ended tad above the 11,600 level. Public sector bank stocks advanced while IT stocks bounced back after yesterday's selloff.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, rose 94.99 points or 0.24% to 39,058.83, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 15.75 points or 0.14% to 11,604.10, as per the provisional closing data.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.08% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.25%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was almost even. On the BSE, 1229 shares rose and 1257 shares fell. A total of 201 shares were unchanged.

IT major Infosys rose 1.15% to Rs 650.70, reversing yesterday's 16.21% slump triggered by an anonymous whistleblowers accusing the chief executive officer (CEO) Salil Parekh and chief financial officer (CFO) Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices.

At present, the Infosys audit committee is looking into the letter sent by the anonymous whistleblowers, said the company's chairman Nandan Nilekani in a statement to the stock exchanges. The company will provide a detailed summary of the investigation report at an appropriate time.

Further media reports suggested that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) may seek clarification from Infosys' management on charges level levelled by the whistle-blower.

Among the public sector banks, Indian Bank (up 11.61%), Bank of India (up 3.35%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.83%), Union Bank of India (up 2.09%), Corporation Bank (up 1.74%), State Bank of India (up 1.65%), Central Bank of India (up 1.17%), Canara Bank (up 1.03%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.99%), Andhra Bank (up 0.31%) and Syndicate Bank (up 0.2%) advanced.

Oriental Bank of Commerce rose 2.09% to Rs 51.30. The bank's net profit rose 23.7% to Rs 125.90 crore on a 14.8% increase in total income to Rs 5702.34 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Most private sector bank shares fell. Yes Bank (down 1.64%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.31%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.46%), Federal Bank (down 0.3%) and City Union Bank (down 0.19%) declined.

RBL Bank slumped 9.74% to Rs 258.95. The bank's net profit dropped 74.87% to Rs 53.42 crore on 46.42% rise in total income to Rs 2633.65 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Axis Bank rose 0.10% to Rs 713.40. The bank reported a net loss of Rs 112.08 crore in Q2 September 2019 compared with a net profit of Rs 789.61 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income rose 21.14% to Rs 19,333.57 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 29,071.39 crore as on 30 September 2019 as against Rs 29,404.90 crore as on 30 June 2019 and Rs 30,938.33 crore as on 30 September 2018.

Asian Paints fell 0.52% to Rs 1770.05. The company's consolidated net profit rose 67.5% to Rs 823.41 crore on 10.3% rise in total income to Rs 5171.20 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Bajaj Finserv rose 0.79% to Rs 8066.20. The company's consolidated net profit rose 70.98% to Rs 1203.72 crore on 46.67% rise in total income to Rs 14224.22 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services slipped 2.29% to Rs 333.55. On a consolidated basis, the financial services company's net profit fell 39.4% to Rs 263.60 crore on a 16.3% increase in total income to Rs 2947.97 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Affle (India) surged 13.98% to Rs 1387.10. The technology company announced the filing of 14 patents in Singapore and the USA. The company has filed 4 new patent applications in Singapore in the areas of conversational marketing & vernacular and voice-based intelligence. Further, the company has decided to expand the jurisdiction of its 10 patents earlier filed in India by filing in the patent office of the USA as well. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 0.59% to Rs 1433.40. The company announced that L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T, has been awarded a mega project by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). The engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract is for setting up a residue upgradation facility (RUF), EPCC-03 Package for Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project (VRMP) at HPCL's Vizag Refinery. The 'mega' order has a valuation of more than 7000 crore. The announcement was made during market hours today, 23 October 2019.

Sharda Cropchem fell 5.12% to Rs 274.15. On a consolidated basis, the chemical company reported a net loss of Rs 5.61 crore in Q2 September 2019 over a net profit of Rs 16.19 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales rose 4.9% to Rs 324.15 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Coromandel International jumped 7.11% to Rs 448.30. On a consolidated basis, the fertilizer manufacturing company's net profit rose 33.2% to Rs 503.90 crore on a 3% fall in net sales to Rs 4857.98 crore in 2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

In a separate announcement, the company informed that its board has approved the draft scheme of amalgamation of its wholly owned subsidiaries, viz., Dare Investments (DIL) and Liberty Pesticides and Fertilizers (LPFL) with Coromandel International (CIL). The scheme would be subject to the requisite statutory / regulatory approvals.

Shares of Coromandel International have gained 10.86% to in five trading sessions to its current market price of Rs 450 from a recent closing low of Rs 405.90 on 15 October 2019.

Bajaj Auto rose 1.43% to Rs 3167.85 after the company's consolidated profit after tax rose 22% to Rs 1,402 crore on a 4% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 7,707 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

EBITDA fell 9% to Rs 1,305 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The EBITDA % fell to 16.9% in Q2 September 2019 as against 17.9% in Q2 September 2018.

Bajaj Auto reported a 12% decline in the total sales volume to 11.73 lakh units for the quarter ended on 30 September 2019 as compared to the corresponding quarter last financial year.

Dishman Carbogen Amcis fell 5.95% to Rs 143. The drug development and commercialization services provider's consolidated net profit fell 6.47% to Rs 41.16 crore on a 4.37% increase in total income from operations to Rs 467.31 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 23 October 2019.

GHCL rose 4.45% to Rs 221.70. The company's consolidated net profit rose 72.40% to Rs 116.84 crore on a 1% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 835.52 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 23 October 2019.

Hatsun Agro Product fell 3.91% to Rs 600.05. The company's board approved setting up of Ice Cream plant at Govindapur, Sangareddy District, about 110 kms from Hyderabad near Mumbai Highway, in the State of Telangana, having a production capacity of 1 lakh kgs per day and is expected to be commissioned by the end of Q3 of FY 2021. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

Havells India fell 0.31% to Rs 677.40. The electrical equipment manufacturer's standalone net profit rose 1.5% to Rs 181.4 crore on a 1.8% increase in revenue to Rs 2230.3 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 23 October 2019.

Rites rose 4.39% to Rs 288.75. The company signed MoU with Ghana to promote long term bilateral co-corporation in transport and infrastructure development projects in Ghana. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2019.

MTNL hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 5.90 after media reports suggested that the Union Cabinet today has approved the revival plan of MTNL and BSNL.

Overseas, European shares were mixed while most Asian shares declined on Wednesday as investors continued to monitor geopolitical developments and watch earnings reports for signs of health in the global economy. The Asian indices reacted very little to a report that the Chinese government is drafting a plan to replace Carrie Lam, the current Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 2017.

Brexit was back in the spotlight, after U.K. lawmakers voted Tuesday to let Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit plan to proceed to the next step in Parliament, but rejected his rapid timetable for approval, saying that more time was needed to scrutinize the bill. The defeat in parliament made it unlikely that Britain would finalize its exit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 31 October target. Johnson said it was up to the EU to decide whether it wanted to delay Brexit and for how long.

The US stock market finished session down after erasing early gains on Tuesday, 22 October 2019, amid concerns over impact of U.K. lawmakers' rejection of the government's proposed timetable for passing legislation to ratify its deal to exit the European Union by Oct. 31 and uncertainties about global financial and economic conditions. Market losses were limited, thanks to a torrent of corporate earnings reports and a new bill to make it easier for social media users to migrate away from industry heavyweights Facebook, Snap and Twitter to rival platforms.

On the Sino-US trade front, President Donald Trump said that talks between Washington and Beijing are going 'very well.' Top trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer also said that the U.S. aims to finish the first phase of talks by mid-November when the two countries meet in Chile.

The market tumbled on Tuesday as traders booked profits after six-day rising streak. Weakness in IT major Infosys put pressure on bourses. Selling in Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel also weighed on key indices. Private banks, however, supported the indices at lower levels. The Nifty crossed 11,700 mark in morning trade, but steep selling pressure dragged the index below 11,600 level in mid-afternoon trade.

The barometer index, the BSE Sensex, fell 334.54 points or 0.85% to 38,963.84, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 71.55 points or 0.61% to 11,590.30, as per the provisional closing data.

In the past six trading sessions, the Sensex surged 3.74% while the Nifty advanced 3.8%.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.04% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.51% on Tuesday.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was almost even. On the BSE, 1263 shares rose and 1293 shares fell. A total of 203 shares were unchanged.

The domestic stock market was closed yesterday, 21 October 2019, on account of assembly elections in Maharashtra. Exit polls predicted a comfortable win for the BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections. Polling was held yesterday, 21 October 2019 while counting of votes will be held on 24 October 2019.

On the equity front, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 3.49%), ICICI Bank (up 3.19%), BPCL (up 2.38%), Titan Company (up 2.34%) and Cipla (up 2.14%) were among the top gainers.

Bajaj Finserv (down 3.16%), Bharti Airtel (down 2.83%), Asian Paints (down 2.02%), Tata Steel (down 1.77%) and JSW Steel (down 1.72%) were among the top losers.

Infosys dropped 15.99% to Rs 645. The company has received anonymous whistleblower complaints alleging certain unethical practices. These have been placed before the Audit Committee as per the company's practice and will be dealt with in accordance with the company's whistleblower policy. The announcement was made yesterday, 21 October 2019, when stock markets were closed on account of assembly elections.

Infosys' American depository receipt (ADR) listed on the New York Stock Exchange slumped 12.11% on Monday.

IT shares mostly fell. HCL Technologies (down 2.99%), Tech Mahindra (down 2.15%), Hexaware Technologies (down 2.05%), MphasiS (down 1.9%), Persistent Systems (down 0.87%), MindTree (down 0.72%), TCS (down 0.42%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.29%) edged lower. Wipro was up 1.93%.

Tata Elxsi was down 1.31% to Rs 699.15. The company's consolidated net profit rose 7.45% to Rs 29.83 crore on a 4.42% increase in net sales to Rs 231.28 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q1 June 2019. The result was announced on Monday, 21 October 2019.

Tata Motors fell 3.33% to Rs 132.15. Tata Motors said that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 25 October 2019 to to consider proposal for raising funds by way of issue of one or more instruments including equity shares, convertible securities of any description or warrants or debt securities, through preferential issue, private placements, rights issue or any other methods or combination thereof. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 18 October 2019.

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.03% to Rs 1414.90. RIL's consolidated net profit rose 18.35% to Rs 11262 crore on 3.63% rise in net sales to Rs 148526 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 18 October 2019.

Shares of Bajaj Finance fell 2.03% to Rs 4054.05 after consolidated net profit jumped 63.11% to Rs 1,506.29 crore on 47.95% surge in total income to Rs 6,322.55 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2019.

The company's consolidated Asset Under Management (AuM) soared 38% to Rs 1,35,533 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Rs 98,013 crore in Q2 September 2018. Its Net Interest Income (NII) grew 48% to Rs 3,999 crore in Q2 September 2019 as against Rs 2,708 crore in Q2 September 2018.

The finance company's new loans booked increased 23% to 64.70 lakh in Q2 September 2019 compared with 52.60 lakh in Q2 September 2018. The firm's capital adequacy ratio (including Tier-II capital) stood at 19.68% as on 30 September 2019. Its Tier-I capital is at 15.86%.

Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 0.49% to Rs 1623.35. The bank's net profit rose 51.05% to Rs 1724.48 crore on a 13.82% increase in total income to Rs 7,986.01 in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 5033.55 crore as on 30 September 2019 as against Rs 4613.52 crore as on 30 June 2019 and Rs 4033.07 crore as on 30 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 22 October 2019.

HDFC Bank rose 1% to Rs 1241.55. The bank's net profit rose 26.75% to Rs 6,344.99 crore on 19.63% increase in total income to Rs 33755 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced on Saturday, 19 October 2019.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 12508.15 crore as on 30 September 2019 as against Rs 11768.95 crore as on 30 June 2019 and Rs 10097.73 crore as on 30 September 2018.

AU Small Finance Bank rose 5.30% to Rs 689. The bank's net profit rose 88.1% to Rs 171.94 crore on a 46.9% increase in total income to Rs 1184.21 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced on Monday, 21 October 2019.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 503.84 crore as on 30 September 2019 as against Rs 485.70 crore as on 30 June 2019 and Rs 371.04 crore as on 30 September 2018.

Ambuja Cements fell 5.71% to Rs 195.80. The company's consolidated net profit rose 33.85% to Rs 385.09 crore on 1.55% rise in total income to Rs 6194.96 crore in Q3 September 2019 over Q3 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 18 October 2019.

UltraTech Cement slipped 1.06% to Rs 4250. The company's consolidated net profit rose 62.26% to Rs 579.10 crore on 4.07% rise in total income to Rs 9774.16 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced yesterday, 21 October 2019, when stock markets were closed on account of assembly elections.

Adani Green Energy (AGEL) was down 3.68% to Rs 86.40 on profit booking after recent steep gains. The stock rallied 58% in eleven trading sessions to end at Rs 89.70 on Friday, 18 October 2019, from its recent closing low of Rs 56.65 on 1 October 2019.

Bharti Infratel was down 1.11% to Rs 258.90. The telecom tower infrastructures provider's consolidated net profit rose 60.6% to Rs 963.50 crore on a 3% fall in net sales to Rs 1668.30 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Consolidated EBITDA fell 1% to Rs. 1,486 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced on Monday, 21 October 2019.

In a separate announcement, the company announced that S Balasubramanian, chief financial officer of the company, has expressed his intention to explore professional opportunities outside the Bharti Group and has tendered his resignation effective from closing of the business hours on 5 December 2019.

Ujjivan Financial Services rose 1.58% to Rs 311.30. The firm's consolidated net profit surged 116.6% to Rs 63.23 crore on a 54.7% increase in total income to Rs 710.04 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced on Monday, 21 October 2019.

Avanti Feeds jumped 10.44% to Rs 451. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 155.8% to Rs 118.70 crore on a 41.1% increase in net sales to Rs 1064.30 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced on Saturday, 19 October 2019.

Graphite stocks witnessed heavy buying. Graphite India jumped 6.39% and HEG soared 10.78% during today's intraday trade.

Shares of Graphite India surged 17.57% in four trading sessions to the current market price of Rs 316.40 from a recent closing low of Rs 269.10 on Tuesday, 15 October 2019.

Shares of HEG rallied 23.39% in four trading sessions to the current market price of Rs 1,086 from a recent closing low of Rs 880.10 on Tuesday, 15 October 2019.

Most pharma stocks rose in trade. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 3.95%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 3.05%), Wockhardt (up 3.04%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.83%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.02%), Lupin (up 0.84%) Alkem Laboratories (up 0.68%) advanced.

IPCA Laboratories (down 2.51%), Strides Shasun (down 0.93%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.17%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.1%) and Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.02%) declined.

Piramal Enterprises rose 8.15% to Rs 1683.15 after consolidated net profit jumped 17.3% to Rs 564.25 crore on 14.6% rise in net sales to Rs 3,603.56 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2019. The result was announced on Monday, 21 October 2019.

Granules India surged 12.02% to Rs 113.70 after consolidated net profit jumped 58.96% to Rs 95.79 crore on a 20.42% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 699.53 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 22 October 2019.

The company's operating profit rose 42.8% to Rs 144 crore while the operating profit margin rose by 322 bps to 20.5% in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company rose 3.74% to Rs 1290.40 after net profit advanced 5.1% to Rs 307.91 crore on 6.1% rise in net sales to Rs 2,356.92 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2019. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 18 October 2019.

Gross direct premium income (GDPI) of the company fell 16.4% to Rs 2953 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Return on average equity (ROAE) was reported at 22% in Q2 September 2019 compared with 23.9% in Q2 September 2018.

Combined ratio stood at 102.6% in Q2 September 2019 compared with 101.1% in Q2 September 2018. Solvency ratio was 2.26x at 30 September 2019 as against 2.20x at 30 June 2019 and higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 1.50x. Solvency ratio was 2.24x at 31 March 2019.

Overseas, most European were trading higher on Tuesday as U.K. lawmakers geared up to debate Prime Minister Boris Johnson's EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to get a vote on his Brexit deal and will try again on Tuesday to get the first stage of a withdrawal bill through Parliament.

Asian stocks ended higher on Tuesday, mirroring overnight gains in the US market, supported by signs of progress in talks on resolving the US-China trade dispute.

U.S. President Donald Trump sounded reportedly upbeat on a China deal on Monday, while White House adviser Larry Kudlow said tariffs on Chinese goods scheduled for December could be withdrawn if talks go well.