Sensex ends 80 points lower after a range-bound movement

Investors on Tuesday traded with caution anticipating a further rise in the international oil prices, and conclusion of the third and largest phase of the general elections. Sensex ended 80 points lower after a range-bound movement throughout the day’s trade.

Analysts said investors were cautious ahead of the largest phase of the elections, post which participants will get a better sense as to which party could form the next government.

Besides, experts said that the market has also mostly factored in the rising oil prices and maintaining caution amid the general elections.

The Sensex finished 80.30 points or 0.21 per cent lower at 38,564.88 after trading in a range. Nifty also closed down 18.50 points or 0.16 per cent to 11,575.95.

“Markets traded in a range-bound manner on Tuesday after witnessing two days’ losses on account of a sharp surge in crude prices. Investors are likely to remain cautious with the crude prices charting uptrends,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

“Sideways movement is likely to continue during this election period while quarterly results will influence investors to accumulate quality stocks.” The grounded Jet Airways finished nearly 10 per cent higher. Jet scrips rose as the government authorities assured protecting its aviation slots rights and some high-risk investors took a bet on an early revival, said Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities.

Besides, Yes Bank fell 2.33 per cent after witnessing a lot of activity post reports that an inspection of its books revealed a large exposure to real estate companies even as one more inspection was underway, he added.

Among the top losers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and HeroMoto Corp, declining in 1 to 4 per cent range.

ONGC and Sun Pharma advanced over 3 per cent, and Bajaj Finance, Coal India and Reliance Industries jumped 1 to 2 per cent on the Sensex.

Additionally, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) on Monday bought Rs 73.08 crore worth of stocks, bucking the stronger trend seen over the past two months.

Meanwhile, bucking the trend seen in the past three sessions after the “temporary” grounding of the Jet Airways, scrips of the cash-strapped airline finished Tuesday’s trade nearly 10 per cent higher after gaining up to 12 per cent.

This comes as the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Tuesday said that historic rights of the slots of the airline across various airports would be protected.

Jet stocks closed 9.90 per cent higher at Rs 169.90 apiece after 3 days of consecutive fall.

“The historic rights of Jet Airways, as per the provisions of the extant MoCA guidelines for slot allocation will be protected. These slots would be made available to Jet Airways as and when they revive their operations, as per the extant guidelines,” the Ministry said in an official statement.

It clarified that the slots vacated by Jet Airways are being given to other airlines purely on a temporary basis and for a period of three months. The slots are currently being allotted by a committee comprising all concerned stakeholders in a transparent manner, the statement added. Jet Airways scrips appreciated on the government’s slot protection assurance and some high-risk investors taking a bet on an early revival of the airline, said Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities.

Jet Airways had “temporarily” suspended all flight operations from last Wednesday as it failed to secure an interim funding of Rs 400 crore for maintaining bare minimum operations. Following its grounding, the scrips had lost nearly 50 per cent of the value of its stock.

Meanwhile, the release of methane and carbon dioxide from thawing permafrost will accelerate global warming and add up to $70 trillion to the worlds climate bill, according to the most advanced study yet of the economic consequences of a melting Arctic.

If countries fail to improve on their Paris agreement commitments, this feedback mechanism, combined with a loss of heat-deflecting white ice, will cause a near 5 per cent amplification of global warming and its associated costs, the Guardian quoted the study as saying which was published on Tuesday in Nature Communications.

The authors said that their study is the first to calculate the economic impact of permafrost melt and reduced albedo - a measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed - based on the most advanced computer models of what is likely to happen in the Arctic as temperatures rise.

It shows how destabilised natural systems will worsen the problem caused by man-made emissions, making it more difficult and expensive to solve.

They assessed known stocks of frozen organic matter in the ground up to three metres deep at multiple points across the Arctic.

Indo-Asian News Service