Share markets in India are presently trading on a positive note. Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the energy sector, IT sector and healthcare sector witnessing maximum buying interest while telecom stocks and<realty stocks are witnessing selling pressure.
The BSE Sensex is trading up by 242 points (up 0.7%), while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 60 points (up 0.6%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading on a flat note and the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.3%.
The rupee is trading at Rs 71.39 against the US$.
Extending its fall, the rupee opened lower by 18 paise at 71.36 against the US$.
Rupee fell in the latter half of the session on Friday primarily as global crude oil prices continued to rally after supply cuts led by OPEC supported prices.
Last week, OPEC's monthly report showed it had made a strong start in December before the pact went into effect, implementing the biggest month-on-month production drop in almost two years.
In the news from the IT sector, Wipro share price is witnessing selling pressure today as the company lowered margin guidance for its IT services business in the range of $2,047 million to $2,088 million for the March quarter, which translates into a flat 2% sequential growth.
The IT company on Friday posted a strong 31.8% YoY jump in its consolidated net profit at 25.4 billion and announced a 1:3 bonus share offer.
Wipro share price is presently trading down by 2.5%.
To know more about the company, you can read Wipro Q3FY19 Result Analysis and Wipro Annual Report Analysis on our website.
You can also read our recently released Q3FY19 results: Zee Entertainment's latest result analysis, Reliance Industries, Federal Bank, Infosys, TCS, Trident, HDFC bank, NIIT Technologies, Cyient.
Moving on to the news from the engineering sector, L&T share price is in focus today as the markets regulator denied approval to the company's Rs 90 billion share buyback plan.
As per an article in a leading financial daily, the buyback was rejected, citing compliance issues over its post-buyback debt-equity ratio.
Here's an excerpt from the article:
L&T share price fell around 3.5% in early trade today on back of the above news and is presently trading down by 1%.
In August last year, the company's board approved its first buyback in 80 years of the company's history, for up to 4.3% of its paid-up equity capital, aggregating to a value of about Rs 90 billion.
Ankit Shah has shared the final update on the buyback of the company. You can read it here. (requires subscription).
Speaking of buybacks, the number of buyback offers in 2017-18 were at an all-time high. Never, in the last two decades, had Indian markets seen fifty-nine companies announcing buyback plans.
But what is truly surprising is that unlike in the past, the buybacks this time seem skewed in favour of short term investors rather than long term ones.
Here's what Tanushree Banerjee, Co-head of Research at Equitymaster, wrote about it in The 5 Minute WrapUp...
At Equitymaster, we believe, as a shareholder in cash rich companies, you should not only be wary of expensive buybacks. But if possible use it to your advantage to rake in some cash.
As per Rahul Shah, co-head of Research, investors should not assume buybacks are always good. Here's an excerpt of what he wrote in one of the editions of The 5 Minute Wrapup:
The topic also brings us to ask: Do buy-backs offer an arbitrage opportunity for retail investors? Ankit Shah has answered this question in one of the editions of Equitymaster Insider. You can access the issue here (requires subscription).
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