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Sensex Opens Lower as Metal Stocks Under Pressure; Tata Steel & SAIL Plunge 6%
Mon, 20 Sep 09:30 am

Major Asian stock markets including Japan, China and Korea are closed today due to public holiday.

Other Asian markets are trading on a negative note today ahead of a week with as many as dozen central bank meetings, highlighted by the Federal Reserve which is likely to take another step towards tapering. The Hang Seng has plunged 3.9%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices closed sharply lower in a broad sell-off on Friday, ending a week buffeted by strong economic data, corporate tax hike worries, the Delta Covid variant, and possible shifts in the Federal Reserve's timeline for tapering asset purchases.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 168 points, or 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 138 points, or 0.9%.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a negative note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 243 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 86 points.

HUL is among the top gainers today. Tata Steel, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened down by 0.9%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.8%.

Barring FMCG stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in red with stocks in the metal sector and power sector witnessing most of the selling.

Shares of Delta Corp and Polycab India hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 73.81 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 45,966 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.9% at Rs 59,451 per kg.

Gold inched lower today, pressured by a firmer dollar, while investors awaited guidance from the US Federal Reserve on when it is likely to start withdrawing its bond-buying programme.

Crude oil prices also fell, extending losses from Friday after the US dollar jumped to a three-week high and the US rig count rose, although nearly a quarter of US Gulf of Mexico output remained offline in the wake of two hurricanes.

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In news from the media sector, Dish TV is among the top buzzing stocks today.

The board of Dish TV has sought more time to convene the next annual general meeting (AGM), citing the regulatory clearances required for accommodating Yes Bank's proposals for a board change.

It has approved the application for postponing the AGM scheduled on 27 September.

The registrar of companies under the Company Law Board is the authority empowered to give permission for the extension.

Dish TV has not disclosed the new date for the AGM. However, according to regulations, there should be a maximum gap of 15 months between AGMs.

So, Dish TV needs to hold its next AGM by 29 December 2021 as it had conducted its last AGM in September 2020.

Earlier this month on 6 September, Dish TV shared with BSE, a 28-page letter from Yes Bank that proposed to replace five directors on the company's board, including managing director Jawahar Goel.

In their place, the bank seeks to appoint two nominee directors and five independent directors.

The letter also had Dish TV's response which said new board members can be inducted only after the information and broadcasting ministry approves the recommendations.

Then on 13 September, Yes Bank replied that Dish TV can first table the resolution at the AGM before getting the ministry's approval.

Reportedly, Yes Bank has started to reach out to other large shareholders of Dish TV to get the minimum 51% votes to replace its directors.

Yes Bank believes it will get support from IndusInd Bank, which owns about 12.4% stake in the company.

Other shareholders include HDFC and L&T Finance, which own about 5% and 1.95%, respectively.

Dish TV share price has opened the day down by 1.3%.

Moving on to news from the steel sector, Hindustan Copper is taking necessary actions to increase the output from its mines. It is also in the process of augmenting the mining capacity through expansion projects.

In its annual report, the company said,

  • Against the contract awarded for taking ore production from underground mine at Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) through decline route, the contractor has built up the infrastructure and development work is in progress.

During 2010-11, the state owned company had envisaged increasing the mine production capacity from 3.4 m tonne per annum (MTPA) to 12.2 MTPA.

This was subsequently revised to 20.2 MTPA in order to boost domestic production of copper metal to reduce dependence on imports.

The expansion plan will be implemented in a phased manner and in the first phase, a capacity up to 12.2 MTPA would be targeted. It would be scaled up to 20.2 MTPA in the second phase.

During 2020-21, Hindustan Copper's turnover was Rs 17.6 bn as against Rs 8 bn during fiscal 2020, an increase of 119%.

The government recently concluded an offer for sale of up to 10% in Hindustan Copper, which saw strong response from institutional investors.

Hindustan Copper share price has opened the day down by 2.6%.

Note that copper prices have been on downtrend as the metal's August imports by top consumer China fell to their lowest since June 2019. This was because high prices and sluggish economic growth hit demand.

London copper prices have roughly traded within US$9,000-US$10,000 a tonne since hitting a record high of US$10,747.50 per tonne in May 2020.

Because of this, shares of Hindustan Copper have been on a downtrend for the past few months.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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