Sensex Opens Over 400 Points Down; IT Stocks Fall

Fri, 19 Oct 09:30 am

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   12:30 pm   

   Closing   

Asian stocks are lower today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Nikkei 225 is off 1.1% while the Hang Seng is down 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up by 0.2%. US stocks fell more than 1% on Thursday as the European Commission issued a warning regarding Italy's budget and concerns mounted over the possibility of strained relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, further denting investors' appetite for risk amid global trade tensions and rising interest rates.

Back home, India share markets have opened the day on negative note. The BSE Sensex is trading down by 409 points while the NSE Nifty is trading down by 113 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index opened the day down by 1.5% & 0.8% respectively.

Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with information technology stocks and capital goods stocks witnessing maximum selling pressure. While, PSU stocks and healthcare stocks have opened the day in green.

The rupee is trading at Rs 73.64 against the US$.

In the latest development, in what comes as a major blow to employees working on an H1B visa in the United States, the Donald Trump-led administration has announced that it would soon announce major changes that will likely change the definition of specialty occupations under H-1B visas.

Furthermore, the new proposals will also revise the definition of employment under this foreign work visa category.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to hire foreign workers for special job posts that require theoretical or technical expertise. The Trump administration is reviewing the H-1B visa policy to ensure that it is not misused by companies to replace American workers.

The latest move, which has been announced as part of the Unified Fall Agenda of the Trump administration, is expected to have a bad impact on Indian IT companies and small and medium-sized contractual IT sector firms running in the country which are mostly owned by Indian Americans.

According to The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is planning to come out with its new proposal by January 2019. It is believed that revising the definition of specialty occupation will help in obtaining the most expertise foreign nationals via the H-1B programme.

The DHS said that making changes in the definition of employment and the employer-employee relationship will help better protect US workers and wages. The regulatory body will also reportedly propose additional requirements to ensure H-1B visa holders are paid appropriate wages by their employers.

In addition, the DHS is planning to remove regulations that make certain H-4 spouses of H-1B non-immigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorization.

The department is also finalizing its interim regulations governing petitions filed on behalf of alien workers subject to the annual numerical limitations applicable to the H1-B non-immigrant classification. The rule will prevent an individual from filing duplicate petitions on behalf of the same alien temporary worker.

Moving on to the news from cement sector. ACC Ltd on Wednesday posted a 15.7% rise in quarterly profit, which fell short of market estimates as expenses rose.

Standalone profit was Rs 2.1 billion (US$28 million) for the third quarter ended September 30, compared with Rs 1.8 billion a year earlier.

Cement sales volume grew 10% to 6.6 million tonnes (MT) in the quarter, while expenses rose 9.8%.

Quarterly sales of the company, which is a unit of the world's largest cement maker, LafargeHolcim Ltd, grew 10% to Rs 33.6 billion.

The company said it will continue to maintain its focus on operating efficiencies to improve performance.

The company expects the demand drivers including growth in affordable and rural housing segments as well as infrastructure projects to remain healthy.

ACC share price opened the day down by 8.1%.

So, if the change in quarterly earnings is a misnomer, what should investors look at?

Well, as per Tanushree Banerjee, Co-head of Research believes that the annual earnings are a better and more normalized picture of the company's performance.

But the market is certainly myopic. There is typically a big contrast between annual earnings performance of companies and the extent to which they find favour amongst investors.

Follow the Quarterly Result Investing Herd at Your Own Risk

Note that, stocks that were beaten down over several quarters did brilliantly after declaring their March 2018 quarter numbers. Even if their 12-month earnings performance was a disappointment. Beware of following such herds.

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

By the way, in our latest edition of the stock market podcast, we have our Research Analyst, Radhika Pandit present a contrary view on PSU sector. She talks about good PSU stocks that you must look at. Listen in... visit SoundCloud, iTunes or Stitcher.

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

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers