Closing Bell: Sensex cracks 355 points, Nifty nearly 1% lower as indices join global sell-off; bank, realty sectors tank

Nifty Realty falls nearly 2%; DLF, IB Realty drag the index##Nifty Realty falls nearly 2%; DLF, IB Realty drag the index

Sectoral Trend: All sectors end in red##Sectoral Trend: All sectors end in red

Top gainers and losers on Nifty50 for today: IOC up 4.7%, Zee down 4.2%##Top gainers and losers on Nifty50 for today: IOC up 4.7%, Zee down 4.2%

Closing Bell: Sensex cracks 355 points, Nifty holds 11,350; Jet Airways surges 9% on reports##Closing Bell: Sensex cracks 355 points, Nifty holds 11,350; Jet Airways surges 15% on reports

Indian benchmark indices fell on Monday tracking Asian peers, dragged by banking stocks as fears of a recession in the United States intensified. The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 37,808, down 355 points, while the broader NSE Nifty50 ended at 11,354, falling 102 points. Nifty slipped nearly 1 percent in its biggest daily loss since Jan​uary 28. Meanwhile, in the broader markets, Nifty MidCap slipped 0.7 percent and the Nifty Smallcap declined 1.5 percent.

Zee, Vedanta, Bharti Infratel, JSW Steel, and Tata Motors were the worst performers on Nifty50, while, ONGC, IOC, Coal India, HPCL, and PowerGrid gained the most on the index. Nifty Bank slipped for a second straight session, falling nearly 1 percent, with ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank and Federal Bank slipping up to 2 percent. Oil marketing companies snapped three sessions of losses as crude oil prices fell with IOC rising nearly 5 percent and HPCL and BPCL adding 2.4 and 1.4 percent, respectively. Jet Airways surged 15 percent post reports of Naresh Goyal & Anita Goyal stepping down from the board. 

Share price of Karnataka Bank fell 3.7 percent intraday Monday after company reported a fraud of Rs 13.26 crore to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).##Share price of Karnataka Bank fell 3.7 percent intraday Monday after company reported a fraud of Rs 13.26 crore to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Breaking: Jet Airways’ Naresh Goyal & Anita Goyal step down from board, say sources##Breaking: Jet Airways’ Naresh Goyal & Anita Goyal step down from board, say sources

Jet Airways gain over 8% on reports that Naresh Goyal & Anita Goyal will step down from board##Jet Airways gain over 8% on reports that Naresh Goyal & Anita Goyal will step down from board

India likely to benefit as central bank policy ‘put’ resurfaces, writes B Prasanna##India likely to benefit as central bank policy ‘put’ resurfaces, writes B Prasanna

The onset of 2019 has brought a different set of challenges for the global risk environment. While on one side, benign rates offer significant tailwind for market risk-on sentiment, on the other side, the possibility of significant growth scare has created headwinds for the sentiment. Even as market participants still grapple with this dilemma, systemic central banks, most notably the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Fed have opened up their cards quite unexpectedly.

First, let's look at how the Fed managed to surprise the markets. While the expectation was for a downward shift of the median of the dot plot from two hikes in 2019 to one, the actual outcome was for a more cheerful pause for the entire 2019 with as many as nine incremental Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members changing their view. READ MORE

New twist in Ericsson-RCom feud: Swedish telecom firm may be asked to refund Rs 576 crore##New twist in Ericsson-RCom feud: Swedish telecom firm may be asked to refund Rs 576 crore

After initial celebrations on receipt of settlement amount from Reliance Communications (RCom), there could be fresh worries for Swedish telecom equipment supplier Ericsson in the form of potential demand for refunding from the Anil Ambani company. The Supreme Court (SC) on February 20 had directed RCom to pay Rs 576 crore to Ericsson by March 19 or risk letting the Anil Ambani, the chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, face a three-month jail term.

Subsequently, RCom had moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking to utilise income tax refunds of Rs 260 crore, lying with State Bank of India (SBI), for repaying Ericsson. Over the course of the NCLAT hearing, on March 13, the chairman of the appellate tribunal, J Mukhopadhyay, had observed that even if RCom pays the settlement sum to Ericsson, if Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) proceedings are allowed by NCLAT, the amount will have to be refunded by Ericsson to RCom. READ MORE

FY19 market report card: Over 300 stocks in BSE 500 in red, 3 gave over 100% returns

REC hits 52-week high as PFC acquires government stake in company; PFC rallies 7%##REC hits 52-week high as PFC acquires government stake in company; PFC rallies 7%

Shares of REC and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) rallied in the intra-day trade on Monday after PFC announced the acquisition of the government's 52.63 percent paid-up share capital in REC. The total acquisition cost of about Rs 14,500 crore.REC hit a 52-week high of Rs 155, up 10 percent on the BSE post this development while PFC rose as much as 7.2 percent to 121.40 in intra-day deals on the BSE.

Bajaj Finance gained 67 percent in last one year despite IL&FS crisis##Bajaj Finance gained 67 percent in last one year despite IL&FS crisis

Financial services company Bajaj Finance has risen the most among NBFCs in the last one year, gaining 67 percent since last March. The gain is significant considering the September IL&FS liquidity crisis, which led to most HFC and NBFC stocks slipping over 50 percent immediately, with DHFL still struggling to recover. So far this month, Bajaj Finance has risen 6.50 percent as compared to Sensex and Nifty, which surged only 5.33 percent and 5.12 percent, respectively. READ MORE

"I am not an inside trader," says Rajat Gupta, admits doing business with Raja Rajaratnam was a mistake

Don't see SIP flows falling off in the next fiscal, says L&T Investment Management##Don't see SIP flows falling off in the next fiscal, says L&T Investment Management

March is likely to mark the fifth month of lower equity mutual fund flows. While SIPs have remained steady till February, the flows do not look that great. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Kailash Kulkarni, Chief Executive, L&T Investment Management and Vishal Kapoor, CEO of IDFC AMC, spoke at length about what this declining trend means for the market and investors. Kapoor said that traditionally March tends to be a soft month for fixed income, however, he said so far we have seen positive flows this month. READ MORE

Maruti, M&M good buying opportunities at current levels, says Prabhudas Lilladher##Maruti, M&M good buying opportunities at current levels, says Prabhudas Lilladher

Auto majors like Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra are good buying opportunities at current levels, said Ajay Bodke of Prabhudas Lilladher, adding that the house is positive on the auto space from a medium-term perspective. However, he advised to be cautious on two-wheelers. With regards to consumer durables, he said one needs to be very selective and can allocate capital towards some of the leading names. "Crompton Consumer and Havells look good," he said. READ MORE