Market Movers: IRCTC, Kotak Bank, SBI, Airtel on a high; HUL, Wipro slip

IRCTC shares hit another lifetime high on Friday, jumping 7 per cent, ahead of Saturday’s Union Budget. Investors rejoiced the settlement between RBI and Kotak Mahindra Bank, and gave the stock a 4 per cent lift. Dragged by RIL, BSE Sensex fell 190 points to 40,723 while Nifty slipped 73 points to 11962.

“Weakness appears to be creeping into the market steadily, as all eyes are on the Union Budget. The strategy should be to buy deep out-of-the-money options so that the loss is minimal,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Senior Vice-President, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities.

Here is a lowdown on the movers and shakers of Friday’s session:

Kirloskar Oil net up 14%
Kirloskar Oil Engines posted 14.29 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 46.36 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019. The stock fell 1.69 per cent to Rs 145.

Infy data privacy standard certificate
Infosys has been awarded the accredited certification on ISO 27701, the international standard on data privacy, by Bureau Veritas Certification (BVC). The share price of the company dipped 0.49 per cent to Rs 776.35.

V-Guard profit jumps 30%
Consumer electricals maker V-Guard Industries on Friday reported 29.77 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 44.24 crore for December quarter 2019-20, helped by improvement in gross margins. Shares of the company jumped 0.94 per cent to Rs 225.05.

SBI asset quality improves
SBI on Friday posted 41.17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in standalone profit at Rs 5,583.36 crore for the quarter ended December 31. The company said its asset quality also improved substantially. The stock rose 2.53 per cent to Rs 318.

Arvind profit at Rs 35 crore
Textile major Arvind reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 35.35 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019. The stock closed 0.71 per cent higher at Rs 42.85.

Vedanta working on Ferro Alloys
Vedanta said it is implementing a resolution plan for acquisition of Ferro Alloys Corporation (FACOR) and the upfront amount will be paid to the financial creditors of FACOR. Shares of Vedanta fell 2.13 per cent to Rs 137.95

Airtel out of DEL
Bharti Airtel said its name has now been removed from the denied entry list (DEL) for non-fulfilment of export obligation under an export promotion scheme. Shares of the company jumped 1.46 per cent to Rs 496.

Wipro CEO to step down
IT services major Wipro said its CEO Abidali Z Neemuchwala has decided to step down, and the company's board has started scouting for his successor. Wipro Shares fell 1.66 per cent to Rs 236.80.

Majesco to acquire InsPro
The US arm of IT solutions firm Majesco has inked a pact for acquisition of InsPro Technologies Corporation for $12 million (approximately Rs 85.7 crore). Shares of the company rose 0.88 per cent to Rs 391.55.

NTPC Khargone unit to operate from Feb 1
State-run power producer NTPC said unit-1 of Khargone Super Thermal Power Station in Madhya Pradesh will start commercial operation from February 1. The stock slipped 0.62 per cent.

BoB signs pact with CARE Ratings
State-owned Bank of Baroda has signed a pact with Care Ratings to assess credit quality of its small and medium enterprises (SME) customers. Shares of the lender slipped 0.43 per cent to Rs 92.65. Shares of the rating agency fell 0.55 per cent to Rs 656.30.

IRCTC hits record high
Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hit another life-high on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Union Budget. The stock jumped 6.76 per cent to Rs 1,212.

HUL net jumps 12%
Hindustan Unilever, post market hours, reported 12 per cent year-on-year rise in standalone profit at Rs 1,616 crore for the December quarter compared with Rs 1,444 crore in the same quarter last year. Earlier in the day, the scrip fell 1.18 per cent to Rs 2,034.

Power Grid falls 4%
Shares of Power Grid Corporation fell 3.86 per cent to Rs 186.90 ahead of its Q3 result. The company later posted nearly 14 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,672.03 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2019, mainly on higher revenues.

Aurobindo partner receives nod
Aurobindo Pharma said its joint venture firm Eugia Pharma Specialities has received approval from the US health regulator to market Methotrexate tablet, used to treat various types of cancer, in the US market. Shares of the drug firm gained 0.22 per cent to Rs 481.

TechM profit dips 5%
Tech Mahindra on Friday posted 4.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,145.9 crore for the quarter ended December 31. The stock closed 0.51 per cent up at Rs 795.

Kotak biggest Sensex gainer
Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 3.87 per cent to Rs 1,691.05 after RBI in-principle accepted the promoters’ voting right in the bank to be capped to 20 per cent until March 31, 2020. This resulted in the end of tussle between the regulator and the bank.

Jubilant Life net falls
Jubilant Life Sciences reported a 23.97 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 203.38 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2019. Shares of the company shed 3.55 per cent to Rs 581.95.

Smallcaps end flat
Nifty Smallcap fares better than its peers and closed 0.01 per cent lower at 6,226. Nifty Midcap index slipped 0.65 per cent to 18,010 while Nifty500 fell 0.58 per cent to 9,861.

RIL drags Sensex
Reliance Industries proved the biggest drag on Sensex, bleeding 92.86 points. TCS and ICICI Bank were other major culprits as they together shed 100 points. Kotak Mahindra Bank with an addition of 70 points helped the index cap losses.