Muhurat trading: Sensex, Nifty off to a positive start

All BSE sectoral indices were in the green, led by auto, consumer durables, bankex and oil and gas.

Market benchmark BSE Sensex rallied 359 points to 60,131 in the opening trade of the special Muhurat session on Thursday to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2078.

The 30-share index was trading higher by 358.92 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 60,130.84 in the first few minutes of trade.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 108.50 points or 0.61 per cent to 17,937.40.

All BSE sectoral indices were in the green, led by auto, consumer durables, bankex and oil and gas.

Brokers said buying activity gathered momentum as investors opened their books on the first session of Samvat 2078.

All Sensex stocks were trading in the positive zone.

M&M led the gainers’ pack, spurting 2.76 per cent, followed by ITC, Kotak Bank, L&T, SBI, Bajaj Auto and Nestle India.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 401.48 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors bought to the tune of Rs 195.55 crore, as per exchange data.

Watch Governor Andrew Bailey speak after the Bank of England holds rates

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Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is giving a press conference after the bank's latest monetary policy decision.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to keep the Bank Rate unchanged at its historic low of 0.1%. Sterling fell sharply following the announcement.

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Lexington Realty Q3 Results Top View; Raises FY21 Adj. FFO Outlook – Quick Facts

Lexington Realty Trust (LXP) reported Thursday that third-quarter funds from operations or FFO increased to $40.28 million or $0.14 per share from last year’s $71.36 million or $0.25 per share.

Adjusted Company FFO for the quarter was $53.6 million, or $0.19 per share, compared to $53.8 million, or $0.19 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Net income attributable to common shareholders was $5.03 million or $0.02 per share, sharply lower than last year’s $40.29 million or $0.15 per share.

On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.02 per share for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Total gross revenues for the quarter edged down to $83.41 from $84.51 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected revenues of $81.85 million for quarter.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2021, Lexington now projects earnings in a range of $0.52 to $0.55 per share and adjusted Company FFO in a range of $0.75 to $0.78 per share.

Previously, the company expected earnings in a range of $0.65 to $0.68 per share and adjusted Company FFO in a range of $0.74 to $0.77 per share.

The Street is looking for earnings of $0.42 per share for the year.

LXP also declared a 11.6 percent higher regular quarterly common share/unit dividend/distribution for the quarter ending December 31, 2021 of $0.12 per common share/unit, payable on January 18, 2022 to common shareholders/unitholders of record as of December 31, 2021.

Keon Lincoln: Gunman and three other teens guilty of murdering schoolboy

A 14-year-old gunman and three other teenagers aged between 16 and 18 have been found guilty of murdering schoolboy Keon Lincoln.

Roku Down As Q3 Revenue Misses View, Q4 Outlook Below Consensus

Shares of video streaming company Roku, Inc. (ROKU) are down 4 percent on Thursday’s trading as the company posted third-quarter revenues, which missed the Street view. Roku also announced fourth-quarter revenue outlook below analysts estimates.

The company posted third-quarter net income of $69.0 million or $0.48 per share, higher than $12.9 million or $0.09 per share in the same period last year. Analysts were looking for earnings per share of $0.06 for the quarter.

During the three-month period, total net revenues rose to $679.9 million from $451.7 million a year ago, while analysts were looking for revenues of $683.4 million in the quarter.

For the fourth quarter, Roku forecast net revenue between $885 million and $900 million. The analysts’ consensus is for sales of $944.3 million.

Currently at $299.02, the stock has traded between $207.50 and $490.76 during the past 52 weeks.

Penn National Gaming Slips 13% As Q3 Profit Misses Street View

Shares of casino company Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN) are trading down 13 percent on Thursday as the company posted lower profit in the third quarter, which came in below analysts estimates.

The company’s profit totaled $86.1 million or $0.52 per share in the three-month period, lower than $141.9 million or $0.93 per share last year, while analysts were looking for the company to earn $0.89 per share.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 33.6 percent to $1.51 billion from $1.13 billion last year.

Currently at $63.52, the stock has traded between $58.62 and $142.0 during the past 52 weeks.

Will Skillz Continue To Slide On Wider Loss?

Skillz Inc. (SKLZ) shares are sliding on Thursday morning trade after the company reported a wider-than-expected net loss for the third quarter.

Further, the company affirmed its full-year 2021 revenue guidance of $389 million, inclusive of Aarki.

The company reported net loss of $62.82 million or $0.16 per share, wider than $42.85 million or $0.14 per share last year. Wall Street analysts were looking for net loss of $0.14 per share.

The mobile games platform said it closed an investment in Exit Games to accelerate the timeline to support multiplayer synchronous racing, shooting, and fighting games.

Currently, shares are at $11.42, down 8.34 percent from the previous close of $12.46 on a volume of 17,843,890. For the 52-week period, the shares have traded in a range of $7.97-$46.30 on average volume of 17,572,806.