Stimulus for MSME, NBFCs fails to lift sentiment; Sensex tanks 886 pts

All that happened in the markets today

4:03 PM

MARKET COMMENT | S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Markets traded weak throughout the day with IT stocks dragging Indices as Gartner predicts IT spend to decline 8 per cent. Automobile stocks led by Maruti staged a smart recovery even as Reliance dragged. 

3:47 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Here's how sectoral indices on NSE performed today

3:44 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Tech Mahindra ends as the biggest loser on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:38 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 886 points or 2.77 per cent to settle at 31,123 while NSE's Nifty ended at 9,143, down 241 points or 2.57 per cent. 

3:13 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Ashok Leyland board approves to Rs 500 cr via NCDs

>>  Board approved the issuance of listed, Secured, Redeemable, Non-convertible Debentures (NCDs), with an aggregate amount upto Rs.300 crore with a green-shoe option of Rs.200 crore on private placement basis, in one or more tranches to certain eligible investors permitted to invest in the NCDs.

3:10 PM

MARKET UPDATE | RIL down around 4%

3:07 PM

FM Sitharaman set to list second set of stimulus measures to boost economy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Thursday announce the second set of measures that are part of a Rs 20 trillion fiscal and monetary package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support India’s economy, which has been battered by a 51-day lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Sitharaman on Wednesday announced measures of nearly Rs 5.94 trillion to provide relief to small businesses, taxpayers, shadow banks, power distribution companies, real estate, organised sector employees, and contractors working with the government. READ MORE

3:02 PM

Trend among Nifty sectoral indices remains largely negative

3:01 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Anand Rathi Shares on Blue Star

We have not revised our estimates after the FY20 results but upgrade the stock to a Buy, with a TP of Rs 626 (25x FY22e EPS of Rs 25) after the fall in the stock price. For FY20-22, we model revenue/PAT registering 12%/28% CAGRs with limited working-capital required. This can result in the RoCE expanding from 20% in FY20 to 24% in FY22. At the CMP of Rs 475, the stock trades at 25x/19x the FY21e/FY22e EPS of Rs 19.4/Rs 25.

 

Risks: Unseasonal rainfall and an extended winter, slowdown in pace of order inflows and in project execution.

2:57 PM

Sensex gainers and losers at this hour

2:48 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Morgan Stanley on Bajaj Finance

RATING: Overweight | Target Price: Rs 2,740

The near term could be volatile, but we think our implied target F22e P/B of 4.0x is justifiable: We cite its 20%+ structural ROE, high structural growth, and the quality and sustainability of its franchise. BAF has demonstrated ability to create new markets over a long period of time with above-industry profitability, great execution, and high-quality, agile, and transparent management.
 

Key risk: continued constraints on economic transactions even in 2HF21 (we assume a weak 1HF21).

2:39 PM

Bharti Infratel extends rally on heavy volumes, surges 30% in 6 days

Shares of Bharti Infratel were trading higher for the sixth straight day, up 7 per cent to Rs 209 on the BSE on Thursday on the back of heavy volumes. The stock of telecom services provider soared 30 per cent in the past six trading days, as compared to a 1.5 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter nearly doubled today with a combined 15.9 million shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE till 02:07 pm. READ MORE

2:29 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE at this hour

2:22 PM

Earnings Alert | Escorts Q4 net profit at Rs 127.9 crore vs Rs 116.7 cr YoY

>> Consolidated revenue at Rs 1,385.7 crore vs Rs 1,649.1 cr YoY

>> Declares dividend of Rs 2.5/share

>> Ebitda at Rs 182.1 cr vs Rs 185 YoY

>> Ebitda margin at 13.1% vs 11.2% YoY

2:19 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: ICICI Securities on MSIL

MSIL has retained its market leadership with 51% market share in passenger vehicle category (FY20). It also possesses healthy B/S with net cash on books > ~| 35,000 crore with core average RoIC placed at healthy ~22%. Prevailing valuations, however, provide little comfort with MSIL currently trading at ~26x P/E on FY22E numbers. Hence, we downgrade the stock to REDUCE valuing MSIL at Rs 4,650 i.e. 24x P/E on FY22E EPS of Rs194.4.

2:18 PM

MARKET AT DAY'S LOW

2:16 PM

Why markets fell around 2% today despite liquidity boost for NBFCs, MSMEs

Equity market came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday even after the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday announced a set of stimulus measures of nearly Rs 5.94 trillion to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and power distribution companies.

 

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked as much as 703 points or over 2 per cent during the day while NSE's Nifty slipped nearly 200 points. On the sectoral front, barring FMCG and pharma, all the indices on the NSE were trading in the negative territory. READ MORE

2:06 PM

Rupee Closing

>> Rupee closes 9 paise weaker at 75.56 per US dollar vs Wednesday's close of 75.47/$

2:04 PM

STOCK ALERT :: Reliance Industries slumps nearly 9% this week

>> With today's fall, the stock has decline 8.6% this week.

1:55 PM

Global trade fell 3% in Q1 of 2020 due to Covid-19; may slide further: UN

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report that the drop in global trade was accompanied by marked decreases in commodity prices, which have fallen precipitously since December last year.

 

The report is a product of cooperation between the international statistics community and national statistical offices and systems around the world, coordinated by UNCTAD. READ MORE

1:50 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Sensex at day's low

1:45 PM

India's window of opportunity for attracting companies is closing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on local manufacturing and supply chain may be a response to the Covid-19 crisis but much before the disease-struck China, India wanted to emulate the Asian manufacturing giant’s industrial prowess.

 

In January 2018, when a trade war broke out between the US and China, the NDA government saw in it an opportunity to push its Make in India programme. READ MORE

1:35 PM

Fall from intra-day high today in BSE500 stocks

COMPANY	DAY'S HIGH(RS)	DAY'S LOW(RS)	LATEST(RS)	FALL(%)
CHALET HOTELS	145.00	127.00	128.70	-11.24
SHRIRAM TRANS.	720.00	654.05	659.70	-8.38
SWAN ENERGY	109.10	97.50	100.80	-7.61
QUESS CORP	188.25	170.50	174.00	-7.57
HATHWAY CABLE	26.65	23.95	24.70	-7.32

1:30 PM

Govt releases truncated April WPI inflation data on 'limited transactions'

The government on Thursday released truncated data for April wholesale price-based inflation saying there was limited transaction of products in the market due to the outbreak of Covid-19. As per the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, wholesale price index (WPI) deflation in primary articles was 0.79 per cent in April, as against inflation of 3.72 per cent in March. READ MORE
 

1:25 PM

Europe trades lower in early trends

1:10 PM

Lupin gains 3% as Vizag API facility receives EIR from USFDA

The pharmaceutical company today announced the receipt of the EIR from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) after closure of the inspection for its Vizag (Vishakhapatnam), India facility. The inspection for the API facility was conducted by the USFDA between January 13, 2020 and January 17, 2020, it said. READ MORE

1:04 PM

UN forecasts Covid-19 to shrink world economy by 3.2%, sharpest since 1930s

In January, before Covid-19 became a pandemic, the UN had forecast a modest acceleration in growth of 2.5 per cent in 2020.

 

But UN chief economist Elliott Harris told a news conference launching the report that the global economic outlook has changed drastically since then, with the pandemic's death toll climbing toward 300,000. READ MORE

12:59 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Pharma stocks trade higher in a weak market

COMPANY	LATEST(rs)	CHG(%)
CADILA HEALTH.	339.45	4.53
GLENMARK PHARMA.	350.20	3.96
BIOCON	339.30	0.59
SUN PHARMA.INDS.	461.00	1.90
CIPLA	570.60	0.07

12:54 PM

Credit guarantee will help to restore the supply chain: Venu Srininvasan

According to him, the large credit guarantee will be a great step to restore the supply chain, augment liquidity and help MSMEs revive the business, which was heavily impacted by the shutdown.

 

“We welcome the comprehensive and highly progressive measures announced by the Finance Minister on Wednesday, injecting much-needed liquidity for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises)," said Srinivasan. READ MORE

12:47 PM

Top losers on BSE at this hour

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	CHG(%)
HATHWAY CABLE	24.65	-7.33
ICICI LOMBARD	1251.90	-5.13
TV18 BROADCAST	21.70	-5.03
GAYATRI PROJECTS	14.93	-4.96
SADBHAV ENGG.	53.80	-4.95