Sensex slips 477 pts from day's high, ends 63 pts lower; IT stocks decline

All that happened in the markets today

4:15 PM

Technical view by Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities

Nifty continued to show lackluster movement today and closed the day on a slightly negative note. A small negative candle was formed that placed beside the similar type of candle of Friday's session. This action indicates a range movement in the last three sessions, after a sharp upside bounce of May 20.

Currently, Nifty is placed at the key overhead resistance of 9,150-9,180 levels in the last few sessions and we observe an emergence of intraday weakness from near the resistance. On the daily chart, we notice a formation of consistent lower highs within a larger range bound movement. Currently, Nifty is making an attempt to form another lower high formation above 9,150 levels.

The formation of hammer type candle pattern on the weekly chart signal that any minor weakness from here could be a buying opportunity in the short term. Immediate supports to be watched at 8,950. A sustainable move above 9,150-9,180 is likely to lift Nifty towards 9,500 levels in the short span of time.

4:04 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

After opening up by more than 1%, benchmark indices pared gains to close flat, with a negative bias. However, global market cues were positive, on the back of additional stimulus measures and slow reopening of economies globally. The unabated rise of infections continues in India, which throws up further uncertainties with regards to extension of lockdown measures. Globally, commodity markets were strong and the metal index outperformed in today’s trade. This was driven partly due to measures announced to support the Chinese economy, which accounts for a major portion of the global demand for metals.

3:48 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Auto, metal stocks rally

3:45 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Losers and gainers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 63 points or 0.21 per cent to end at 30,609 while NSE's Nifty ended at 9,029, down 10 points or 0.11 per cent.

3:20 PM

Astec Life hits 52-wk high as ICRA reaffirms ratings, zooms 84% in 1 month

Shares of Astec LifeSciences hit a 52-week high of Rs 719, up 8 per cent on the BSE on Tuesday after the rating agency ICRA reaffirmed the long-term and short-term outstanding rating of Rs 455 crore line of credit (LOC) of the agrochemicals company. Godrej Agrovet, which is the promoter of the company, currently holds 61.18 per cent stake in the company. READ MORE  

3:07 PM

Fall from intra-day high today in BSE500 stocks

COMPANY	DAY'S HIGH(RS)	DAY'S LOW(RS)	LATEST(RS)	FALL(%)
CERA SANITARY.	2595.00	2165.00	2213.55	-14.70
I O B	8.10	7.10	7.17	-11.48
SADBHAV ENGG.	41.65	37.75	37.75	-9.36
ORIENT REFRAC.	145.85	132.50	134.50	-7.78
ZYDUS WELLNESS	1340.00	1234.00	1237.25	-7.67

2:59 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Maruti Suzuki partners with ICICI Bank to offer flexible EMI financing schemes

 

2:55 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW :: HDFC Institutional Equities on Avenue Supermarts

Maintains 'Sell'; Target price: Rs 1,750

4Q performance was certainly un-DMARTesque as one would’ve hoped D- MART to benefit from excessive hoarding of essentials by consumers during the Covid-19-led lockdown. Bigger disappointment was on the gross margin front as skew of lower margin Food/Non-Food FMCG increased by 670bp to 77.7% (implied) in 4Q. (Signficantly high given just 9 days of lockdown), Adj. EBITDA grew 4.7% to Rs. 3.94bn as lower GM impact trickled down the P&L. Despite this, APAT grew 43% YoY to Rs. 2.9bn. 
 

GMs/EBITDAM are likely to remain under pressure as essentials remain high in revenue mix till June-end (Per channel checks). To add to the woes, DMART may also have to contend with rising cost of retailing as 1. Contract labour comes at a premium and 2. Lower margin DMART Ready sales may inch up during the pandemic. We have cut our FY21 EPS by 11% to factor in lower GMs, we largely maintain FY22 estimates and our SELL recommendation with a DCF-based TP of Rs. 1,750/sh, implying ~35x FY22 EV/EBITDA. Stock currently trades at 77/52x FY21/F22 EV/EBITDA

2:50 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week low on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK LOW	CHG(%)
BAJAJ FIN.	1842.40	1838.00	-2.82
DCB BANK	62.20	58.10	2.89
INDIABULLS INTEG	32.00	32.00	-4.76
NESCO	392.40	381.10	0.62
POWER FIN.CORPN.	75.05	74.60	0.20

2:45 PM

MARKET CHECK | Top 5 gainers on the BSE at this hour

2:43 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW :: HDFC Institutional Equities on Trent

Maintains 'Add'; Target price: Rs 460

Trent, like peers will go through its COVID19 blues, however, its ability to navigate the crisis is strongest in peer set as the retailer remains well capitalized (Rs. 7.24bn of cash/eq). Ergo it remains best-placed to gain market share in the aftermath of the crisis. Note: Trent has already utilized ~Rs. 8/9.5bn raised recently (via Tata Sons). We maintain our ADD RECO with an SOTP-based TP of Rs. 460/sh (earlier: Rs. 490/sh). FY21/22 EBITDA cuts aren’t comparable as we have moved to IND-AS 116 accounting.

2:40 PM

India's first quarter GDP growth likely to be weakest since 2012: Poll

India's economy is likely to have expanded at its slowest pace in at least eight years in the January-March quarter, partly as a result of the coronavirus clampdown. Asia's third-largest economy began slowing last year, but a countrywide lockdown implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 halted economic activity completely, the Reuters reported. READ MORE

2:33 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Vakrangee announces corporate agency tie up with LIC

2:28 PM

SECTOR ALERT :: Pharma stocks under pressure; Index slips 1%

>> Piramal, and Cadila Health, down 3% each, were top laggards on the index.

>> Sun Pharma, Cipla, Aurobindo Phaema, meanwhile, were down 2% each

2:21 PM

Domestic mutual funds increase ownership of Nifty companies in Q4

By March-end, the ownership was marginally lower by 4 bps, at 6.22 per cent. It is 33 bps higher on a YoY basis. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have pulled out $1.7 billion from equity markets in the past fortnight, amid disappointment over the Rs 20-trillion stimulus package. READ MORE

2:14 PM

MARKET CHECK :: Sensex turns negative, slips over 100 pts

2:11 PM

Crompton Consumer: Cost control, market share gains lend comfort

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals' (Crompton Consumer) March 2020 performance, too, showed the impact of Covid-19 led supply disruption. However, profit margin maintained its strong trajectory, improving sequentially due to significant cost control and superior sales-mix. While sustenance of this trend will be eagerly watched, analysts believe Crompton Consumer is better placed compared to peers. READ MORE

1:58 PM

Delay in projects to impact profitability in FY21, says Cochin Shipyard

There were no production activities from March 23, 2020, to May 5, 2020. There has been reduced scale of production in outsourced manpower to a certain extend due to reduced migrant labour availability and restricted work arrangements which has reduced the scale of production.  READ MORE

1:51 PM

STOCK ALERT | Bajaj Finance hits fresh 52-week low of Rs 1,846, down 3% on the BSE

1:41 PM

States' deficit, market borrowings to increase to 4.5% of GDP: Ind-Ra

Ind-Ra said it evaluated the revised estimates for FY20 and FY21 budget estimates of 20 states. Since these states presented their budgets before the Covid-19 induced nation-wide lockdown, the nominal gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth projected for FY20 by respective state governments is mostly upwards of 10 per cent, which in Ind-Ra's opinion is aggressive and unlikely to be realised. READ MORE

1:33 PM

Cement shares rally on gradual pick-up in demand; Birla Corp surges 11%

Birla Corporation, JK Lakshmi Cement and UltraTech Cement were up between 5 per cent and 11 per cent, while Ramco Cements, HeidelbergCement India, ACC, Dalmia Bharat and India Cements were up in the range of 3 per cent to 4 per cent on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.60 per cent at 30,856 points at 12:45 pm. READ MORE

1:27 PM

Lockdown extensions economically disastrous, says Anand Mahindra

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra on Monday said lockdown extensions are not just economically disastrous but also create another medical crisis.

 

While acknowledging that choices are not easy for policy makers, he said a lockdown extension will not help. READ MORE

1:24 PM

European indices open higher

1:18 PM

Sebi okays use of shares in depository account as margin until Aug 31

The markets regulator in February came out with framework on margin obligation to be given by way of pledged or repledged shares in the depository system. READ MORE

1:08 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Reliance Power wins a lawsuit in Indonesian court

>> Reliance Power Netherlands BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Power Limited, has won a lawsuit in the Central Jakarta district court in Indonesia, challenging the validity of Singapore arbitration award favouring Reliance Power.

>> As per the said Singapore arbitration award, arbitrators had ordered Kokos Jiang (earlier Known as Kokos Leo Lim) and Prestige Capital Holdings Limited, Seychelles to pay Reliance Power Netherlands BV a sum of US $ 43.2 Million along with default interest. 

>> The total dues payable by Kokos Jiang and Prestige Capital stand at  $68 million. Reliance Power is on track to execute the award for a sum of US$ 68 Million (Rs. 510 Crore) during FY 2020-21. 

(Via BSE filing)

1:01 PM

SECTOR ALERT :: Nifty IT index trades weak; TCS, NIIT Tech top drags

12:52 PM

BROKERAGE RADAR:: Edelweiss Securities on Essel Propack

Essel Propack (EPL) reported a slight contraction of 0.7% YoY in Q4FY20 revenue (5% below estimates) owing to the COVID-19 impact in China and India. But Europe continued its strong showing, up 15.7% YoY. The overall margin improvement continues with EBITDA margin improving 114bps YoY to 22.2%, leading to 5% YoY EBITDA growth. For FY20, revenue rose 2% (pro forma up 3.9%) and EBITDA 10.8%. In line with its mission of capital efficiency, EPL turned in a 138bps YoY increase in RoCE to 18.4%. However, with the AMESA and EAP regions in the grip of the slowdown, we are cutting FY21/22 sales growth by 9%/10% and EPS by 14/9%. That said, taking cognisance of sustainable margin improvement across geographies with capital-efficient growth, we retain the target 9.2x Q2FY22E EV/EBITDA, yielding a TP of Rs 170 (Rs186 earlier). Maintain ‘HOLD’, as we await a revival of momentum in overall sales. 

12:50 PM

From Nestle India to Maruti Suzuki, impact of Covid-19 on earning estimates

The coronavirus pandemic has spared none, not even the best. But, a look at the manufacturing and services sector companies that are a part of S&P BSE 200 index, and which have declared their March quarter results so far, shows that a handful have in fact seen their earnings estimate for 2020-21 getting upgraded by analysts, or have seen a marginal cut. READ MORE

12:41 PM

HNIs turn to low-return products; tax-free bonds, FDs preferred choices

Risk-averse wealthy investors, who have pulled out money from credit-risk funds, are looking at a number of alternatives in the debt segment, notwithstanding the lower post-tax returns.

 

The options range from tax-free bonds, bank fixed deposits, and RBI 7.75 per cent savings bonds for the ultra-conservative to gilt funds, corporate bond funds, banking and PSU funds, and sovereign bond funds for others. READ MORE