MARKET: Sensex surges 1,028 pts, oil & gas stocks rally; India VIX down 10%

All that happened in the markets today

4:07 PM

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

"Mirroring positive global market, Indian markets also reacted positively on the last day of the financial year. Almost all sectoral indices were up & volatility index was also down by 10%. Chinese economic data, Industrial production numbers improved and helped the global momentum, especially in Metals, Pharma and FMCG. FII selling also slowed down over the last 2 days, although that may not be sustainable. The performance of global market will be the key driver for Indian market in the near-term".

3:55 PM

Sectoral gainers and losers on the NSE

3:50 PM

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

3:40 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 1,028 points or 3.62 per cent to end at 29,468.49 while NSE's Nifty50 ended at 8,598, up 317 points or 3.82 per cent. 29,468.49

3:25 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: ICICI Securities on VST Tillers Tractors

The VST Tillers & Tractors stock witnessed a sharp re-rating tracking the weak P&L performance and consequent deterioration of return ratios in the recent past. Return ratios for VST have corrected from consistent 20%+ RoCE levels seen till FY18 to 11.5% in FY19. With limited margin improvement guidance, we foresee return ratios remaining below 10%, which is below our comfortable range. VST is a net cash positive company (cash & investments on books at ~ Rs 150 crore) but its incremental spend on new product development catering to the >15 hp crowded tractor space erodes our margin of safety on the stock. We assign a HOLD rating to VST, valuing the company at Rs 660 i.e. 12.5x P/E on FY22E numbers. We will wait for an improvement in financials before any meaningful change in our stance.

3:18 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:09 PM

SpiceJet announces 10-30% cut in March salary for all employees

 Budget carrier SpiceJet has decided to cut 10-30 per cent salary of all its employees in March, with Chairman Ajay Singh opting for highest 30 per cent trimming in compensation, the airline said in an e-mail communication to the staff on Tuesday. "SpiceJet management has decided to implement a pay cut between 10-30 per cent in March across our employee base. Our Chairman and Managing Director (Ajay singh), in fact, has opted for the highest cut of 30 per cent in compensation," the airline said in the communication. READ MORE

3:03 PM

MARKET UPPDATE:: Broader indices underpeform benchmarks

3:02 PM

Maruti Suzuki India chairman on challenges, price hike after BS-VI shift

Amid the nationwide lockdown to check the Covid-19 spread, India will quietly transition to BS-VI, the most stringent emission standard for the automobile industry anywhere in the world. R C Bhargava, chairman of Maurti Suzuki India, speaks to Arindam Majumder about the learning, challenges, and scope of a price hike in a bruised economy. READ INTERVIEW HERE

2:56 PM

Heatmap: S&P BSE Sensex at this hour

2:55 PM

MARKET ALERT :: India VIX slumps 11%

2:54 PM

BUZZING STOCKS:: SAIL zooms 13%

2:50 PM

NEWS ALERT | ANMI requests SEBI to curtail market hours from 10 am to 2 pm on account of the nationwide lockdown on safety of their staff due to COVID-19 outbreak

2:49 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week lows today in an otherwise strong market

2:37 PM

MARKETS IN FY20

>> S&P BSE Sensex tumbles 24%

>> NSE's Nifty slumps 29% 

>> MidCap index down 37%

>> SmallCap Index falls 48%

>> Nifty Pharma index down 14%

>> Nifty Metal index slides 52%

>> BSE Oil and Gas index tanks 20%

>> Nifty Auto index tanks 44%

2:29 PM

NEWS ALERT

2:23 PM

MARKET CHECK | Metal stocks rally

2:18 PM

European shares inch higher but set for worst quarter since 2002: Reuters

European stocks inched higher on Tuesday with investors buying into defensive sectors as they awaited further signs that the economy could weather the fallout from a near total global shutdown to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 1.1% at 0706 GMT, with real estate stocks .SX86P, utilities .SX6P and telecoms .SXKP — usually considered stable during heightened volatility — adding between 0.9% and 1.5%.

 

Still, the benchmark index was set to end its worst quarter since 2002, with investor confidence far from stable amid a rout that erased more than $3 trillion from the value of European firms in just over a month.

2:17 PM

Venky's trades near 2-week high

2:07 PM

MARKET ALERT :: Indices near day's high

2:02 PM

NEWS ALERT :: KPIT Tech promoter releases pledge on 35.25 lakh shares (1.29% equity) on March 27

1:54 PM

European markets open higher

1:45 PM

FMCG shares in focus; Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India near record highs

Shares of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies gained on Tuesday with Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) ralliying up to 5 per cent in intra-day trade as analysts see limited impact on the sector due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Both these stocks are trading close to their respective record high levels on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). READ MORE

1:43 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW :: CITI ON NBFCs

>> We lower our loan growth estimate to 11% YoY for FY21E and raise our credit-cost forecast to 140bps for our NBFC coverage, factoring in significantly reduced business activity in 1H FY21 and some normalization in 2H. Our earnings fall 7-35% across our NBFC coverage, leading to aggregate ROEs of 13% / 16% in FY21E / 22E.

>> We cut our earnings by 7-35% for companies across our coverage, leading to an aggregate ROEs of 13% / 16% in FY21E / 22E. We assume a constrained

economic activity for a couple of months, followed by gradual normalization. The cuts are smaller for housing financiers given the relatively less churn in the book

and low credit costs, and higher for vehicle / real estate financiers as growth and asset quality are likely to be adversely impacted.

>> Upgrade Bajaj Finance, Aavas and Piramal to Buys. Our top picks in India’s NBFC sector are HDFC Ltd and Bajaj Finance.

1:34 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Cyient’s Mysore facility to support manufacturing of Covid-19 diagnosis units and X-ray system assemblies

>> Company has received clearance for its Mysore facility to run its MedTech manufacturing lines to support the production of medical equipment that is critical in the fight against COVID-19.

>> Cyient is producing assemblies that are used in X-ray generators from GE Healthcare and diagnosis units from Molbio Diagnostics to enable rapid disease testing in India. 

 

1:25 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW :: CLSA ON PHARMA SECTOR

>> Indian pharma companies outperformed the Nifty by 16%-40% in March. With concern of a slowdown emerging, pharma offers stable revenue/profit streams from a secure domestic market along with a gradually improving outlook for exports. Pertinently, it provides secure and visible earnings growth in uncertain times.

>> We upgrade Cipla from SELL to BUY with a target of Rs480 (from Rs410). We also upgrade Lupin from SELL to O-PF with a revised target of Rs660 (from Rs 600) as its valuation is pricing in an absolute bear case scenario—only the value of its domestic business.

>> Our top four BUY ideas are Sun, Cipla, Cadila and Abbott India.
 

>> Headwinds from weak EM demand and currencies (building spot currency for FY21-22) should be partly negated by a stronger US$ (bake in US$:Rs at 72 for FY21-22CL from 70). We tweak our FY20-22CL earnings estimates for the sector by 2%-3% and revise our target prices accordingly. Pharma sector demand is unlikely to be affected, and production by companies should continue unabated as being classified as an essential commodity isolates 

1:25 PM

Currency watch :: Option strategy for exporters

Buy Put 75.50 strike @0.60 paise

Sell Call 77.0 strike @0.44 paise

Net premium to be paid: 16 paise

 

Below are the different scenarios for the April 2020 expiry.

 

Case I: IF the USDINR pair expires below 75.50 on maturity, then the hedged rate for exporters will be 75.34.

 

Case II: IF the USDINR pair expires between 75.50 - 77.00 on maturity, then the net realization rate will be at the spot rate minus premium paid. I.e. If the pair expires at 76.50 on maturity, the net realization rate would 76.50 – 0.16 (premium paid) = 76.34.

 

Case III: IF the USDINR pair expires above 77.00 on maturity, then the upside rate for the exporters will be locked at 76.84 which is far better than current forward rate (75.65).

(Source: IFA Global report)

1:11 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Indian Oil Corp to dig 21 oil wells in Assam: TV reports

1:07 PM

BSE Oil & Gas index zooms over 7%; HPCL jumps 14%, BPCL surges over 11%

Shares of oil and gas companies surged up to 14 per cent in the intra-day trade on Tuesday as crude oil prices remained near 18-year lows amid demand destruction fears due to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. At 12:40 am, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index was trading around 7.5 per cent higher at 9,907 levels with all the constituents trading in the green. READ MORE

12:55 PM

March Auto Sales Expectations :: Emkay Global Financial Services