MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 1,189 pts from day's high; financials, autos fall

All that happened in the markets today

3:51 PM

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

3:45 PM

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

3:39 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex lost 310 points or 1 per cent to 30,380 levels while Nifty ended at 8,925 levels, down 68.55 points or 0.76 per cent. 

3:23 PM

Covid-19 crisis: PM, FM to finalise details of second stimulus package soon

The stimulus package is expected anytime this week and will be aimed at the urban and rural poor; disadvantaged sections of society; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and some of the worst-affected sectors.
 

Late last month, Sitharaman had announced a Rs 1.7 trillion stimulus package, which included measures like free foodgrain and direct cash transfers for targeted beneficiaries, and an increase in wages under the employment guarantee programme. READ MORE

3:23 PM

MARKET UPDATE | As many as 349 stocks were locked in upper circuit on the BSE

-- The list includes names such as PVR, Info Edge India, Aavas Financials, HEG, Venky's India, Wockhardt, Graphite India and Heritage Foods

3:18 PM

Emkay Global's top bets in Engineering & Capital Goods sector

■    L&T: Despite worrying near-term outlook, we believe that the long-term outlook for L&T remains promising on strong balance sheet and technical competence across segments; past track record suggests that L&T often gains market share in a difficult macro environment as weaker players collapse.

 

■    Cummins India: We are structurally positive on domestic Powergen and Industrial segments, backed by the underpenetrated power back-up market, demand visibility from metro projects, airports and data centers.

 

■    KNR Constructions and PNC Infratech: KNR and PNC are among the few construction companies that have maintained an asset-light approach and yet a focused strategy to bid for projects in their geographical focus areas, thereby generating consistent OCF/FCF.

3:18 PM

MARKET VOICE

3:17 PM

ICICI Securities on agri sector

Top long-term trends in agriculture sector: (1) larger companies likely to gain market share from smaller players; (2) acceleration in mechanisation and higher usage of products that reduce dependence on labour; (3) lower consumption of meat products in India as well as lower exports of shrimp (organised players like Godrej Agrovet to gain market share); (4) farming of essentials (foodgrains) remains largely unaffected while perishables (horticulture) and non-essentials (cotton and jute) are negatively impacted; (5) opening-up of opportunity to export agrochemicals and gain market in the global agrochemical market; and (6) increase in costs due to additional safety measures (masks, hand gloves, sanitisers etc) for labour.

Beneficiaries: Kaveri, Godrej Agrovet

Potentially negatively impacted companies: Avanti

3:16 PM

HDFC Securities on FMCG sector

The impact from Covid-19 on the FMCG sector will be sharper on revenues for cos in 4Q, despite many essential categories have witnessed pre-buying at offtake level in Mar. Lockdown has impacted transportations and channel filling opportunities for the quarter. Trade inventory has reduced for most categories. Lockdown of the last 12 days will impact revenues by 13-15% for the qtr for most cos. Channel filling benefits will add to FY21 revenues (~3%).

3:15 PM

COMMENT :: CARE Ratings on WPI numbers

Food prices may remain high in April with supply shortages and stocking activities by the households during the lockdown period and are expected to remain at elevated levels during summer season. Future trajectory will be based on return of normalcy in the economic activities and arrival of monsoon.

3:11 PM

China's Wuhan to fully resume rail, flight and freight ops by end-April: reports Reuters

The vice mayor of Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, said on Wednesday the city aimed to fully resume rail, flight and freight operations by the end of April after a more than two-month lockdown was lifted earlier this month.

3:04 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: ICICI Securities on Motherson Sumi

Going forward, over FY20-22E, we expect sales, EBITDA, PAT CAGR of 4.6%, 13.2% & 21.3%, respectively. We value MSSL at Rs 68 i.e. 12x P/E on FY22 EPS of Rs 5.7. We maintain our HOLD rating on the stock. We retain preference for domestic-facing businesses amid ongoing tough business conditions globally and remain cautious on MSSL courtesy the complexity of business operations in terms of geographical spread and forex risk.

3:03 PM

Germany plunges into recession; virus-induced slump may last until mid-year

Europe's economic powerhouse Germany plunged into recession in March, with the slump sparked by the coronavirus pandemic likely to last until the middle of the year, the economy ministry said Wednesday. "Falling global demand, interruption of supply chains, changes in consumers' behaviour and uncertainty among investors" had all made themselves felt in the export giant, the ministry said. READ MORE

2:50 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
CIPLA	582.10	614.05	-1.79
DR REDDY'S LABS	3824.55	3893.95	2.14
SANOFI INDIA	7615.00	8215.00	5.53
SUN PHARMA.INDS.	450.00	488.40	-2.62

2:46 PM

Contribution to the S&P BSE Sensex's fall

2:43 PM

TCS Q4 preview: Covid-19 pandemic to hit most verticals; deal ramp up key

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is scheduled to release its financial results for the March quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20 (Q4FY20) on Thursday. Analysts see some erosion in the company's revenue due to the nationwide lockdown that kickstarted in March. Further, owing to Covid-19 impact, which has led to a steep negative impact on the macroeconomy, they expect headwinds in most of its verticals. READ MORE

2:32 PM

European indices slip in early trade

2:29 PM

SECTOR WATCH : FMCG stocks hold gains in a weak market

2:27 PM

Heatmap: S&P BSE Sensex gainers and losers at this hour

2:26 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee closes 17 paise lower at an all-time low of 76.45 against US dollar vs Monday's close of 76.27

2:17 PM

Nifty Bank index leading the losses, down 1,000 points from day's high

2:06 PM

MARKET CHECK :: Sensex down 1,000 pts from day's high

2:05 PM

Strong outlook, attractive valuations driving Glenmark's bounce back

Glenmark stock's under performance to other peers till March had been attributed to high debt. Analysts at CLSA had said that the worst returns have been from leveraged companies like Aurobindo and Glenmark. However, post steep correction, the valuations had become very attractive and domestic growth remains on a strong footing. Domestic sales in December quarter (Q3) were up by 18 per cent year-on-year propelled by launch of a diabetes product, as compared to 13-15 per cent during the first two quarters of FY20. Analysts anticipate the company’s domestic sales growth in March quarter to be ahead of Indian Pharma market growth. READ MORE

2:00 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: ICICI Securities on ZEE Entertainment

Although the investment in SugarBox pushes Zee’s digital reach, we believe it is ill-timed considering it is not in the company’s core operations and given the already existing cash flow woes. Also, the break-even period is longer. Hence, we remain cautious on the SugarBox investment by Zee Entertainment. Zee’s inventory and related party receivables remain high. We maintain HOLD with a target price of Rs 150, valuing it at 8x FY22E P/E.

1:51 PM

Gold, equities show unusual sync in March; nosedive, recover at same times

Gold and global equities don’t usually move in tandem, but these are not usual times. The two assets — one a traditional haven and the other a classic risk-on bet — had an inverse correlation for most of last year, but as investors navigate the fallout from the coronavirus, they’ve started to move more in sync. READ MORE

1:43 PM

Bharti Airtel surpasses HDFC to become 5th most valuable listed company

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday became the fifth most valuable listed company in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap) after the stock surged 16 per cent during the past three days on expectation of good Q4 earnings. The telecom service provider has surpassed mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). READ MORE

1:24 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Monsoon to hit Kerala on June 1: IMD

1:18 PM

NEWS ALERT :: El nino not to impact monsoon: IMD

>> Current prediction for June-Sept period

>> Next update during last week of May

1:14 PM

Fertiliser stocks gain as IMD says India to have normal monsoon

COMPANY NAME	LATEST	HIGH	LOW	CHG (rs)	CHG(%)	VALUE (rs CR)	VOLUME
R C F	39.75	40.95	36.60	5.20	15.05	2.80	704620
NATL.FERTILIZER	25.80	26.35	24.70	2.20	9.32	0.42	160874
CHAMBAL FERT.	131.50	137.70	122.20	11.80	9.86	1.87	142150
G N F C	142.45	144.65	133.95	10.80	8.20	1.95	136939
G S F C	45.60	45.90	43.00	3.35	7.93	0.46	101006
F A C T	44.75	45.35	40.45	6.90	18.23	0.38	84092

1:10 PM

NEWS ALERT :: 9% probability that India will gave deficient monsoon: IMD