MARKET WRAP: Sensex trims losses, ends 12 pts down; Nifty closes at 11,194

All that happened in the markets today

4:07 PM

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

"In spite of negative global cues and profit booking at the beginning of trade, Indian indices overcame a negative start to finally end the day flat with a negative bias. Reliance Industries stock performance boosted the benchmark indices and helped limit further losses, while financials led the losses. The record virus infections in India have also unsettled investors, with its related delay in business and earnings recovery. Global markets were also affected on account of rising US-China tensions. Markets head into the weekend with this uncertainty in mind, after a quid pro quo from the Chinese government. Any further developments in this front will impact trade for next week".

3:44 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Nifty IT ends in the red

3:43 PM

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

3:41 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended flat at 38,129, down 12 points while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,194, down 21 points or 0.19 per cent.

3:25 PM

RIL surges 5% to hit fresh record high; market-cap crosses Rs 14 trillion

Shares of Reliance Industries hit a fresh record high of Rs 2,163, up 5 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, after media reports said Amazon.com Inc is in talks to buy a 9.9 per cent stake in the company’s retail arm. With today’s gain, the stock has rallied nearly 150 per cent in the past three months from Rs 867, touched on March 23, 2020. READ MORE 

3:13 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Centrum Broking on HDFC AMC

HDFC AMC Q1FY21 earnings were largely in-line. Revenues at Rs 4.1bn missed estimates, led by a sharp decline of equity share in the overall AUM. Though higher other Income and lower tax protected earnings with PAT being Rs 3.02bn. Focus is on diversifying fund management startegies to reduce the performance volatility of equity schemes across cycles and controlling opex in the near term. To further this, HDFC AMC hired 2-3 fund managers during the quarter. On the opex front, the company targets cost savings of Rs 350-400mn in FY21E. We like HDFC AMC given its opex efficiency, pan-India distribution network and continued market leadership. We maintain our P/E multiple at 36.0x to arrive at a TP of Rs 2,974. BUY.

3:02 PM

We are all charged up for the next 25 years: Bharti Airtel chairman

One thing that everybody acknowledges today is the stellar contribution made by the telecom industry to keep India running during Covid-19 lockdown and after.

 

A nation of one billion connected 24x7 by seamless networks at the most affordable tariffs globally is no mean feat. And I take this opportunity to commend everyone across the telecom ecosystem – the operators and their partners, the government and the regulator for having made this possible.  READ MORE

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises

2:57 PM

Sector Alert :: Metal stocks decline on weak global cues

2:52 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Nifty IT index's the only sectoral index trading in the green

2:46 PM

US, China clash to impair global trade vital for India's reopening: Rajan

"Certainly as we get closer to the US election, the conflict between the US and China is going to increase and that impairs global trade, whichis going to be extremely important going forward, especially for emerging markets like India, Brazil, Mexico, which are going to be significantly impaired by the virus and need some source of demand to pull them out as they start opening up again," he said. READ MORE

2:39 PM

Oil edges higher on weaker dollar, but demand threats from US China tension

Oil prices edged higher on Friday on the back of a weaker US dollar, although demand concerns stemming from rising coronavirus cases and escalating US-China tensions kept a cap on prices. The dollar slid to 22-month lows against a basket of currencies. A weaker dollar usually ups buying of commodities priced in the greenback, like oil, because they become cheaper for holders of other currencies. READ MORE

2:33 PM

UPDATE :: S&P BSE Sensex gains 90 points

2:25 PM

Result Tomorrow | ICICI Bank Q1 PAT may jump 60% YoY on stake sale in insurance arms

Darpin Shah, analyst tracking the sector at HDFC Securities, meanwhile, pegs the net profit marginally lower at Rs 2,900 crore, up 52 per cent YoY.

 

“We have factored in higher provisions (up 71 per cent YoY, albeit lower QoQ), as ICICI Bank proactively utilises the gains from stake sale in subsidiaries. Consequently, we expect the PAT to register a sharp 52 per cent YoY growth,” he wrote in a results preview note. READ MORE

2:17 PM

UPDATE :: Market off lows

2:16 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high in an otherwise weak market today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
DEEPAK NITRITE	578.70	583.80	5.00
DIXON TECHNOLOG.	7672.45	7809.75	0.24
ESSEL PROPACK	204.35	216.60	1.21
GRANULES INDIA	292.85	294.25	4.48
HCL TECHNOLOGIES	666.30	667.85	2.09

2:14 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee settles lower at 74.83 per US dollar vs Thursday's close of 74.75/$

2:08 PM

Gold poised for best week in over 3 months on soft dollar, stimulus bets

"The basic logic has to do with the introduction of further fiscal stimulus... in the European Union, and we're talking again about further fiscal stimulus in the United States," said DailyFx currency strategist Ilya Spivak.

 

"Interest rates are not really expected to go higher, and the likely response is seen as inflation." Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus measures from central banks as it is perceived as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement. READ MORE

2:02 PM

Airtel Africa reports $57 mn profit, falling 53% in constant currency terms

Airtel Africa, an arm of India’s Bharti Airtel, on Friday posted profit after tax of $57 million for the quarter ended June 30, driven mainly by higher data consumption and usage of mobile wallet amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, the company’s profit was 53.6 per cent lower in constant currency terms than the corresponding period last year, when it had reported a profit after tax of $132 million in the same period, last year. READ MORE 

1:56 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: JSW Steel slips 2% ahead of June quarter nos

1:51 PM

MARKET CHECK

1:43 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: BSE Midcap index trades in-line with Sensex, slips 0.7%

1:36 PM

STOCK ALERT :: Granules India hits fresh record high

1:30 PM

Moody's downgrades Hero FinCorp ratings; outlook revised to negative

The outlook has been revised to negative from ratings under review. Indian non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) are expected to be affected by the shock given the extensive disruptions to India's economic activity.

 

Today's rating action concludes the review for downgrade initiated on 13 April 2020, Moody’s said in statement. READ MORE

1:20 PM

European markets trade weak

1:14 PM

Syngene International rallies 13% in two days; stock nears record high

Shares of Syngene International moved higher by 8 per cent to Rs 472.50 on the BSE on Friday, thus rallying 13 per cent in the past two trading days after the company reported a better-than-expected operational performance in April-June quarter (Q1FY21). The stock of the pharmaceutical company was trading close to its all-time high level of Rs 474.75, touched on July 7, 2020. READ MORE

1:07 PM

NEWS ALERT :: RBI allows Route One to hike stake in IndusInd Bank

1:03 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Metal stocks fade

COMPANY NAME	LATEST	HIGH	LOW	CHG(%)
S A I L	34.10	34.90	33.70	-2.99
HINDALCO INDS.	156.00	160.90	154.40	-3.67
VEDANTA	110.05	113.80	109.80	-3.38
JINDAL STEEL	166.45	171.10	165.60	-3.06
JSW STEEL	204.90	211.35	204.80	-2.17

1:03 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Hero MotoCorp to invest Rs 83.99 crore in Ather Energy Pvt Ltd

>> Investment to be made through Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares

>> Post this investment, the shareholding of Hero MotoCorp Ltd in Ather Energy Private Limited will increase from 35.10% (31.27% on a fully diluted basis) to 38.57% (34.58% on a fully diluted basis). 

(Via BSE filing)

12:54 PM

Q1 early-bird results better than expected; IT, financial services do well

Early bird results for the June 2020 quarter hint at a better-than-expected showing by India Inc. The combined profit before tax (PBT) of the 95 companies that have declared results so far fell 8.6 per cent year on year (YoY), while their net profit and net sales were down 3.4 per cent each during the first quarter. READ MORE

12:46 PM

'Too many unknowns': Localised Covid-19 lockdowns make MNC CEOs anxious

Some of the world’s top consumer goods companies, including Unilever, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo, are worried about the impact of localised lockdowns in India on their business, even as the threat of community transmission of Covid-19 grows in the country. Kerala has confirmed community transmission in the state, despite the central government denying any signs of it in the country. READ MORE