MARKET: Financials drag indices lower; Sensex dips 129 pts, Nifty holds 10K

All that happened in the markets today

4:05 PM

EXPERT COMMENT:: Vinod Nair- Head of Research - Geojit Financial Services

The markets were undecided and finally ended slightly negative, after 6 successive days of gains. The banking index which had driven the gains for the last few days was incidentally the biggest loser in today’s trade. Global cues were also mixed after Asian markets ended positive but European markets were awaiting details on ECB’s stimulus plans. Domestically, markets still seem to be forward-looking, ignoring the recent quarterly results and economic data, and anticipating a turnaround in the economy.

3:45 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Media stocks gain the most

3:43 PM

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

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 129 points or 0.38 per cent to end at 33,980.70 while NSE's Nifty ended at 10,029, down 32 points or 0.32 per cent. 

3:29 PM

NEWS ALERT:: Amazon in talks to buy $2 billion stake in Bharti Airtel, reports Reuters

Amazon.com is in early-stage talks to buy a stake worth at least $2 billion in mobile operator Bharti Airtel, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, underscoring the growing attraction of India’s digital economy for U.S. tech giants. The planned investment, if completed, would mean Amazon acquiring a roughly 5% stake based on the current market value of Bharti, which is India’s third-largest telecoms company with more than 300 million subscribers.

3:14 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Inox Leisure jumps 18%

3:06 PM

Earnings Alert | NIIT Q4

>> Consolidated profit at Rs 60 lakh

>> Cons revenue at Rs 211.1 crore

>> EBITDA at Rs 2.1 crore

>> EBITDA margin at 1%

3:05 PM

Aviation stocks take off in an otherwise weak market

COMPANY NAME	LATEST	HIGH	LOW	CHG(%)
SPICEJET	46.80	46.80	44.70	4.93
INTERGLOBE AVIAT	1099.80	1117.25	1025.75	7.24
JET AIRWAYS	26.35	26.35	26.35	4.98
GLOBAL VECTRA	51.45	51.85	49.85	0.29

3:02 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Top 5 losers on the BSE at this hour

2:54 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Govt extends anti-dumping duty on select steel products till Dec 4, reports CNBC TV18

2:50 PM

PE investments doubled in May thanks to Reliance's Jio Platforms deals

Around $4.6 billion, or 85 per cent of the total deals, invested was in Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries. If not for Jio Platforms, PE/VC investments would have recorded a fourth straight month of decline.

 

According to data from EY-IVCA, investments last month were 92 per cent higher compared to May 2019 ($2.8 billion) and 5.8 times the value recorded in April 2020 ($935 million). READ MORE

2:42 PM

S&P BSE MidCap index outperforms benchmarks, down 0.23%

2:39 PM

Only 3 stocks hit their respective 52-week highs on the BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
AUROBINDO PHARMA	762.25	791.00	1.55
CIPLA	655.50	659.95	2.19
GMM PFAUDLER	4127.95	4238.90	2.79

2:34 PM

Advise against trading in Nifty Bank options till things normalise: Nikhil Kamath, Zerodha to CNBC-TV18

>> Brokers are still investigating the problem;
>> Seeing problems in Nifty Bank options across all expiries;
>> Hard to say if morning trades will hold or will be cancelled

2:31 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Bharti Infratel Board to meet on June 11 to decide on merger with Indus Tower

>> The Board has decided to meet on 11th June, 2020 to take the final decision on the matter, keeping in mind the best interest of the Company and its stakeholders. It may be noted that the Board of Directors in its meeting held on 23rd April, 2020 had extended the long stop date for the Scheme till 24th June, 2020, with each party retaining the right to terminate and withdraw the Scheme at any point.

>> Accordingly, there can be no certainty whether the merger will get completed or not.

(Via BSE filing)

2:23 PM

India's policy uncertainty at 81-month high as index rises 4 months on trot

The index is up 3.6 times its January value of 48.1 to close at 173.3 in May, during the second month of a lockdown that began because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The last time the index was this high was in August 2013 as the country dealt with the so-called taper tantrum. At the time, the American central bank had begun reducing the amount of money it made available for easy borrowing READ MORE

2:15 PM

Covid-19 impact on business not materially adverse so far: Nestle India

The company also does not see any "specific challenge in terms of its capital or financial resources" or any "significant deviation in profitability", Nestle India said in a regulatory filing.

 

Nestle India, a subsidiary of NESTL SA of Switzerland, further said it has "strong cash position" and is in a "comfortable liquidity position" to meet its financial commitments, news agency PTI reported. READ MORE

2:07 PM

RUPEE CHECK:: Rupee closes at 75.57 a USD against Wednesday's close of 75.46

 

 

2:05 PM

Top losers on the BSE at this hour

1:57 PM

SECTOR ALERT :: Nifty Pharma hits fresh 52-week high of 10,090, up 2% in the intra-day trade today

>> Index surpassed previous 52-week high of 10,047.30.

>> Sun Pharma, Lupin, Cipla, Aurobindo, Biocon and Cadila Healthcare gained in the range of 2% to 3.5% on the NSE.

1:50 PM

RIL regains Rs 10 trillion m-cap

>> stock gains 2.5% in the intra-day trade

1:44 PM

VST Tillers surges 41% in three days on strong tractor sales in May

Shares of VST Tillers Tractors moved higher by 17 per cent to Rs 1,293 on the BSE on Thursday after the company reported strong tractors sales of 633 units in May 2020, up 23 per cent YoY, from 527 units sold in May 2019. In April, the company had posted 23.7 per cent YoY de-growth in sales. The stock of the company engaged in manufacturing of power tillers and tractors business has rallied 41 per cent in the past three trading days from level of Rs 919 hit on Tuesday. It was trading close to its 52-week high level of Rs 1,414 touched on February 7, 2020. READ MORE

1:38 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Asian Paints falls 4%

1:37 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: YES Securities on Spandana Sphoorty

We built-in a near worst case scenario of 10% AUM growth and 9% credit cost (on opening on-book portfolio) in FY21. FY22 should be a normal year, but we factor higher-than-usual credit cost. Spandana trades at 1x/5.6x FY22 ABV/EPS. Retain BUY rating with a 12m TP of Rs 800. We are positive about profitability/growth normalization in FY22, robust CAR (supportive of liquidity position) and attractive valuation.

1:31 PM

Nifty Services Sector index dips 1.5%

1:20 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Wheels India jumps 20%

>> Board to consider payment of final dividend on June 17; 
>> Sundaram Finance to acquire additional 4.9% stake in the Co

1:16 PM

European markets inch lower

A European stock market rally paused on Thursday, with investors focussing on a European Central Bank meeting where policymakers are expected to provide more aid for the battered euro zone economy.

 

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.5 per cent, but held near its early March highs, while eurozone stocks were down 0.6 per cent.

 

Equity markets have bounced strongly this week, with Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq nearing record levels as signs of recovery from a coronavirus-forced recession, optimism over a COVID-19 vaccine and hopes of more stimulus boosted risk appetite.

 

Investors expect the ECB to upsize bond purchases by 500 billion euros ($560.25 billion), but the only question is whether it will act on Thursday or hold out until July as a deal on European Union-wide fiscal support strengthens the case for patience.

(via Reuters)

1:04 PM

Britannia: Overall business outlook expected to be robust going ahead

The Britannia stock hit its all-time high on Wednesday, before closing at Rs 3,510.25 apiece. This was despite a muted March quarter (Q4) performance — reported on Tuesday after market hours — and expensive valuation. Sales growth of 24 per cent in the first two months of the June quarter, pointing to strong growth levers, enthused the Street. This was mainly on account of the first-mover advantage. READ MORE 

12:56 PM

US Fed likely to keep near zero rates for a few years to boost economy

"One deliverable that we should be able to count on at the June meeting is the return of the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP)," Jay H. Bryson, acting chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said in a report.

 

"We suspect that may open the door to implicit forward guidance, a tool heralded by policymakers before the current crisis as a primary mechanism for influencing policy," he said. READ MORE

12:52 PM

SBI Q4 preview: SBI Cards stake sale to aid profitability; NPA levels eyed

India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI), is scheduled to report its March 2020 quarter result (Q4FY20) on Friday, June 5. While analysts are positive on the bank’s net profit, which they expect to jump on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, loan growth is seen logging a tepid growth. Management’s commentary on anticipated second wave of stress will be watched out for, analysts say. Given SBI's dominant exposure in the area, they expect some provisions to be made this quarter. READ MORE