MARKET WRAP: Sensex up 59 pts; PSU banks, IT stocks rally; metals crack

All that happened in the markets today

4:11 PM

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

"Uncertainty ruled the markets and lack of direction from earnings results or the global markets meant that the Indian benchmark indices ended flat after a volatile trading day. Sentiments were mixed regarding the recovery in corporate earnings, post easing of lockdown measures, and effectiveness of RBI measures to infuse liquidity into the financial system. Rate of spread of virus infections and stock-specific earnings guidance will be in focus."

 

4:08 PM

Sectoral gainers and losers on the NSE

4:08 PM

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

3:40 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 59 points or 0.19 per cent higher at 31,648 levels while the NSE's Nifty settled at 9,262, down around 5 points or 0.05 per cent. 

3:21 PM

MARKET UPDATE

As many as 442 stocks including J&K Bank, Kalpataru Power, UCO Bank, Central Bank of India, Graphite India, HEG, KRBL, Quess Corp were locked in the upper circuit on the BSE 

3:15 PM

Domestic non-ferrous outlook negative as global metal prices crash: Icra

As per an Icra note, the price corrections in this period have been broadly in two phases, the first being in January when the news on the outbreak of Covid-19 in China came to light.

 

Subsequently prices stabilised in February, albeit at a lower level than December 2019, as the reported number of fresh cases in China declined. As the virus started spreading to the rest of the world in March, global macro-economic sentiments turned negative once again, and the second phase of price correction was witnessed. READ MORE

3:12 PM

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

3:06 PM

Infosys to announce Q4 results today; here's what to expect

Infosys, according to analyst estimates, is expected to take a 1 per cent QoQ hit in its revenue growth in constant currency (CC) terms for the March quarter of FY20 (Q4FY20) due to disruptions caused by Covid-19 lockdown. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin is expected to be stable, while the impact of lower billing and utilisation decline due to Covid-19 disruptions are expected to be offset by rupee depreciation, lower variable compensation payout, and lower travel costs, analysts say. READ MORE

2:58 PM

Devangshu Datta | Watch out for April SIP numbers

In January-March 2020, we saw the most volatile quarter in over a decade. Action across various mutual fund segments is worth noting.

 

Short-term debt funds are under great redemption pressure and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have to create a bailout mechanism. READ MORE

2:58 PM

Infosys holds gains ahead of Q4 results

2:55 PM

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

2:43 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Sensex regains momentum

2:38 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Axis Securities on Britannia Industries

TARGET PRICE: 3,114 | RECO: BUY

INVESTMENT RATIONALE:

Essential nature of products a saviour in near term: Nearly 80% of Britannia’s turnover comes from Biscuits which is an essential  category and thereby a lower impacted one owing to COVID-19 led nationwide lockdown. We note that during lockdown period  consumers have resorted to up-stocking of essential items including packaged foods like biscuits. While phase 1 of lockdown  witnessed serious supply chain, distribution and production challenges, in phase 2 of the lockdown these seem to have been eased  out leading to improved movement of goods and improved production levels from 25-30% seen in phase 1 of the lockdown

Market share gain opportunities to arise post COVID-19: Biscuits market growth had reported a slowdown pre COVID-19 pandemic.  Despite these challenging conditions before the pandemic outbreak, Britannia gained unprecedented market share reflecting its  strong in-market execution capabilities. We believe, post lifting of lockdown Britannia could see growing opportunities to gain market  share driven by 1) distribution expansion in Hindi belt, 2) premiumization trend and 3) acceleration in share gains prospects from  regional/local players who may witness drag on their business post COVID-19

Distribution penetration offers headroom for growth: Britannia has an overall distribution reach of 5.5 million outlets. Of these it  reaches directly to 21.7 lakh retail outlets and 21,000 dealers (3,000 dealers added in Q3FY20). With consistent focus on  distribution expansion, BRIT has narrowed the gap with the No.1 player. The gap with largest distributed brand is now just 0.8  million outlets which it expects to bridge soon and thereby become the largest player over the medium to long term

 

Outlook: Resilient and diverse product portfolio catering to essential needs and also offering value added products to its consumers  ensures Britannia is insulated to certain extent from coronavirus like pandemic. Further, pressure on cash flows for regional/local  players could open up opportunities for the company to gain market share and thereby narrow gap with No. 1 player. Its strong in-  market execution capabilities and focus on driving premiumization (though it has been pushed by another 1-2 quarters owing to  coronavirus pandemic) are key growth drivers from a long term perspective.

2:33 PM

NEWS ALERT | Tata Motors Group Q4 global wholesales including Jaguar Land Rover at 2.31 lakh units, down 35% YoY: BSE filing

-- Global passenger vehicles wholesales in Q4 at 1.59 lakh units, down 26% YoY

2:29 PM

NEWS ALERT | Bank of Baroda to consider capital raising via equity and/or debt for FY20 on April 24

2:28 PM

Top gainers on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	CHG(%)
CENTRAL BANK	15.90	20.00
J & K BANK	17.24	19.97
UCO BANK	12.64	19.92
INDIAN BANK	54.55	17.56
KALPATARU POWER	210.50	16.36

2:19 PM

Coronavirus lockdown keeps companies' yearly, quarterly results in limbo

Till April 19, only 41 of the 3,947 companies listed on the BSE have managed to finalise the dates for the declaration of their yearly financial results. And only three — Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and HDFC Bank — have reported the profit and loss accounts for FY20. The rest, or 99 per cent of the listed companies, are uncertain as to when they will be able to complete this annual financial rite. READ MORE

2:04 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee closes 15 paise lower at 76.54/$ vs Friday's close of 76.39/$

2:02 PM

Hopeful of a 'V-shaped' recovery once Covid-19 is contained: TCS COO

In March, two-thirds of the impact was related to supply side, as employees had to work from home and approvals had to be obtained from IT clients for doing the same. However, 80 per cent of the impact in Q1 will come from demand side. But, overall, we feel that we have managed it pretty well. We are delivering more than 26,000 projects without any disruption. READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

1:52 PM

BUZZING STOCK | Sonata Software jumps over 12%

1:41 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Emkay Global Fin Services on BFSI sector

The RBI’s targeted liquidity measures are mainly positive for NBFCs, MFIs and banks. Standstill on overdue loans will defer asset quality pain, but the risk may persist, while 10% upfront PCR over Q4/Q1 may cushion a bit against actual losses, which may materialize after the moratorium is lifted. Apart from the continued RBI intervention (including liquidity shots and aggressive OMOs), the government will also have to soon announce a relief package to revive the economy, even if it means stretching the fiscal deficit. We remain cautious on banks/NBFCs amid continued uncertainty about the impact of Covid-19 on growth, liquidity and asset quality. Within banks, we selectively prefer better quality banks like ICICI, HDFCB and SBI, with healthy earnings/capital levels to absorb asset quality shocks.

1:36 PM

NEWS ALERT :: China says India's new FDI rules violate WTO principles, reports Reuters

>> India’s new rules for foreign investment violate WTO principles of non-discrimination and are against free and fair trade, a Chinese embassy spokesperson in New Delhi said on Monday.

>> “The impact of the policy on Chinese investors is clear,” spokesperson of the Chinese embassy Ji Rong said in a statement.

>> China hopes India will revise ‘discriminatory practices’, treat investments from different countries equally, the spokesperson said.

1:29 PM

Shriram Transport Fin tumbles 14% after S&P revises outlook to negative

“The rating actions reflect the increasing risks that the Indian NBFCs face due to the challenging operating conditions stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak. The economic risk for Indian financial institutions is rising. The drastic efforts to curtail the spread of the coronavirus have resulted in a sudden stoppage in economic activity,” S&P Global Rating said in statement on April 17, 2020. READ MORE

1:20 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Sugar stocks decline

COMPANY NAME	LATEST	CHG(%)
BAJAJ HINDUSTHAN	4.35	4.82
SH.RENUKA SUGAR	5.20	-0.95
RANA SUGARS	3.60	-2.70
DWARIKESH SUGAR	19.15	-2.30
BALRAMPUR CHINI	103.65	-3.98

1:09 PM

BROKERAGE RADAR :: BofA on Info Edge

>> We downgrade InfoEdge to Underperform post its recent outperformance (up 47% from its recent bottom vs Sensex up 22%). Thesis: 1) We expect the economic slowdown to impact the flagship business Naukri. We expect Naukri’s FY21 revenue growth to be –2% vs 18%/15% in FY19/FY20E. Approx. 45%+ revenue comes from the IT sector, which is facing headwinds led by recession in US & Europe; 2) We also expect 99Acres revenue growth to be –7% in FY21 vs 42%/20% in FY19/20E as we expect stress with real-estate developers/ brokers to increase. We also expect consumers to delay big ticket purchases like houses; 3) We don’t expect any material valuation upgrades in next funding rounds for private investments like Zomato.

>> We cut our FY21/22 EPS est. by 17-19% as we factor in impact from slowing macro. As a result our PO reduces by 21% to Rs 1,875. Our FY21-22 standalone EPS nos are now 16-18% below consensus. Consensus expects FY21/22 revenue growth of 15%/ 17% (vs our est. of -2%/14%). InfoEdge trades at 71.4X/56.8X on FY21/22 EBITDA and 86.4X/60.2X on PE. We find valuation expensive in context of its growth and hence find risk-reward unfavorable.

1:04 PM

European stocks open with modest gains

(Source: Reuters)

1:03 PM

Covid-19 impact: India Inc confidence index lowest since 2008 crisis

Confidence index of India Inc fell to the lowest level in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 due to the situations created by Covid-19, according to a survey done by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. The index fell to 42.9 in the quarter, against 59 in the previous quarter. It had stood at 37.8 in the second quarter of 2008-09, when India saw ripple effects of the global financial crisis. The index comprises current conditions index and expectations index both of which saw sharp decline.

12:50 PM

Covid-19: Fitch cuts India's FY21 GDP growth forecast to 1.8% from 4.6%

Fitch Solutions on Monday cut India's economic growth forecast for the financial year 2020-21 to 1.8 per cent. It said that the private consumption is likely to contract due to large-scale loss of income in the face of worsening domestic outbreak of Covid-19. "Over the past week, we have continued to adjust down our country-specific real GDP growth forecasts on the back of persistent low oil prices and the widening spread of Covid-19. Our forecasts remain fluid and, even despite the recent downward revisions, we believe that the risks remain skewed to the downside," the rating agency said. READ MORE

12:47 PM

MARKET VOICE :: Andrew Holland

12:42 PM

Zydus Cadila explores biological drug as possible therapy for Covid-19

The biological drug has already been used in China and Cuba where studies have shown evidence of a direct anti-viral effect of Interferon alpha against the new coronavirus. The company is already making hydroxychloroquine for both India and other countries at its plants, besides working on two vaccine candidates and also on developing a diagnostic kit for testing Covid-19. READ MORE