Investors look beyond Covid cases' surge; Sensex zooms 790 pts; banks rally

CLSA opines that the surge in Covid cases in Maharashtra may taper in May as the state is in its fourth-month of the second wave. This, it believes, will be positive for the markets

4:14 PM

TECH VIEW :: Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking

On the technical front, the Nifty Index has given a breakout of its upper band of Falling Wedge formation, which signifies a bull run in the counter. Moreover, the index has given closing above 21- Days Moving Averages, which suggests strength in the index. Additionally, the MACD indicator is trading with a positive crossover which suggests a positive rhythm in the counter. At present, the support has shifted to 14600 levels while an upside resistance seems at 15000 levels.

4:13 PM

TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

One more gap up session with open & low same hit the fresh breakouts on the daily chart and closed a day at 14850 with good gains of one & half per cent. The index has given descending channel pattern breakout on the daily chart which hints if current levels are held then we may see good northward move in the near term, immediate support is shifted to 14750-14650 zone & resistance is placed at 14950-15000 zone also fresh breakout again can be seen above 15k mark which acted previously as strong hurdle

4:07 PM

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

Superior Q4 results and vaccine optimism buoyed domestic markets to trade on a positive footing for the third consecutive day ahead of the Fed interest rate decision.  Strong buying interest was seen in banking and auto stocks with enhanced business prospects which is likely to be maintained

4:04 PM

MARKET RECAP :: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Bulls went on a rampage with Banks & Autos especially the Two-Wheeler stocks being sought after in what turned out to be a bullish session of trade through the day. The HDFC twins & Bajaj twins lent good support to the Indices with the broader market displaying strength across sectors

3:58 PM

Currency Outlook :: Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services

It is an eventful day, with Fed policy and Biden's session of Congress. Ahead of both these events, dollar index is showing tentative signs of recovering, however, FII inflows into local stocks are weighing on USDINR spot. Technically, USDINR spot has formed a descending channel, and if tonight's Fed message isn't as hawkish as the market is expecting then we may see a further drop in spot. 74.25 is an immediate support, until the spot remains afloat we may see prices moving towards 75 zone amid severe covid situation

3:56 PM

BSE Snapshot :: Stocks with highest turnover

3:54 PM

BSE snapshot | Advance to decline ratio stands at 1.5:1

3:52 PM

ICICI Bank, HDFC twins remain top contributors towards Sensex's rally today

3:50 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee ends higher at 74.30 per US dollar vs Tuesday's close of 74.65/$

3:48 PM

Sector of the day :: Bajaj Finance's Q4 earnings fuel rally in NBFCs

3:46 PM

Sector of the day :: Nifty Bank index rises 3%

3:43 PM

Sectoral trends on the NSE

3:41 PM

Sensex Heatmap :: Bajaj Group stocks, IndusInd, ICICI Bank lead

3:34 PM

CLOSING BELL

The BSE barometer of 30-shares zoomed 790 points to end the day at 49,734 levels. In the intra-day deals, the index had vaulted 857 points to hit a high of 49,801. On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index reclaimed the 14,800-mark for the first time since April 9 and closed at 14,864, up 211 points. It hit a high of 14,890 earlier today.

3:22 PM

Grab's Nasdaq debut to test its $40 bn valuation, set roadmap for SPACs

Singapore's Grab more than doubled its valuation to $40 billion in about a year as part of the world's largest SPAC deal, but maintaining that level after its U.S. debut will be a test not only for investors but also for firms eyeing similar listings.

 

Earlier this month, Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing and delivery firm, agreed to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Silicon Valley investor Altimeter Capital Management. READ MORE

3:21 PM

TECH VIEW | Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research

The market witnessed the continuation in the rally after the breakout above the level of 14,550. Now, 14,900 could act as a resistance in the market. If the market breaks the level of 14,900 and sustains above the level a new bullish rally will take place till the levels of 15,200. The momentum indicators like RSI and MACD support the upside move and indicate potential upside from the current market level.

 

3:12 PM

India VIX eases nearly 3% to 22.51

> VIX Is a measure of market volatility

3:10 PM

Covid-19 woes :: Maruti Suzuki to shut plants in Haryana

>> As part of the car manufacturing process, Maruti Suzuki uses a small amount of oxygen in its factories while relatively much larger quantities are used by the manufacturers of components.

>> In the current situation, Maruti Suzuki has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June, to 1-9 May. Production in all factories will close for maintenance during this period.

>> The Company has been informed that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has taken the same decision for its factory

3:08 PM

Hindustan Aeronautics in focus

ICRA Ratings upgrades long-term facilities rating to AA+ from AA and revises outlook to 'Positive' from 'Stable'

Read details here

3:02 PM

Covid-19 Second wave may not derail Modi govt's disinvestment plan

The second wave of the pandemic may not derail the government’s privatisation and strategic disinvestment drive as they are seen as key tools in boosting the economy amid the sharp surge in Covid-19 cases. Sources in the government said there has been no revision so far in the timeline for the process for some of the key stake sales — including BEML, BPCL, Shipping Corporation, and Air India. READ MORE

2:49 PM

Covid-led record defaults cloud India's resilient equities, bonds

Firms have defaulted on at least Rs 5,700 crore ($763 million) of domestic bonds this year, the most on record for a similar period. Traders expect more. They’ve pushed spreads on A rated local corporate bonds over AAA notes to a 17-year high, a grim sign for the small businesses that tend to have those weaker ratings and that form the bedrock of the $2.7 trillion economy. READ MORE

2:38 PM

Anupam Rasayan hits 52-week high on securing order worth Rs 1,100 crore

Shares of Anupam Rasayan scaled a fresh 52-week high of Rs 666, up 6 per cent, on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday after the company bagged an order worth Rs 1,100 crore from a multinational life sciences company. The shares of the speciality chemicals firm which got listed on the bourses on March 24, 2021, have risen 20 per cent over its issue price of Rs 555. READ MORE

2:28 PM

Saudi Arabia in talks to sell 1% of Aramco, says crown prince Salman

Saudi Arabia's crown prince said in televised remarks on Tuesday that the kingdom was in discussions to sell 1% of state oil firm Saudi Aramco <2222.SE> to a leading global energy company.

 

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Aramco, the world's biggest oil company which listed on the Saudi bourse in late 2019, could sell further shares including to international investors within the next year or two. READ MORE

2:17 PM

SBI board approves to raise $2 billion through bonds in FY22; stock up 3%

"The Executive Committee of the Central Board in its meeting on 28th April, 2021 has approved to examine the status and decide on long term fund raising in single/multiple tranches up to $ 2 billion through a public offer and/or private placement of senior unsecured notes in US Dollar or any other convertible currency during FY22," it said in an exchange filing. READ MORE

2:04 PM

Top Sensex contributors at this hour

1:52 PM

Axis Bank Q4 Analysis: Growth accelerates but sustainability is key

Axis Bank shares were trading in a narrow range on Wednesday, a day after the lender posted a solid earnings report card for the March quarter. At the bourses, the scrip traded between Rs 688-Rs 713 (-1.5 per cent to 2 per cent) on the BSE relative to Tuesday's close of Rs 699 apiece. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex surged 1 per cent in the intra-day deals.

 

Lauding the bank for its prudent efforts towards stabilising the asset quality concerns, analysts now believe sustainability of the trend would hold the key for further growth, especially when the second wave of Covid-19 looks to derail the economic recovery. READ MORE

1:41 PM

Q&A | Market valuation not as attractive compared to March'20: Satish Ramanathan

We believe that it is too early to call a slowdown and are in the wait and watch camp. If the surge in coronavirus cases continues or there are forced lockdowns, which inhibit economic activity, then we believe markets will cool off, given the high expected growth rate and valuations. READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

1:29 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Goa to go under complete lockdown from the evening of April 29 to May 3

 >> Only essential services will be allowed to operate

1:23 PM

Debt MFs confident of surfing Covid-19 2nd wave despite corporate defaults

Debt mutual funds (MFs) have faced multiple headwinds in the form of defaults and downgrades since 2018, but the second wave of Covid-19 may not be one of them, even though it is expected to add pressure on the creditworthiness of India Inc. The industry appears to be better prepared this time around, thanks to the large concentration of top-rated papers in its portfolio. READ MORE

1:11 PM

MUST READ :: Markets to look beyond second Covid wave, say analysts; bet on cyclicals

Markets are likely to look beyond the ongoing second Covid wave in India, say analysts, who believe the cases could taper off over the next couple of months. In this backdrop, they suggest stocking up on cyclical stocks in a hope that the economy will be on the mend soon. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

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