Sensex slips 477 pts from day's high, ends at 37,663; Tata Steel gains 6%

All that happened in the markets today

3:52 PM

Market Closing Comment :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Indian benchmark indices were volatile in trade before closing flat with a positive bias. Global cues were also positive while gold again jumped to record highs. Positive earnings reports are driving stocks and markets around the world, and the same trend is visible in the Indian markets too. Liquidity is a major driver for the markets and it is chasing companies which are declaring stable earnings or outlook. Uncertainties remain while in the near term markets will look forward to the commentary and RBI actions at the end of the MPC meeting tomorrow

3:46 PM

Market Statistics at Close

3:45 PM

Sector loser :: 6 out of 10 Nifty pharma index-constituents end in the red

3:44 PM

Sector gainer :: Nifty metal index ends over 4% higher

3:42 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE at Close

3:41 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

3:37 PM

Closing Bell | Markets end mixed after a volatile day

>> The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended 24 points, or 0.07 per cent, lower at 37,663 level

>> The broader Nifty50, meanwhile, added 6 points, or 0.04 per cent, to close at 11,101 level.

3:25 PM

Airtel ties up with Amazon to sell AWS solutions to companies in India

Airtel Cloud will build an AWS Cloud Practice supported by AWS Professional Services, as well as develop differentiated Airtel Cloud products and capabilities leveraging AWS services, Airtel’s data centre capabilities, and Airtel’s network and telecoms offerings. Airtel customers will benefit from an integrated sales, consulting, and support approach from both companies, and improved security, scalability, and cloud management capabilities. READ MORE

3:17 PM

A white knight galvanises Eveready as it struggles amid debt problems

Brij Mohan Khaitan stepped into the elite world of tea as a white knight when in 1961, a Marwari businessman, B Bajoria, had cornered a 25 per cent stake in Bishnauth, part of one of India’s top managing agency firms, Williamson Magor & Company. The shareholding was just a per cent short of the 26 per cent promoter holding. READ MORE

3:06 PM

Looking for a second home? UK, Spain among top destinations: Knight Frank

One in four people surveyed by Knight Frank, said they were more likely to move in the next 12 months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with most respondents seeking a different property in the same location (40 per cent). Around 26 per cent said they are willing to move to a different property elsewhere in the same country and 34 per cent of those considering a move are scouting for a purchase abroad (9 per cent of all respondents), the survey findings suggest. READ MORE 

2:54 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Axis Securities on State Bank of India

RATING: BUY | TARGET PRICE: Rs 240

We believe the key positive of SBIN which will drive its performance are:

• Being the largest bank in India the bank has business strengths making it a beneficiary of liquidity with huge deposit inflow during uncertain times resulting in a lower cost of funds; 
• Asset quality has improved on book clean –up efforts over the last few years resulting in lower slippages and NPA decline;
• PCR has improved to 67%. Provisions for legacy stress is mostly over though Covid-19 may keep credit cost elevated;
• Subsidiaries performance has been improving.

2:46 PM

Average spot power price falls 27% to Rs 2.47 per unit in July on IEX

The day ahead market (DAM) traded 4,487 MU(million units)during the the month, an IEX statement said.

 

"With robust sell side liquidity, the average market clearing price in the day-ahead market during the month at Rs 2.47 per unit registered a 27 per centyear-on-year decline over a price of Rs 3.38 in July2019," the statement said. READ MORE

2:34 PM

MARKET CHECK:: BSE Midcap index outperforms Sensex

2:25 PM

Tech companies could be brokers of tomorrow, says Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath

Most brokers who allowed commodity trading lost some money here, Zerodha luckily has a model wherein we have many smaller customers versus a few huge ones. This inherently mitigates risk and makes Zerodha a safer option for investors. Exchanges and brokers across the board have now updated their systems to make sure we are better prepared for this situation in the future. READ MORE

Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder and CIO, True Beacon and Zerodha

2:15 PM

Cadila Healthcare slips 4.5% from day's high post June quarter results

It's net profit, however, came in at Rs 454 crore, clocking a 49.53 per cent growth YoY from Rs 303.6 crore reported in Q1FY20. In the March quarter of FY20, the profit was Rs 391.9 crore. Profit before tax (PBT), too, soared 50.64 per cent to Rs 593.40 crore in Q1FY20 as against Rs 393.90 crore in Q1FY19. Current tax expense for the quarter jumped 106.39 per cent at Rs 106.50 crore as against Rs 51.60 crore in Q1 June 2019. READ MORE

2:09 PM

Rupee Closing

Rupee settles higher at 74.94 per US dollar vs Tuesday's close of 75.05/$

1:58 PM

Tata Consumer Products hits new high on 82% jump in Q1 profit, slips later

Analysts at ICICI Securities expect steady improvement in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin in FY21-22 due to the rising share of higher-margin branded products in India, revenue and cost synergy benefits, savings in distribution and cost-saving initiatives, and lower input prices. READ MORE 

1:50 PM

RBI monetary policy: Rate cut too close to call on CPI risks, says survey

Of the 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, 22 expect a 25 basis-point rate cut on Thursday, one projects a 50-point move and the rest see no change. Das has already led the Monetary Policy Committee in cutting interest rates by 115 basis points this year, taking the repurchase rate down to 4 per cent, the lowest since it was introduced in 2000.​ READ MORE

1:40 PM

European markets trade 1% higher

Source: Reuters

1:26 PM

Commodity Check :: Gold hits record above $2,000/oz on soft dollar, stimulus bets

>> Gold scaled an all-time peak on Wednesday, after topping the $2,000 mark in the previous session, spurred on by a weaker dollar, falling US Treasury yields and expectations of more stimulus measures to revive a pandemic-ravaged economy.

>> Spot gold was up 0.8% at $2,033.86 per ounce by 12:15 pm, after hitting a record high of $2,036.49. US gold futures rose 1.4% to $2,049.30.

>> “The outlook remains very strong for gold. Interestingly, we’ve seen traders reduce their long exposure to gold throughout this recent rally, suggesting new buyers could still come back into the market to push prices higher,” IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda said.

(Source: Reuters)

1:15 PM

Expectations from the RBI MPC

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will put forth its third bi-monthly monetary policy decision for the fiscal year 2020-21 on August 6, 2020. Against the backdrop of COVID-19 led economic downturn, the previous two policies were advanced in March 2020 and May 2020.

The decision is expected to factor in the lockdown induced deceleration in the economic growth against the spike in inflation, which surpassed RBI’s upper tolerance level of 6% in June 2020 (6.1%).
 

We believe that there would be a status quo in this monetary policy with 55% probability on account of inflationary concerns. However, given the economic growth concerns the RBI is likely to retain the monetary policy stance at ‘accommodative’.

(Source: CARE Ratings)

rbi governor, shaktikanta das

1:11 PM

HDFC Securities on Cholamandalam Invt and Finance

1:09 PM

IIFL on CreditAccess Grameen (CREDAG)

A relatively healthier operating environment in rural areas and quick recovery in demand, as sporadic lock-downs reduce over the medium term, would enable a rapid return to normalisation in growth, provisions and profitability. We estimate a restoration in profitability to ~4.3-4.5% RoA/18-20% RoE (pre-capital infusion) by FY23ii. CREDAG could trade at 2.6x FY22ii BVPS, which indicates a 24% upside from CMP. We remain constructive on the stock

1:08 PM

IIFL on Dixon Technologies

With strong macro tailwinds on account of the GoI’s policy initiatives to drive domestic manufacturing, Dixon will be placed in a sweet spot to expand its portfolio. Though management is upbeat on strong pre-festive order-bookings, weak consumer demand for white goods could be a potential dampener in the near term.

While the domestic mobile PLI scheme would provide a windfall gain during FY21-25, sustenance of volumes and profitability would be highly uncertain thereafter. Further, expansion in new segments like FATL washing machines (WMs) and refrigerators with top tier brands will not be easy.

We incorporate value of one domestic mobile PLI (Rs1,730/share) to our core business value (Rs5,187, at 35x Jun-22ii EPS), to arrive at our SOTP-based 12mth TP of Rs6,917. We like the business, but struggle to find value in the stock, despite 6% EPS upgrade in FY21-22ii; we downgrade the stock to ADD from Buy

1:08 PM

MARKET COMMENT :: SBI Mutual Fund

For India, the immediate priority is to control the virus. We must revive demand through decisive fiscal measures. While we look to rationalize expenditure and boost revenue through formalization, growth acceleration remains central to improving our government debt profile. Should debt ratios continue to turn ugly, we may run out of firepower to counter the next shock. A credible boost to growth is the only way out.

1:06 PM

ALERT | Bhumi Pujan at Ram Janmbhoomi site concludes

The three-day Vedic rituals at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya began on Monday and will end with bhoomi poojan today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Ayodhya today for the grand ground-breaking ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Modi is among the 175 people present at the ceremony. He will share the dais with just four other people — RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, trust chief Nritya Gopaldas Maharaj, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, and CM Yogi Adityanath FULL COVERAGE HERE

1:05 PM

GLOBAL MARKET UPDATE

Thailand's baht rose to a one-month high on Wednesday ahead of a central bank statement on interest rates that is expected to hold fire on further cuts and save its increasingly limited policy ammunition for later in the year. Currencies and stocks across Asia's emerging markets were higher across the board in morning trade, with the ringgit, the won and the Taiwanese dollar all turning in solid gains against a broadly weaker US dollar

(Source: Reuters)

1:03 PM

Barclays on manufacturing, services PMI

It would appear that the new set of localised lockdowns is weighing on India’s services activity. The July manufacturing and services PMIs have perhaps dashed hopes for a smooth rebound to normal activity, a view backed up by other relevant data, like fuel consumption and freight activity.

1:02 PM

Emkay Global on Indian Oil

1:01 PM

Nifty snapshot