MARKETS ON WEDNESDAY: Indices end flat; IT, metal stocks among top losers

Benchmark indices ended flat Wednesday after a choppy session dragged by losses in the metal and IT indices.

4:00 PM

Market rundown by Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services 

 

"The sustained stretch of upsides prevailing all through April has begun to weigh on investors, and PSU and metal saw profit booking, especially with global markets seen shaky ahead of FOMC rate deicison. FII’s continued selling since mid April has emerged as a point of contention but positive factory growth numbers, strong auto sales, upbeat GST revenue collection will seek to extend the ongoing momentum aided by positive earnings season."

 

3:40 PM

Top draggers from Nifty IT pack

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	LOSS( )	LOSS(%)	VOLUME
HCL TECHNOLOGIES	1005.35	1052.75	-47.40	-4.50	7506238
MINDTREE	1057.00	1084.60	-27.60	-2.54	1793235
ORACLE FIN.SERV.	4207.65	4310.10	-102.45	-2.38	26798
KPIT TECH.	253.15	258.60	-5.45	-2.11	1188805
TATA ELXSI	1216.70	1237.80	-21.10	-1.70	548914

3:38 PM

Nifty Metal index falls over 3%: Top losers in the pack

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	LOSS( )	LOSS(%)	VOLUME
S A I L	72.95	77.65	-4.70	-6.05	14022263
JINDAL STEEL	237.80	252.10	-14.30	-5.67	6073671
HIND.ZINC	308.55	326.85	-18.30	-5.60	3606390
VEDANTA	283.45	298.40	-14.95	-5.01	12024307
MOIL	197.30	205.25	-7.95	-3.87	538682

3:35 PM

Sectoral Trend

3:34 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

3:32 PM

Markets at Close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,176, up 16 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,718, down 21 points

3:10 PM

Gold falls on global cues, slack demand

Gold prices drifted lower by Rs 70 to Rs 32,130 per 10 grams at the bullion market today, driven by a weak trend overseas amid easing demand from local jewellers. Silver also fell by Rs 250 to Rs 40,250 per kg due to reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers. READ MORE

2:48 PM

Buyback proposal fails to lift PC Jeweller; stock tanks 23% from day's high

 

Shares of PC Jeweller have dipped 18% to Rs 119 per share falling 23% from its intra-day high on the BSE, despite the company announcing a share buyback proposal. The stock was up 6% to Rs 154 in early morning trade.

 

PC Jeweller on Sunday, April 29, said that the board of directors of the company will meet on Friday, May 5, 2018 to consider the proposal for buy back of fully paid-up equity shares of the company.

 

The board will also consider the audited standalone and consolidated financial results of the company for the quarter/financial year ended March 31, 2018 and recommendation of dividend, if any. READ MORE

2:34 PM

Analysts see Rs 140-billion L&T-Schneider deal in positive light

 

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) definitive agreement with Schneider to sell its electrical and automation (E&A) business in an all-cash deal for Rs 140 billion (slightly more than $2 billion) is on expected lines of analysts. Santosh Yellappu, analyst at India Nivesh, says, the deal valuations are fair and the company is pursuing its objective of becoming asset-light.

 

Earlier Credit Suisse, too, had anticipated the electrical business’ value at ₹140-160 billion. READ MORE

2:21 PM

Nifty Metal index falls over 3%, top losers in the pack

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	LOSS( )	LOSS(%)	VOLUME
S A I L	73.45	77.65	-4.20	-5.41	10672711
HIND.ZINC	311.00	326.85	-15.85	-4.85	2588117
VEDANTA	284.45	298.40	-13.95	-4.67	9347162
JINDAL STEEL	242.10	252.10	-10.00	-3.97	4225737
MOIL	198.20	205.25	-7.05	-3.43	459200

2:15 PM

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dabur India, Indiabulls Ventures hit new highs

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dabur India, Indiabulls Venture, Jubilant FoodWorks, Nestle India, Pidilite Industries and Exide Industries were among 23 stocks from the S&P BSE500 index hitting new highs on the BSE on Wednesday.
 

Britannia Industries, Cyient, Escorts, Hexaware Technologies, KPIT Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), M&M Financial Services, Mindtree and Tata Chemicals too hit all-time highs in intra-day trade today. READ MORE

1:58 PM

Interview of the day Markets can sustain at current levels if earnings deliver: Swati Kulkarni

Corporate earnings and the outcome of the Karnataka polls are two big events back home that are likely to keep the markets choppy in May. SWATI KULKARNI, executive vice-president and fund manager – equities, UTI Mutual Fund tells Puneet Wadhwa in an interview that though mid-and small-cap companies are at a higher valuation as compared to their large-cap peers, one can still find value in select pockets. READ MORE

SWATI KULKARNI, UTI

1:45 PM

EU frets over use of antibiotics in India's primary shrimp production

The European Union, which accounts for about 18 per cent of India's seafood exports valued at $5.7 billion, is apparently miffed with no official controls in primary production of shrimps in India.

 

An audit team from EU had visited the Indian farm and processing facilities in November last year. READ MORE

1:30 PM

Billionaire Raghuram Shetty said to hire Evercore on finance unit IPO

West Asia billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty hired Evercore to advise on a potential initial public offering (IPO) for his financial-services company, according to people with knowledge the matter, as he seeks to expand a sprawling empire built on offering money transfers and currency-exchange services.

 

Finablr, the holding company for businesses including Travelex Holdings and the UAE Exchange Centre, is weighing a share sale in London as early as next year that may value the business at billions of dollars, said the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. More advisors could be hired in the next few months, they said. No final decisions have been taken and the plans could change, the people said. READ MORE

1:12 PM

Edelweiss on HDFC

Given its market leadership, HDFC is envisaged to be key beneficiary of government’s/regulator’s thrust on housing sector, lending growth visibility. Best-in-class cost ratios and adequate provisioning buffer will ensure steady operational performance. Value discovery via listing of HDFC Mutual Fund will be a positive trigger. However, valuations at 2.6x P/ABV for core RoE of 16.5% appears fair. Maintain ‘HOLD / Sector Performer’

1:10 PM

Result update: Dabur

On the back of benign raw material prices, gross margins improved 167bps; this coupled with operating efficiencies and softer ad spend (down 24bps YoY) led to EBITDA margin expansion of 206bps YoY. Dabur’s stable to expanding market share, receding competition from herbal players and improving rural economy are positives. Maintain ‘BUY’. 

(Source: Edelweiss Securities)

1:08 PM

Antique Stock Broking on L&T

On expected lines, the L&T has divested its Electrical & Automation (E&A) business, a non-core business to Schneider Electric, for INR 140bn, after signing a definitive agreement on 1-May-18. The company has been on the spree of monetising its non-core assets and the sale of E&A business is a significant milestone in that direction.

The all-cash transaction is expected to aid balance sheet strengthening of the company through improved working capital position and return ratios. Also, this is expected to improve management bandwidth on its core business in addition to aiding future growth. We continue to like the stock given its multiple growth engines and thus maintain BUY with SoTP based target price of Rs 1,580

1:05 PM

FOMC preview: US Fed likely to keep rates unchanged, says Morgan Stanley

We look for no change in the target range of the federal funds rate, following the 25bp increase to 1.50%-1.75% at the March meeting. Since the March meeting, the incoming inflation data have confirmed the expected rebound as last year's telecom price reset rolled out of the 12-month window. We believe March data on core PCE inflation, released April 30, will show an annual rate of 2.0%—touching the Fed's 2% goal for the first time since spring 2012.

We expect the Fed to next hike rates at its June meeting, with little change in the "dots" and forecasts. We continue to look for a total of three hikes this year, followed by a pause, and two additional hikes in 2019 where we think the hiking cycle ends

1:00 PM

Buyback proposal fails to lift PC Jeweller; stock tanks 23% from day's high

Shares of PC Jeweller have dipped 18% to Rs 119 per share falling 23% from its intra-day high on the BSE, despite the company announcing a share buyback proposal. The stock was up 6% to Rs 154 in early morning trade.
 

PC Jeweller on Sunday, April 29, said that the board of directors of the company will meet on Friday, May 5, 2018 to consider the proposal for buy back of fully paid-up equity shares of the company. READ MORE

12:42 PM

SECTOR WATCH Why Indian refineries continue to attract investors with deep pockets

 

Today morning, the finance and petroleum ministries will open the bids for oil and gas exploration blocks under the Open Acerage Licensing Policy (OALP). Officials are hopeful the bids, coming after a lot of tweaks in the policy, will show up some interesting offers.

 

But the big news this morning is a reported offer by Kuwait Petroleum International to buy a 24 per cent stake in Bina refinery, a 50:50 joint venture between state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Oman Oil Co. Last month, Saudi Aramco announced it plans to invest 50 per cent in a Rs 3 trillion refinery project floated by the three state run oil companies— Indian Oil Corporation, BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.

12:24 PM

STOCKS NEAR ALL-TIME HIGH

COMPANY	LATEST	ALL TIME HIGH	PREV HIGH	PREV DATE	VOLUME
BERGER PAINTS	283.40	287.85	287.30	30-APR-2018	18951
BOMBAY DYEING	311.50	317.45	316.30	30-APR-2018	444310
BRITANNIA INDS.	5533.85	5560.35	5534.95	30-APR-2018	2859
DABUR INDIA	374.55	382.30	371.70	30-APR-2018	125743
ESCORTS	998.00	1018.50	1006.50	30-APR-2018	94502

12:09 PM

Bonds: Rising interest rates likely to hurt India's economic growth

 

Various estimates suggest that India could grow at 7.5 per cent this fiscal, but such a growth rate would likely be hampered if the interest rates remain at elevated levels. The 10-year yields on government bonds (G-secs) are a good gauge of the medium term interest rate trajectory, and those yields are on the rise.

 

The foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are liquidating their fixed income portfolio, and at an increasing pace in the past three months, leaving the market at the hands of domestic money. READ MORE

12:01 PM

Markets at noon

S&P BSE Sensex	35,182.20		0.06%
Nifty 50	10,733.30		-0.06%
S&P BSE 200	4,718.66		-0.10%
Nifty 500	9,486.15		-0.11%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,963.75		-0.28%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	18,390.28		-0.06%

11:45 AM

Top BSE500 gainers

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)	VOLUME
SCHNEIDER ELECT.	130.30	17.10	15.11	445347
REL. COMM.	17.05	1.80	11.80	10057877
TRIVENI TURBINE	106.50	7.20	7.25	14567
ORIENT CEMENT	148.45	9.05	6.49	4962
WELSPUN INDIA	60.25	3.15	5.52	292797

11:29 AM

Breakout above 10,650 on Nifty is a positive

The Nifty has continued its northwards journey, pushing through resistance between 10,650 and 10,700. The index is well above the 200-day moving average (200-DMA) and there is a likely short-term target of 10,900. While the short-term and intermediate trends are up, the index will have to cross the all-time high of 11,170 to confirm that the big bull market remains alive. READ MORE

 

11:16 AM

Half of BSE 500, Sensex stocks are once again trading above 200-DMA

Half of Sensex and BSE 500 stocks are once again trading above their 200-day moving average (DMA) following last month’s broad-based rally in the market. This is a sharp reversal of trend compared to March, when three-fourths of the BSE 500 stocks had dipped below their long-term averages.

In April, the benchmark Sensex rallied 6.7 per cent, while the BSE Midcap, BSE Smallcap and BSE 500 indices surged 6.6 per cent, 8.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively. Experts say the rebound was triggered by a better-than-expected start to the March quarter earnings season, easing of geopolitical concerns and normal forecasts for the monsoon. READ MORE

11:00 AM

HCL Technologies falls 5% as Q4 profit misses estimates

HCL Technologies dipped 5% to Rs 1,002 on the BSE in early morning trade after the IT company reported a lower than expected 1.5% quarter on quarter rise in its net profit at Rs 22.27 billion in March quarter (Q4FY18). Revenue grew 2.9% at Rs 131.79 billion over the previous quarter. Analysts on an average had expected profit of Rs 22.88 billion on revenue of Rs 132.19 billion for the quarter. READ MORE

10:47 AM

Schneider Electric Infra surges 19% as parent co agrees to buy L&T unit

Schneider Electric Infrastructure has surged 19% to Rs 135 on the BSE on back of heavy volumes after parent company Schneider Electric entered into a definitive agreement with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to buy its electrical & automation (E&A) business for an all-cash consideration of Rs 140 billion.

 

Schneider Electric Infrastructure is subsidiary of Schneider Electric, in which the French multinational owns a 75% stake. READ MORE

10:29 AM

BS Special Indian IT's big four: Will the next decade be as good as the previous one?

Last week TCS reached a historical landmark when its market cap hit the $100 billion mark. India's top four IT service companies viz., TCS, Infosys, WIPRO and HCL Technologies collectively built a revenue base of around $45 billion and created a market cap of around $183 billion (over Rs 12 trillion), which is significantly more than the overall BSE market cap at the start of this century! The combined annual wage bill of these four giants now stands at around $24 billion (Rs 1.60 trillion). READ MORE

 

10:14 AM

Tata Motors up 3% on strong domestic sales in April

Shares of Tata Motors were trading 3% higher at Rs 352 per share on the BSE in early morning trade after the company reported a rise of 86% in its domestic sales at 53,511 units for April 2018. It had sold 28,844 units in the same month last year.
 

In April 2018, the registered an impressive growth over last year due to the continued strong sales performance of its commercial and passenger vehicles business in the domestic market, Tata Motors said in a press release. READ MORE