MARKET WRAP: Indices settle at record high led by L&T, Infosys, HDFC

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index settled 3% higher led by a sharp rise in the shares of Hindalco Industries and Jindal Steel & Power.

4:27 PM

MARKET COMMENT Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research

Market hits a new all-time high with S&P Sensex hitting 36902, just a tad below 37K mark while on the other side Nifty has been shy of testing its all-time high of 11171. Though, Nifty has given a definite breakout after consolidating in a flag pattern for a week. Further, We have seen a positive close above the resistance line of the flag which has turned bulls aggressively bullish.

A flag is a continuation pattern which indicates the continuation of the preceding trend in the market. While its Pole being the previous rally we have observed from 10600 odd levels which come to be 500 odd points while the breakout has happened above at 11050, the point of inflection for the pattern. Nifty has successfully closed above this point for the second consecutive day which indicates the control of directional bulls. With that, 11450 is the conservative target for this pattern in short-term

3:51 PM

Nifty Metal index ends 2.99% higher. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
HINDALCO INDS.	207.60	196.15	11.45	5.84
WELSPUN CORP	115.05	109.75	5.30	4.83
JINDAL STEEL	195.90	187.45	8.45	4.51
JINDAL STAIN .HI	130.25	124.70	5.55	4.45
NATL. ALUMINIUM	61.05	58.55	2.50	4.27

3:49 PM

Nifty sectoral gainers of the day

3:48 PM

BSE Sensex: L&T, Asian Paints, Vedanta among top gainers of the day

3:33 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,825, up 106 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,134, up 50 points.

3:25 PM

IDBI Capital on L&T Infotech

We factor Q1FY19 beat and increase FX rate to Rs68 vs. Rs65.5 earlier for rest of FY19E and FY20E. We increase FY19/20E revenue by 2.6%/3.2% and EPS by 6.3%/5.7%. We now forecast FY18-20E revenue (US$)/EPS CAGR of 16.9%/18.3%. We also raise our target price to Rs1,809 based on 20x FY20E and maintain HOLD

3:14 PM

SBI Ecowrap: RBI to maintain status quo on August 01

We believe August rate decision is a close call, though we believe status quo rather than a hike looks the best option. The only reason for a rate hike by RBI at this juncture might be to satiate the self fulfilling prophecy of market expectations of a rate hike to stem the rupee depreciation (though rupee depreciated by 3% post June).

 

In our view, inflation risks are still evenly balanced. While the MSP hike could statistically push up CPI by 73 basis points, such inflation is unlikely to materialize as it is purely subject to procurement by the Central Government/State Government. In fact, without effective procurement, historical trends suggest that market prices have often fallen below MSP due to demand supply dynamics

3:12 PM

Exporters fear India may lose $5.5 bn in gold medallion, coin exports

India is set to lose around $5.5 billion worth of gold medallion and coin exports due to the government's decision to ban shipment of gold beyond 22 carat of purity. Since gold medallions and coins contain 24 carats of gold, their export has been banned, albeit unintentionally. READ MORE

3:08 PM

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals zooms 17% on 1:1 bonus

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals have zoomed 17% to Rs 3,249 per share, also their 52-week high on the BSE, after the company's board recommended a bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1. READ MORE

2:51 PM

Rail related stocks in focus; Titagarh Wagons, Texmaco Rail surge 20%

Shares of railway related stocks such as Titagarh Wagons, Texmaco Rail & Engineering, Cimmco, Hind Rectifiers and Commercial Engineering & Body Builders Company have rallied up to 20% on the BSE.
 

According to a PTI report, the railway is looking at 4,000 km of track renewal in each of the next two financial years --2018-19 and 2019-20. Its estimated cost for 2018-19 is a little above Rs 100 billion. READ MORE

2:36 PM

MARKET CHECK

INDEX	LATEST	PREVIOUS	CHANGE	CHANGE(%)
	36863.29	36718.60	144.69	0.39
	14994.78	14855.22	139.56	0.94
	15615.89	15392.58	223.31	1.45
	16185.83	15867.21	318.62	2.01
	4317.47	4286.44	31.03	0.72

2:35 PM

Devangshu Datta Rupee may rebound if crude keeps falling

The rupee hit a new low on Friday before it recovered to some degree. That was driven by a plunge in the Yuan’s value, which dragged down most Asian currencies in “sympathy”. However, the stockmarket rose on Monday, driven by the revamping of GST over the weekend.

 

Crude oil prices have also abated slightly, bringing some relief to India’s external account and we may see a rupee rebound if crude continues to trend down.  READ MORE

2:31 PM

Equirus Securities on HT Media Ltd (HTML)

HT Media (HTML) posted below-expected 1QFY19 revenues of ~Rs 5.4bn (-7% yoy; -13% below EE) as both print advertising (-7% yoy) and circulation (-3% yoy) revenues remained under pressure. Newsprint cost inflation and one-offs in other expenses squeezed EBITDA margins to 6.6% (-538bps yoy) — among all-time lows. After reviving last quarter, English ad revenues slid ~9% y-o-y while Hindi ad revenues declined ~5% yoy.

The radio business (up ~12% vs. 2% in 4Q) is being demerged from HTML (except Hyderabad & UP stations) and merged with the radio business of Next Media Works (NMW), a listed company. The transaction, to be closed in 12-18 months, would reduce HTML to a pure publishing play. We pare revenue/EPS estimates by 5%/15% and 5%/22% for FY19 and FY20 respectively, and roll over to a Sep’19 target price of Rs 50 (Jun’19 target price: Rs 90). Maintain REDUCE.

2:28 PM

ICRA on interest rate outlook

With mixed cues regarding the extent of inflationary and fiscal risks, and the momentum of economic growth, ICRA anticipates that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would adopt a cautious stance and increase the repo rate to 6.5% in the August 2018 review. However, given the lack of clarity regarding some of these risks, it may persist with the neutral stance of the monetary policy, to signal that the timing and magnitude of upcoming rate hikes would be data dependant

2:27 PM

MUST READ Venezuela inflation may surge to 1,000,000% by 2018-end, projects IMF

Venezuela's inflation rate is likely to top 1,000,000 per cent in 2018, an International Monetary Fund official wrote on Monday, putting it on track to become one of the worst hyperinflationary crises in modern history.

 

The South American nation's economy has been steadily collapsing since the crash of oil prices in 2014 left it unable to maintain a socialist system of subsidies and price controls CLICK HERE FOR MORE

(Photo: Shuttershock)

2:23 PM

WEB EXCLUSIVE Is it a good time to buy mid-and small-cap stocks? 

Mid-and small-cap stocks have taken a beating thus far in calendar year 2018 (CY18). The S&P BSE Mid-cap and S&P BSE Small-cap indices have lost nearly 15 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, as compared to 7 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex till July 20. The Nifty Small-cap 100 index hit a 52-week low of 6,926.80 on July 19, after a sharp decline in market values of Jet Airways (India), PVR and Manpasand Beverages READ MORE

Photo: Shutterstock.com

1:46 PM

Won't devalue yuan to boost its exports amid trade war, says China

China has no desire to boost its exports through competitive devaluation while the nation’s sound economic fundamentals are providing support to the currency, a spokesman said on Monday as US President Donald Trump took issue with the yuan’s month-long losing streak. READ MORE

1:30 PM

GST exemption on warehoused gold a major relief to jewellery exporters

Banks and jewellery exporters have a reason to smile after the GST Council did some tweaking during its meeting on Saturday.

 

The council proposed that supply of warehouse goods to any person before clearance for home consumption will not be treated as supply and hence no GST is required to be paid on such transactions. READ MORE

1:17 PM

Alphabet trounces profit estimates, shares rise

Google parent Alphabet Inc on Monday reported that its profit margin rose in the second quarter, delivering investors a long-awaited sign that expenses are coming into check. Shares jumped more than 5 percent after hours. READ MORE

1:04 PM

Punjab National Bank gains after capital infusion

Punjab National Bank rose 1.39% to Rs 80.05 on BSE after the bank said it received Rs 2816 crore capital infusion from the government. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 23 July 2018. READ MORE

12:46 PM

Idea Cellular surges 16% after it pays Rs 72 billion with Vodafone to DoT

Shares of Idea Cellular have surged 16% to Rs 61.10 per share on the BSE on the back of heavy volumes in anticipation that the merger with Vodafone is likely to be approved in the next few days.

 

According to Business Standard report, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have deposited a total Rs 72 billion over the spectrum charge demand made by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for merging their mobile business. READ MORE

12:29 PM

8K Miles hits 52-week low; stock tanks 52% in one month

Shares of 8K Miles Software Services are locked in the lower circuit for the third straight trading day, falling 10% at Rs 250 per share, also their 52-week low on the BSE in otherwise firm market. READ MORE

12:16 PM

35 ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund schemes invest Rs 25 bn in Bharat-22 ETF

Several actively managed funds of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (MF) have exposure to the Bharat-22 exchange traded fund (ETF). In November 2017, when the ETF was launched, the 35 schemes offered by the fund house had invested a cumulative Rs 25 billion in the ETF. This accounted for 27 per cent of the ETF’s closing AUM for November. READ MORE

12:03 PM

Markets at Noon

 

S&P BSE Sensex	36,862.81		0.39%
Nifty 50	11,132.85		0.43%
S&P BSE 200	4,766.45		0.77%
Nifty 500	9,436.30		0.77%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	15,595.68		1.32%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	16,165.99		1.88%

11:47 AM

Investment in P-notes plunges to more than 9-year low of Rs 836.88 bn

Investments through participatory notes into Indian capital markets plunged to more than nine-year low of Rs 836.88 billion at June-end amid stringent norms put in place by the watchdog Sebi to check misuse of these instruments.

 

P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock markets without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a proper due diligence process. READ MORE

11:30 AM

Top gainers in BSE 500:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
TEXMACO RAIL	68.20	59.00	9.20	15.59
ACC	1471.00	1305.35	165.65	12.69
ORIENT CEMENT	126.00	113.55	12.45	10.96
IL&FS TRANSPORT	38.80	35.00	3.80	10.86
L&T TECHNOLOGY	1446.55	1306.55	140.00	10.72

11:19 AM

FII ACTIVITY TREND

DATE	BUY VALUE (  CR)	SALE VALUE (  CR)	NET VALUE (  CR)
23-JUL-2018	4410.52	4151.15	259.37
20-JUL-2018	4654.79	4344.52	310.27
19-JUL-2018	3480.53	3796.22	-315.69
18-JUL-2018	4642.55	4546.87	95.68
17-JUL-2018	4113.54	4787.53	-673.99

Provisional Figures» More

11:18 AM

COMPANY ANALYSIS Havells: Strong show in core operations seen as key driver of growth

Havells kicked off FY19 on a strong note, clocking 40 per cent revenue growth during the June quarter (Q1), led by its electrical consumer durables (ECD) segment. While the Lloyd air-conditioners (AC) business also surprised positively, others supported growth, too. READ MORE

11:17 AM

Motilal Oswal Securities on ACC

We believe that ACC will continue narrowing its profitability gap with peers, led by a higher proportion of premium sales, optimization of sales and rationalization of fixed cost. Any efforts toward capacity addition will be an added advantage.
 

We value ACC at 9x (30% discount to peers vs present discount of 45%) to arrive at a target price of Rs 1,633 (+25% upside). Upgrade to Buy.

11:15 AM

IIFL on cement sector

With Q1FY19 Ebitda/tonne likely to be lower YoY by Rs222 and impact of cost increases likely to reflect in the next 2 quarters with less than adequate price increases so far, we expect FY19 profitability to be muted for the industry. Though the news flow is likely to be positive in the near term, as producers attempt to pass on cost increases, news flow is likely to turn negative due to the high base for demand growth from 3QFY19.