Indices end slightly lower ahead of GDP data; PSU banks, realty stocks fall

All that happened in the markets today.

3:44 PM

Market rundown by Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder and Head of Trading, Zerodha

"Markets opened the session slightly higher for the day on the back of positive global cues, this rally was sold into and the indices corrected throughout the session to close over a quarter percent lower for the day.
 

Cement and banking were the weakest sectors for the session, with both Orient Bank and PNB tanking in trade."

3:36 PM

Top Sectoral loser: Nifty PSU Bank slips over 3%

3:34 PM

Sectoral Trend

3:33 PM

Sensex top gainers and losers

3:32 PM

Markets at Close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 34346, down 99 points while the broader NIfty50 index settled at 10554 down 28 points

3:24 PM

PNB scam: Bank ignored warnings from Gitanjali Gems auditor in March 2017

The Indian lenders led by Punjab National Bank ignored warnings from the auditor of Gitanjali Gems in March 2017 that the latter has defaulted to loans of Life Insurance Corporation. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

3:20 PM

Event update: ACC - Ambuja merger deferred for now

 

ACC-Ambuja have called off their proposed merger plan (for now) announced in May last year highlighting certain constraints in relation to implementing the merger at present (possibly related to transfer of mineral concessions). Instead, the board has approved an arrangement within companies for swap of materials and services on mutually agreed terms - to realize synergies; the details of the arrangement would be disclosed to its shareholders when it seeks their nod via postal ballot. 

 

The announcement is negative for the both companies, in our view. Although, we highlight that off late both companies have been indicating in their respective investor interactions that merger was only a bull case scenario and not a base case scenario. But the street still seems to factor in some kind of synergy benefits in the estimates. The outlook on fructification of these swap based synergies is hazy. Both companies have been amongst the less preferred names in the space for us. We currently have HOLD rating on both the stocks.

 

(Source: Antique Stock Broking)

 

3:20 PM

Gitanjali Gems, Vakrangee plunge 66% in one month

Shares of Gitanjali Gems and Vakrangee continued to remainunder pressure, eroding two-third of their market valuation in the past one month. Gitanjali Gems hit a new low of Rs 22.45, down 5% on the BSE. The stock of jewellery maker was locked in lower circuit for the nine straight trading days. In past one month, it tanked 66% from Rs 66.30. READ MORE

3:13 PM

Modi winning 2019 polls: Market has priced in 2nd term for BJP, says UBS

The 2019 general elections are still about a year away, but markets seem to have already priced in a second term for the incumbent Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. In a recent client note, brokerage UBS said while most investors had assigned a ‘very high probability’ of Modi winning the 2019 elections, markets had already priced this in. READ MORE

3:00 PM

ICICI Securities on ISGEC Heavy Engineering

 

The stock trades at 19x FY20E standalone EPS. We expect execution to improve in FY19 and FY20 leading to 22% and 26% revenue growth in the respective years. We expect EBITDA margins to improve gradually with reduction in working capital. 

 

Driven by strong execution and margin improvement, earnings are expected to grow by 37%/33% in FY19/FY20 respectively. Improvement in RoCE with healthy cashflows will aid in valuation rerating. Strategic tie-ups have further strengthened the company’s competitive ability to enter new technology areas, which will fuel incremental growth. Maintain BUY.

2:50 PM

Nifty PSU Bank index slips over 3%

2:40 PM

Kotak Securities on Kansai Nerolac

 

KNPL has been experiencing double digit volume YoY growth across segments since the last 12 quarters surpassing the performance of Asian Paints and Berger. The strong out-performance is on the back of: 1) Strong volume growth witnessed by the paint sector;2) New and innovative product launches by the company; 3) Strong distribution network of the company (20000+ dealers and 102 depots);4) Heavy promotion through multiple media platforms and 5) Sales aggression exhibited by the company. 

 

Management (and we agree) expect the growth momentum to continue in medium term as well with increasing disposable income, healthy GDP growth, strong automotive demand and private/public sector capex in the country. Maintain BUY with an unchanged target price of Rs 600 at 44x FY20E earnings.

2:28 PM

Market check

 

S&P BSE Sensex	34,360.38		-0.25%
Nifty 50	10,556.35		-0.25%
S&P BSE 200	4,611.25		-0.34%
Nifty 500	9,302.85		-0.32%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,588.27		-0.58%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	18,100.37		-0.30%

2:15 PM

Korea Summit: Modi woos foreign investors, says India most open economy

Pitching for foreign investments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India is one of the most open economies in the world and is ready to do business with the world.
 

Speaking at the India-Korea Business Summit, he said his government has worked towards creating a stable business environment and removed arbitrariness in decision-making. READ MORE

2:03 PM

Sensex top losers and gainers

1:52 PM

Britannia Industries hits new high; crosses Rs 5,000-mark

Britannia Industries hit a new high of Rs 5,057, up 1% on the BSE in otherwise subdued market. The stock was trading higher for the fourth straight trading days, seen its market capitalization crossing Rs 600 billion mark in intra-day trade on Tuesday. Britannia Industries has outperformed the market by 5% in past one week, as compared to 2% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ MORE

1:38 PM

News Watch PNB fraud: FinMin sets 15-day deadline for banks to fix operational gaps

The finance ministry on Tuesday set a 15-day deadline for state banks to take pre-emptive action against operational and technical risks, following a $2 billon fraud at the country's second-biggest state lender. Rajeev Kumar, secretary in the department of financial services, said in a tweet that state-run banks have 15 days to "take pre-emptive action and identify gaps/weaknesses" to tackle rising operational and technical risks. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

1:29 PM

Sharekhan on Zydus Wellness

 

The stock price of Zydus Wellness has run-up by 19% since our last update (on 8th February 2018) limiting the upside from current levels. Downgrading it Hold with revised price target of Rs1,300. The company’s long term growth prospects are intact and we expect revenues and PAT to grow at CAGR of 14% and 16% respectively.

1:14 PM

News watch Pricing woes force Cipla, Glenmark, Lupin to go slow on US drug pipeline

Faced with pricing pressure, large Indian pharmaceutical companies are focusing on selective product launches in the US market. The move comes amid increasing competition in the generic drug space and customer consolidation, which are impacting the companies' profits. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

1:06 PM

Market check

 

S&P BSE Sensex	34,368.39		-0.22%
Nifty 50	10,555.95		-0.25%
S&P BSE 200	4,615.37		-0.25%
Nifty 500	9,308.65		-0.26%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,626.13		-0.35%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	18,128.92		-0.14%

12:52 PM

Sectoral Trend

12:45 PM

India Market Strategy: Will Modi win in 2019... or late 2018?

 

Our discussions with investors suggest Prime Minister Modi winning the next national election is being assigned a very high probability by most, if not all, investors. Modi's reform agenda has aided investors in ignoring earnings disappointments over the past four years. Thus, his re-election as Prime Minister with a single-party majority underpins the market's hopes, reflected in rich multiples. 

 

However, a change in such expectations by investors through 2018 could result in lower multiples. We are not trying to predict the election outcome and even opinion/exit polls have gone wrong in the past. Instead, we outline key pointers for investors to track this big event ahead for Indian markets.

 

(Source: UBS report)

12:38 PM

BSE Sensex gainers and losers

12:33 PM

UPI-based system mulled for retail investors in IPOs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is considering introducing a UPI-based payment system for retail investors in initial public offerings (IPOs), a move that will help do away with cheque payments and reduce the time taken between the closing of an IPO and listing of the security to just three days. READ MORE

12:21 PM

Motilal Oswal Research recommends RIL

 

With the completion of core projects and tapering of telecom capex, we expect free cash flow generation of Rs 678 billion during FY18-20 on a consolidated basis.

 

We value RIL using summ-of-the-parts (SOTP) methodology. Using 7.5x EV/EBITDA for refining & petchem, DCF for E&P, 0.7x EV/sales for Reliance Retail, and DCF for RJio. We roll over our target price to March 2019. With a revised target price of Rs 1,111, we reiterate our Buy recommendation for the stock.

12:12 PM

Top sectoral loser: Nifty PSU Bank

12:03 PM

Market check

S&P BSE Sensex	34,388.15		-0.17%
Nifty 50	10,564.45		-0.17%
S&P BSE 200	4,618.93		-0.17%
Nifty 500	9,318.50		-0.15%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,628.18		-0.34%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	18,158.81		0.03%

11:48 AM

Sectoral watch: Cement industry

 

All-India retail cement prices remained flat at Rs 311/bag M-o-M (Rs309/bag in January 2018). However, prices rose 5% Y-o-Y. The prices indicate a mixed trend with the central region showing weakness, western region witnessing a rise and other regions staying flat MoM. YTD cement demand in FY18 during nine months ended December 2017 was flat (1.0% up) at 217mt. However, MoM growth was 8.4% in December 2017, while because of a weak base YoY growth was robust at 19.6%. 

 

Our channel check indicates demand gaining momentum in certain pockets, but except for selected regions the overall picture shows limited activity because of various reasons. Demand pick-up is dominantly from the government-led infrastructure segment while the organised real estate sector still remains listless.

 

(Source: Nirmal Bang report)

11:40 AM

Nelco hits 10-year high; surges 75% in 14 days post Q3 results

Nelco hit an over 10-year high of Rs 189, up 7% on the BSE, extending its rally after the company announced its October-December (Q3FY18) results. The stock was trading at its highest level since January 17, 2008. Since February 2, 2018, in past 14 trading days, it appreciated by 75%, as compared to 1% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ MORE

11:25 AM

Rise in govt bond yields to affect public sector banks' Q4 performance

Rajnish Kumar, chairman of India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), in an interview with a news channel, said the rise in government bond yields might affect the bank’s March quarter (Q4) results and the mark-to-market provisions would hit most banks. So, there is little doubt that other public sector banks (PSBs) will not go unscathed. READ MORE