Sensex ends 141 pts higher, Nifty settles at 10,397 levels; IT stocks rise

All that happened in the markets today.

3:48 PM

Top Sectoral loser: Nifty Pharma down nearly 2%

3:40 PM

Top Sectoral gainer: Nifty IT up over 2%

3:39 PM

Sectoral Trend

3:37 PM

Sensex top losers and gainers

3:36 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,845, up 141 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,397 up 37 points.

3:21 PM

MUST READ Gitanjali's Mehul Choksi and a London-Hong Kong cross connection

In 2010, Gitanjali promoter Mehul Choksi’s Hong Kong-based companies, Aston Luxury Group and Crown Aim Limited, invested in a London-based company called Alfred Terry Limited. Business Standard had reported earlier that Aston Luxury and Crown Aim were sharing the same office building and staff services with Aura Gems and Sunshine Gems. READ MORE

Mehul Choksi

3:16 PM

News Watch PNB fraud: Centre opposes plea seeking independent probe in Nirav Modi case

The Centre on Wednesday opposed in the Supreme Court a PIL seeking an independent probe and deportation of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi in the over Rs 110 billion PNB fraud case, saying an FIR has been lodged and a probe was on.
 

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said it would not say anything on the matter now and listed the PIL filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda for further hearing on March 16. READ MORE

3:02 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,792.20		0.26%
Nifty 50	10,375.45		0.15%
S&P BSE 200	4,535.86		0.04%
Nifty 500	9,148.05		-0.03%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,375.72		-0.27%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,782.35		-0.27%

3:00 PM

News Watch South Korean government says will support 'normal' cryptocurrency trading

 

Bitcoin’s stunning rebound continued on Tuesday, with the world’s largest digital token extending February’s gains after South Korean regulators signaled they will actively support what they called “normal” cryptocurrency trading.

 

In a further shift from earlier rhetoric -- which hinted at an outright ban of cryptocurrency exchanges -- Choe Heungsik, governor of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, told reporters he wants to see normalised trading of digital assets, and said the FSS is making efforts to do that. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

2:55 PM

Nomura on Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS)

We continue to like MSS as a play on premiumisation and value addition in cars for weight reduction, electronics and shift towards EVs. The ramp-up of new plants for SMP will be a key catalyst for the stock, in our view. We value the company using a 24x target P/E on March 2020F EPS (from Nov-17 earlier). Thus, we revise our target price to Rs 435 (Rs 442 previously). The stock trades at 27x/19.7x FY19/20F EPS. With strong 44% FY18-20F EPS CAGR, its outperformance should continue, in our view.

2:52 PM

CLSA on Phoenix Mills

Phoenix reported strong 3Q earnings, up 46% YoY, as its core mall portfolio continued to do well. Lease income grew 10% YoY, driving 14% YoY Ebitda growth. Its lease income performance appears sustainable given underlying consumption growth continues to match the lease income increase. For the next leg of growth Phoenix is looking to tie-up sites under its mall development platform by 1HFY19 and scale-up its office portfolio. We maintain our BUY rating with a revised target price of Rs722 (previously (Rs597)

2:51 PM

Centrum on Marksans Pharma (MPL)

We have revised our FY18E and FY19E EPS downwards by 3% and 19% respectively. We upgrade MPL to Buy from Hold rating, with a target price of Rs55 based on 18x March’20E EPS of Rs3.0, and a 45.3% upside from CMP. Key positive upsides would be additional ANDA approvals from US FDA and key negative would be regulatory issue with US FDA for its Goa facility

2:50 PM

Kotak Securities on IT sector

Nasscom has guided for IT services exports growth of 7-9% in c/c for FY2019 as against 7% likely to be achieved in FY2018. Nasscom expects a better economic environment and deals signed by the industry to help elevate growth trajectory especially towards the second half. We believe that FY2019 growth will be better than FY2018 though not as steep as the Street is building in estimates. Our recommendation bias is towards companies that have low implied growth acceleration baked into stock prices; Infosys and Tech Mahindra fit the bill

2:49 PM

Sectoral Trend

2:38 PM

Strong volumes buoy Ambuja Cements; better cost controls boost performance

The stellar performance of Ambuja Cements in the December quarter has surprised the Street. The impressive show came mainly on the back of higher-than-expected cement volumes and better cost control measures. Ambuja follows the January-December financial year.
 

A growth of 17.4% in cement volumes pulled up revenues, which grew 19.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 26.12 billion (up 14.5% sequentially). Realisations, however, remained subdued as expected. These were up 3% y-o-y at Rs 4,427 a tonne, but were 2.2% lower sequentially. READ MORE

2:26 PM

ONGC extends gain on interim dividend plan

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was trading 2% higher at Rs 191, extending its Tuesday’s 1.1% gain on the BSE, after the company announced that its board will meet next week to consider the second interim dividend.

ONGC on Monday after market hours said, a meeting of the board of directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on February 27, 2018, to consider, the declaration of 'Second Interim' Dividend, if any. READ MORE

2:13 PM

Yes Bank gets committee nod for raising Rs 30 billion via Basel-III bonds

Private sector lender Yes Bank today said its capital-raising committee has approved issue of Rs 30 billion Basel III compliant tier 2 bonds. "The capital raising committee of the board of the bank...has approved the issue of rated, listed, non-convertible, redeemable, unsecured, Basel III compliant tier 2 bonds, in the nature of debentures, of Rs 1 million each aggregating to Rs 30 billion," Yes Bank said in a BSE filing. READ MORE

1:57 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,754.12		0.15%
Nifty 50	10,364.30		0.04%
S&P BSE 200	4,531.12		-0.06%
Nifty 500	9,138.65		-0.14%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,354.15		-0.40%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,765.70		-0.37%

1:43 PM

Idea Cellular fixes Rs 82.50 per share to raise Rs 35-bn through QIP

Idea Cellular today said its capital raising committee has approved an issue price of Rs 82.50 per share for sale of shares through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise as much as Rs 35 billion.

 

"The capital raising committee of the company at its meeting today approved the closure of the issue for the QIP," Idea said in a regulatory filing. READ MORE

1:32 PM

Sectoral Watch: Nifty Metal down 2%

COMPANY NAME	LATEST	HIGH	LOW	CHG ( )	CHG(%)
TATA STEEL	636.55	655.55	635.30	-14.75	-2.26
VEDANTA	322.85	331.00	320.90	-5.85	-1.78
HINDALCO INDS.	240.15	250.80	238.75	-8.65	-3.48
JINDAL STEEL	244.10	254.80	244.00	-7.90	-3.13
COAL INDIA	310.20	311.75	305.15	-0.20	-0.06
JSW STEEL	298.40	308.15	298.15	-7.20	-2.36

1:31 PM

PNB fraud, SBI result: Why good earning season may not boost Indian stocks

An otherwise strong earnings season for India’s companies is proving just not good enough for some, after a surprise loss by the country’s biggest bank renewed worries over credit quality.
 

State Bank of India’s December-quarter results spurred Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. to pare its earnings per share estimate for NSE Nifty 50 Index firms by 3 per cent for the current fiscal and by 0.6 per cent for the financial year starting April 1. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

1:20 PM

News watch Rotomac Pens Rs 37 bn-fraud: CBI questions Vikram Kothari, son in Delhi

The CBI on Wednesday started questioning of Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari and his son, Rahul, at its headquarters in New Delhi in connection with alleged loan default of Rs 36.95 billion (Rs 3,695 crore) towards a consortium of seven nationalised banks, officials said. Earlier, Kothari was being questioned in Kanpur, where his company and residence is located, they said. READ MORE

1:15 PM

Promoters of companies pledging at two-year low on market rally

A rally in equities and a gradual improvement in the macroeconomy have led to a sharp decline in shares pledged by promoters of companies. According to data compiled by Prime Database, the percentage of pledged shares across listed companies is 14%, the lowest since March 2015. During the December quarter alone, the share of pledging went down by 75 basis points, thanks to a 9% rally in the broader Sensex. READ MORE

1:00 PM

Market tailwinds help Tata Motors arrest decline in key CV segments

Tata Motors, the country’s biggest commercial vehicle maker, has largely arrested the declining market share in most segments of the business. In fact, the company has increased its share in light commercial vehicles (LCV) while maintaining the share in medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) or trucks. This has helped its domestic business turn profitable during the October-December quarter after five successive loss-making quarters.
 

The company reported a standalone profit of Rs 1.83 billion in third quarter of FY18 against losses of Rs 10.46 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. READ MORE

12:55 PM

BSE Sensex top gainers and losers

12:40 PM

Sectoral Trend

12:39 PM

Domestic insurers play contra as mutual funds lap up shares

Domestic insurers have largely remained on the sidelines even as mutual funds (MFs) have stepped up their purchase of shares in the past two years. MFs have bought shares worth Rs 1.8 trillion from January 2016 to date. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) as a category, which mainly comprise MFs and insurance companies, have purchased less than Rs 1.3 trillion. This means insurers have remained net sellers during this time, with estimated sales of more than Rs 400 billion. READ MORE

12:23 PM

Reliance Securities on Ahluwalia Contracts

We maintain our positive stance on Ahluwalia Contracts (ACIL) mainly on the back of: (1) asset light business model; (2) strong balance-sheet (D/E at 0.2x); (3) best-in-class return ratios; and (4) no equity commitment unlike several other construction companies. Further, with strong pedigree in projects execution and superior expertise, we expect ACIL to add more quality projects to its kitty, going forward. Marginally tweaking our earnings estimates for forward years and introducing our FY20 estimates, we reiterate our BUY rating on the stock with a revised Target Price of Rs405.

(Source: Reliance Securities report)

12:21 PM

Sector watch: Prabhudas Lilladher on capital goods sector

Corporate believe awarding activity is likely to stay robust for next 2-3 quarters as government tries achieving various laid out targets. The fact that government is entering last 15 months of its current term in our view will expedite execution to show case their achievement. Most corporates continue to be confident of medium-term growth prospects, given the various initiatives taken by the government. Being on the cusp of a change, we prefer companies with sustainable competitive advantage and those which can deliver sustained earnings growth over the next few years. Our preferred picks are L&T, Sadbhav Engineering, Cummins India, Bharat Electronics and KEC International.

(Source: Prabhudas Lilladher report)

12:20 PM

Sector watch: Prabhudas Lilladher on autos

Growth drivers like a second consecutive year of normal monsoon, government focus on infrastructure and a rural focused budget 2018-19 should help the sector report good volume growth going ahead. However, volume growth for Q4FY18 might be impacted by the high base, given the BS IV related pre-buying over Q4FY17, particularly for two/three-wheelers and M&HCVs. Also, it would be interesting to see if companies can pass on the recent input cost pressures. Our preferred picks are M&M and Maruti Suzuki. Also, we remain positive on Ashok Leyland and Motherson Sumi from a longer-term perspective.

(Source: Prabhudas Lilladher report)