MARKET WRAP: Sensex ends 373 pts up as rupee recovers; PM eco meet eyed

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap settled 1.6 per cent higher and the S&P BSE SmallCap rose 1.4 per cent.

3:48 PM

Nifty Pharma index ends 2.51% higher. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
KIOCL	226.50	188.75	37.75	20.00
DEN NETWORKS	59.60	49.70	9.90	19.92
BAJAJ HINDUSTHAN	8.50	7.15	1.35	18.88
SH.RENUKA SUGAR	14.80	12.90	1.90	14.73
BALRAMPUR CHINI	88.65	78.00	10.65	13.65

3:47 PM

Nifty sectoral gainers and losers of the day

3:45 PM

BSE Sensex: Vedanta, Power Grid, Asian Paints among top gainers of the day

3:35 PM

Market at close

The S&P BSE Sensex reclaimed the crucial 38,000 level to settle at 38,091, up 373 points or 1 per cent while NSE's Nifty50 index ended 145 points or 1.28 per cent higher at 11,515. 

3:15 PM

Lesson from Lehman crisis: Stay invested in equities even in bleak times

It has been 10 years since Lehman Brothers collapsed. This watershed event had an impact on financial markets and economies around the globe. In India, the benchmark Sensex shed a staggering 52.48 per cent during the calendar year 2008. Liquidity dried up within the debt market, while the real estate industry was hamstrung by lack of funding. Job losses and salary cuts led to demand contraction. A decade later, investors need to imbibe the lessons from that black swan event so that if another one of a similar magnitude strikes, they are better prepared to handle it. READ MORE

3:11 PM

Brokerages urge Sebi to modify plan to extend derivatives trading hours

Brokerages are urging India’s market regulator to modify a plan to extend equity derivatives trading hours due to concerns over their readiness and the costs of implementing the proposal, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

 

Local and foreign brokers have asked the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to postpone until January its plan to introduce longer trading hours, citing the need for more testing, the people said. READ MORE

2:59 PM

10 years of Lehman collapse: What has changed since, and what has not

In the 10 years since storied investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, sending shock waves through the world of international finance and sparking a lengthy global financial crisis, what is perhaps most surprising to many observers is that so little has changed. The genuine changes are, however, under the surface — and those too need to be examined carefully to see if they still retain their usefulness and significance as crisis resolution becomes less of a priority. READ MORE

2:46 PM

India's fuel demand rose 0.8% year on year in August

India's fuel demand rose 0.8 per cent in August compared with the same month last year. Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 16.60 million tonnes, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed. READ MORE

An employee stands next to a pump at a fuel station in New Delhi | Photo: Reuters

2:30 PM

India-focused investors' fundraising in Jan-Aug sees 109% annual growth

Fundsraising by India-focused investors — both intended and actual — in the first eight months of this calendar year has increased by more than 100 per cent to $5.32 billion from $2.55 billion during the same period last year. In terms of volume, the number of deals during the January-August period rose by 48 per cent to 37 from 25 last year. READ MORE

2:15 PM

Ten years on, why the country is unlikely to revisit the Lehman crisis

On September 15, 2008, fear ruled the street. The collapse of Lehman Brothers had left the financial system tottering. In the 25 years I have spent in the banking industry, I had never seen any other international event having such a huge impact on India. Talks of job losses were rife, and many jobs were actually lost. READ MORE

1:59 PM

Market Check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	38,032.05	+314.09	+0.83
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	12,017.70	+117.07	+0.98
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	34,536.46	+629.51	+1.86
S&P BSE 100	11,781.88	+129.90	+1.11
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,641.11	+45.92	+1.28

(Source: BSE)

1:45 PM

Meet the decision makers who steered India through the Lehman crisis

Palaniappan Chidambaram has been acknowledged by D Subbarao to have pushed the latter’s candidature as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor in September 2008. But his term ended perhaps with less warmth than it started.

 

The beginning of a frosty relationship between the two can be traced back to the financial crisis when Chidambaram constituted a liquidity management committee and asked the central bank to nominate a representative. READ MORE

1:30 PM

10 years of Lehman crisis: India Inc's global foray has been a mixed bag

In 2006, just two years before the Lehman crisis had hit the global financial markets, two top Indian business houses — Tata and Aditya Birla — made headlines by acquiring large companies abroad. The acquisition of Novelis by Birla’s Hindalco for $6 billion and the buyout of Corus Steel by Tata Steel for $12.3 billion gave massive confidence boost to India Inc. READ MORE

1:16 PM

NEWS ALERT PMO's economic review meeting at 6:30 pm today

1:02 PM

Top gainers in BSE 500:

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)
BALRAMPUR CHINI	87.70	9.85	12.65
R C F	74.05	6.30	9.30
JINDAL STAIN .HI	151.50	11.20	7.98
GRANULES INDIA	115.95	8.25	7.66
M & M FIN. SERV.	453.75	28.20	6.63

12:47 PM

Vedanta rises 4% on natural gas discovery in Krishna Godavari block

Shares of Vedanta rose 4.3 per cent to Rs 233.40 per share on the BSE in intra-day trade after the company on Thursday said that it has discovered natural gas in a Krishna Godavari basin block in the Bay of Bengal. READ MORE

12:30 PM

Crypto crash now worse than the dotcom bubble burst as losses reach 80%

 

The Great Crypto Crash of 2018 looks more and more like one for the record books.

 

As virtual currencies plumbed new depths on Wednesday, the MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index extended its collapse from a January high to 80 per cent. The tumble has now surpassed the Nasdaq Composite Index's 78 per cent peak-to-trough decline after the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. READ MORE

12:17 PM

JUST NOW

HCC files draft offer letter on rights issue with Sebi, bourses: Media reports

12:15 PM

KNR Constructions up 6% after co's unit receives sanction for HAM projects

 

Shares of KNR Constructions rallied 6 per cent in the intraday trade on Friday after the company's subsidiary KNR Shankarampet Projects received sanction from bank to finance its Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) Projects. READ MORE

12:01 PM

BREAKING NEWS

August WPI inflation at 4.53% vs 5.09% in July

12:00 PM

Markets at noon

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	37,895.16	+177.20	+0.47
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	11,973.07	+72.44	+0.61
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	34,394.39	+487.44	+1.44
S&P BSE 100	11,737.39	+85.41	+0.73
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,621.64	+26.45	+0.74

11:45 AM

Take SIP route to mid and small-cap funds; avoid lump sum investments

 

Investors in mid-and small-cap stocks and funds have had a torrid time. And it’s primarily because of the high valuations that these stocks reached in 2017, and the subsequent fall. Year-to-date, the S&P BSE Midcap Index is down 10.19 per cent while the BSE Small-Cap Index is down 14.26 per cent.

 

Some stocks within these segments have seen higher correction than the benchmark indices. However, to use the clichéd phrase, there seems to be ‘cautious optimism’ from some fund managers. READ MORE

11:32 AM

Eight questions you must ask your broker before buying a stock

 

Most of us tend to rely on our stock broker's advice when it comes to buying and selling of shares. Remember that the onus of the investment still lies with you. While a stock may be a great business, it may not be a great investment. Similarly, it may be a good investment pick but it may not be suitable for you. Any stock recommendation can never be accepted in black and white with a sense of finality. As an investor the onus is on you to ask some serious questions to your broker before buying the stock to ensure that you are buying into the right story. READ MORE

11:16 AM

Why Dr Reddy's is back on investors' radar

After being a major underperformer over the last couple of years, Dr Reddy’s is back on investors’ radar with the stock hitting its 52-week high earlier this week. The pharmaceutical major has gained almost 25 per cent since its July lows, outperforming the Sensex and BSE Healthcare index in the process. READ MORE

11:11 AM

COMMENT Goldman Sachs on economic data

We expect the moderation in inflation to be temporary, and forecast headline inflation to rise to the upper end of RBI’s inflation target band by late 2018. We expect the RBI to remain on hold for the rest of FY19 given incomplete transmission of past RBI rate hikes by banks. Beyond that, we forecast RBI to hike in each of the following three quarters (total of 75bps).

That said, risks are tilted towards earlier rate hikes after the sharp fall in INR and its expected pass-through to inflation. Our FY19 headline inflation forecast is now 5.3%yoy (from 5.5% earlier) with the recent softening in inflation, but this is still above consensus expectation of 4.9%.

11:09 AM

Jefferies on IT sector

We upgrade FY19-21 EPS estimates by 1-7% and price targets by 6-10% for the top tier IT services companies to reflect the USD-INR rate of 70.3/72/72 vs. 67.5/68.5/69.5 earlier. We note, however, that stock outperformance vs. Nifty over the last one month largely reflects this, particularly in the case of HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and Wipro. We continue to prefer TCS and Infosys on better underlying business fundamentals.

11:08 AM

ICICI Securities on NMDC

For Q1FY19, NMDC reported a robust EBITDA margin of 58.8% primarily on the back of healthy realisations and lower costs. Since July 2018, prices of NMDC’s iron ore lumps have increased by ~| 500/tonne while prices of fines have increased by ~| 450/tonne. We believe the benefit of this sharp increase in prices will directly flow into the EBITDA, thereby boosting overall margins. Furthermore, the company has a pellet plant of 1.2 MT. The sharp increase in pellet prices recently also augurs well for the company. We value the company on an SOTP basis and arrive at a target price of Rs 140. We upgrade our recommendation to BUY.

11:08 AM

IPO WATCH ICICI Securities on Ircon

Ircon’s revenues grew at 29.4% CAGR to | 4001.2 crore in FY16-18. The order book was at a robust | 22407 crore, which implies an order book to bill ratio of 5.6x on FY18 numbers, indicating revenue growth getting better ahead. At the IPO price band of | 470-475, the stock is available at 10.7-10.9x FY18 EPS. Adjusting for subsidiary investments worth ~| 700 crore, the issue is available at 9.2x FY18 EPS on higher band, which is attractive valuation vis-à-vis its peer companies. Hence, we have a SUBSCRIBE recommendation on the issue at the offer price only for listing gains

11:00 AM

Nifty Pharma index rises 2%

 

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were in focus with the Nifty Pharma index rising over 2 per cent to 10,623.60 levels in the intra-day deals after Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma) and Lupin USFDA approval for their respective medicines.

 

Sun Pharma rose over 3 per cent to an intra-day high of Rs 670.90 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the drug maker announced USFDA approval of XELPROS to treat open-angle Glaucoma or Ocular Hypertension. This approval is from Sun Pharma’s Halol facility. READ MORE

10:45 AM

Capital infusion, change in borrowing mix key triggers for AU Small Finance

 

The stock of AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) has surged about 20 per cent in the last six months, outperforming the BSE Bankex’s return of 8.4 per cent. The stock continues to trade at a premium valuation of over five times its FY20 estimated book value.

 

Demand for the stock is on account of strong performance and robust earnings outlook, with recent triggers being the capital infusion and a change in its borrowing mix. Temasek Holdings invested Rs 10 billion in the bank (30 per cent equity and 70 per cent convertible warrants) in May this year READ MORE