Barometers trade near day's high

Key equity market barometers firmed up once again to hit the day's high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:27 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 346.39 points or 0.85% at 41,313.25. The Nifty 50 index jumped 98.45 points or 0.82% at 12,154.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.48% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.13%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1274 shares rose and 1124 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 41 stocks advanced while 9 stocks declined.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index advanced 0.57% to 8,202.75 on bargain hunting. The index fell 1.43% in past two sessions.

Tata Motors (up 5.71%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.18%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.87%), TVS Motor Company (up 0.6%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.24%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.2%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.14%) and Escorts (up 0.09%) advanced. Eicher Motors was down 4.28%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Finance surged 4.08% to Rs 4385. On consolidated basis, net profit jumped 52% to Rs 1614 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 1060 crore reported in Q3 December 2018. The company reported that this is the highest ever quarterly consolidated net profit ever posted by the NBFC. Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 7011.05 in Q3 2019 as compared to Rs 4985.39 crore reported in Q3 2018, registering a rise of 40.63%. Net interest income for Q3FY20 was up by 42% to Rs 4,537 crore from Rs 3,206 crore registered in Q3FY19.

The NBFC major reported a 35% rise in consolidated Asset under Management (AUM) to Rs 1,45,092 crore as of 31 December 2019 from Rs 1,07,507 crore posted on 31 December 2018. On downside, Loan losses and provisions (expected credit loss) for Q3FY20 soared 84.263% to Rs 831 crore as against Rs 451 crore posted in Q3FY19. During the quarter, the Company has made an accelerated provision of Rs 85 crore in its loan against securities portfolio.

The Ramco Cements declined 4.44% to Rs 812.50 after consolidated net profit fell 3.03% to Rs 94.60 crore on a 5.99% increase in net sales to Rs 1,290 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Consolidated profit before tax slipped 14.65% to Rs 110.89 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 129.93 crore in Q3 December 2018. Tax expense, during the quarter also dropped 48.36% to Rs 15.49 crore as compared to Rs 30 crore in corresponding quarter, previous year. The Q3 result was declared during trading hours today, 29 January 2020.

The cement sale volume rose 3.53% to 28.44 lakh tonne units in Q3 December 2019 as against 27.47 lakh tonne in Q3 December 2018. The consolidated Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 3.10% to Rs 212.55 crore in Q3 December 2019 as compared to Rs 219.35 crore in Q3 December 2018.

Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) slumped 6.34% to Rs 1285.65, extending yesterday's 4.59% slide. Jupiter Asset Management (Jupiter), which holds 9.37% in Godfrey Phillips India (GPI), on 7 January 2020, raised concerns over the company's corporate governance standards. Jupiter said that it has previously raised the "broader question of the group's corporate governance" with the company. "It is clear to us that a review of the group's governance would be beneficial, Jupiter said.

GPI on Tuesday clarified that its promoter KK Modi-owned Modi Enterprises has no plan to sell its stake in the cigarette maker. The company also clarified that it is neither engaged nor privy to any such discussions on rumored potential transaction by its promoters". The clarification came after Lalit Modi, son of late industrialist KK Modi, said on Twitter that all assets of the group were up for sale. "Just to set the record straight Yes, all assets of the KK Modi group are going on sale. I mean all. The other three trustees wanted to continue running the business but I felt post my father passing away - the value will deplete. I voted for sale," Modi tweeted late on 27 January. GPI also clarified that it received a clarification from its "significant promoter" that there has been no decision to put the company's assets on sale.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.574% at 14:25 IST compared with 6.575% in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee appreciated against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 71.2275, compared with its previous closing low of 71.31.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2020 settlement was up 70 cents at $60.21 per barrel. The contract rose 19 cents or 0.32% to settle at $59.51 a barrel in the previous session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2019 settlement fell 0.03% to Rs 40,231.

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