Key equity indices ended with decent gains on Wednesday backed by positive global cues. IT and metal shares were in demand. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 185.23 points or 0.48% at 39,086.03. The Nifty 50 index rose 64.75 points or 0.56% at 11,535. The Nifty has risen 1.30% in two sessions.
Mahindra & Mahindra (up 5.77%), Reliance Industries (up 1.97%) and Infosys (up 1.07%) were major index movers on Wednesday.
Asian Paints (down 1.63%), HDFC (down 1.25%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 1%) were the major index shakers.
The broader market was firm. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.26% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.66%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1628 shares rose and 1051 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 25,662,349 with 855,578 deaths. India reported 8,01,282 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 66,333 deaths while 29,01,908 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Economy:
Goods and Services tax (GST) collection for the month of August stood at Rs 86,449 crore, slightly less than Rs 87,422 crore collected in July, the government said on September 1. The collection is 12% lower than Rs 98,202 crore collected in the month of August 2019.
Numbers to Watch:
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 5.921% as compared with 5.943% at close in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 73.035, compared with its close of 72.87 during the previous trading session.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2020 settlement rose 10 cents at $45.68 a barrel. The contract rose 30 cents, or 0.66% to settle at $45.58 a barrel in the previous trading session.
Foreign Markets:
The US Dow index futures were up 181 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks today.
European shares advanced while Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday.
In US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit new highs on Tuesday with technology leading the charge as Apple, Zoom Video soared, and on the macro front, better-than-expected data on US manufacturing sector data gave optimism about economic recovery. Investors also expected more policy support.
The US Trade Representative's office said on September 1 it has reportedly extended China tariff exclusions for a wide range of goods, including smart watches and certain medical masks, through the end of 2020, rather than renewing the previous one-year extension. In a Federal Register notice, USTR said the extensions were applied to products excluded from its 7.5% "Section 301" tariffs imposed a year ago on some $300 billion worth of Chinese goods a year ago amid tense trade talks between the world's two largest economies. The products included a number of Bluetooth and wearable data-transmitting devices, such as those imported from China by Apple Inc, FitBit, Sonos and other technology companies.
In economic data, American manufacturers for August showed a fourth straight monthly rise. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 56% in August from 54.2% in July.
Buzzing Indian Segments:
The Nifty IT index rose 1.48% to 18,076.95. The index fell 1.70% in the past two sessions.
Persistent Systems, Mindtree, Mphasis, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Wipro rose by 0.75% to 5.22%.
IT services firm Happiest Minds Technologies has received markets regulator Sebi's approval to float initial public offer. The IPO will open on Monday, 7 September and close on Wednesday, 9 September 2020. The price band is fixed at Rs 165-166 per share.
The Nifty Metal index rose 1.79% to 2,541.35. The index has risen 4.99% in two days.
SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, NMDC, Hindustan Copper, Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco Industries and NALCO rose by 0.27% to 3.87%.
Jindal Steel & Power rose 1.47%. Jindal Steel & Power (Mauritius) (JSPML), a wholly owned subsidiary of Jindal Steel & Power, has sold 4,86,999 shares, representing 48.99% of the share capital of JSIS Oman, to Vulcan Steel, a Mauritius-based subsidiary of Templar Investment.
This is the first tranche of the sale, and JSPML aims to complete the entire sale within the specified time, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) said in a statement issued during trading hours today (2 September).
Stocks in Spotlight:
Escorts surged 10% to 1222.30. The company's total tractor sales surged 80% to 7,268 units in August 2020 over August 2019. Total domestic tractor sales stood at 6,750 units (up 79.4% YoY) and total exports were at 518 units (up 90.4% YoY) in August 2020. The announcement was made during trading hours on Tuesday.
Jubilant FoodWorks rose 4.83%. The restaurant chain operator reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 73.9 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 71.6 crore in Q1 June 2019. Revenue from operations tumbled 59.1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 388.4 crore during the quarter. EBITDA slumped 88.7% to Rs 24.6 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin stood at 6.3% as on 30 June 2020, lower than 23% in Q1 June 2019.
The impact of COVID-19 was felt severely in Q1 FY21. The nationwide lockdown led to a complete closure of stores initially, with dine-in and takeaway remaining closed for most of the quarter. The company leveraged its supply chain network, vendor partnerships and logistics set-up to ensure uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the stores. This allowed us to reopen our stores swiftly for delivery - Domino's was amongst the fastest to reopen restaurants with over 78% of the network resuming operations by June. Both the delivery and takeaway channels recovered fully by August and delivered a year on year growth, with the delivery channel growing at 110.9% like-for-like (LFL) and takeaway at 161.0% LFL.
ONGC rose 1.13%. The state-run oil major's consolidated net profit slumped 84.7% to Rs 1,090.03 crore on 42.9% drop in net sales to Rs 62,496.06 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. In dollars terms, standalone net realisation from crude oil price slumped 56.7% to $28.72 per barrel of oil (bbl) in Q1 FY21 from $66.32 bbl in Q1 FY20. Net realisation from crude oil price (joint venture) tanked 55.7% to $29.60 bbl in Q1 FY21 as against $66.78 bbl in Q1 FY20. Gas price on gross calorific value (GCV) basis dropped 35.2% to $2.39 per million metric British Thermal unit (MMBTU) in Q1 FY21 as against $3.69 per MMBTU in Q1 FY20. The revenue and PAT for Q1 have been impacted by lower crude price realization in the wake of COVID-19 fall out on global oil and gas industry as a direct consequence of adverse price movements in global crude prices. Lower gas prices also contributed to lower topline and bottom line.
NMDC gained 1.71% after the state-owned miner said its iron ore production rose 15% to 1.62 million tonnes (MT) in August 2020 from 1.41 MT in August 2019. The company's iron ore sales climbed 20% to 1.79 MT in August 2020 as against 1.49 MT in August 2019. On a month-on-month basis, NMDC's production declined 26% and sales fell 30% in August 2020 over July 2020. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 September 2020.
Coal India rose 2.10% after the coal major said its production grew 7.1% to 37.17 million tonnes in August 2020 as against 34.70 million tonnes in August 2019. Coal offtake jumped 9.3% to 44.34 million tonnes in August 2020 compared with 40.57 million tonnes in August 2019. On a month-on-month basis, coal production slipped 0.50% and coal offtake advanced 2.18% compared with last month.
TVS Motor Company fell 0.70%. The two wheeler maker registered a sales growth of 14% in August 2020 with 287,398 units as against 252,744 units in July 2020. However, total auto sales declined 1.1% in August 2020 compared with 290,455 units sold in the same month last year. TVS Motor's total two-wheelers rose 0.5% to 277,226 units while the total three-wheeler sales tumbled 30.3% to 10,172 units in August 2020 over August 2019. The company's total exports stood at 68,347 units in August 2020, down by 1.9% from 69,702 units exported in August 2019.
Bajaj Auto lost 2.62%. The company's total sales declined 9% to 356,199 units in August 2020 from 390,026 units in August 2019. Sequentially, the total sales rose 39% in August 2020 compared with 255,832 units sold in July 2020. Total domestic sales fell 11% to 185,879 units while total exports contracted 6% to 170,320 units in August 2020 over August 2019.
Hero MotoCorp fell 1.64% to Rs 2896. The company's total sales rose 7.55% to 584,456 units in August 2020 from 543,406 units sold in August 2019. On a sequential basis, the company sales grew by 13% from 514,509 units sold in the month of July 2020.
Vodafone Idea surged 11.47%. The telco on Tuesday said that its board will consider fund raising on 4 September 2020.
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