Sensex ends on a positive note, Nifty below 10350; Infosys up 3%

23 Nov 2017

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3:30 pm Market at Close: Benchmark indices ended the session on a positive note after the rangebound day of trade.

The Sensex closed up 26.53 points or 0.08% at 33588.08, while the Nifty was up 6.50 points at 10348.80. The market breadth was positive as 1442 shares advanced against a decline of 1255 shares, while 151 shares were unchanged.

BHEL, Infosys and Sun Pharma were the top gainers on both indices, while DRL, Bajaj Auto and Adani Ports were the top losers.

3:00 pm Fundraising: Opto Circuits said the board has approves allotment of 4.5 crore shares on preferential basis at Rs 15 per share.

The price is much higher than the current share price. The stock rallied more than 12 percent.

2:56 pm Buzzing: Lasa Supergenerics share price rallied 5 percent intraday on beginning of pilot production trial runs at unit IV plant.

The company informed exchange that it is to start its pilot production trial runs in Unit IV from November 25.

"Products and capacity per annum will include Albendazole intermediate 400 MT, Fenbendazole intermediate 200 MT, 2 4 DCP 600 MT, Closantel intermediate 100 MT and additionally few components of backward integration for its recent new launches," the company said.

It further said the regular production will be subject to successful trial.

Lasa Supergenerics manufactures veterinary active pharmaceutical intermediate API.

2:44 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to be rangebound in afternoon despite sharp fall in Chinese stocks. Experts expect the volatility and stock specific action to continue in the coming week also.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 7.17 points at 33,568.72 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 0.60 points at 10,342.90.

2:35 pm Asia Update: Chinese stocks fell, although other Asian markets were mostly subdued, taking the lead from a quiet overnight session on Wall Street as investors parsed through minutes from the US central bank.

Mainland markets were more downbeat as stocks recorded significant declines. The Shanghai Composite closed down 2.26 percent at 3,352.99.

2:25 pm Buzzing: SBI Life Insurance Company, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company and Max Financial Services (Max Life) shares fell 3-6 percent intraday as tax rate for insurance companies may increase to corporate tax rate level.

Insurance actuaries are currently building in tax rate of 14.3 percent.

Kotak said increase in tax rate would have one time impact on embedded value (EV) and going forward lower NBAP (new business achieved profit) margins.

If tax rate increases to 25 percent from 14.3 percent, Kotak estimates EV and RoEV (return on embedded value) of HDFC Life, ICICI Life and Max Life assuming 7-9 percent lower FY2017 EV and 13-17 percent decline in NBV margins.

2:15 pm Bond Auction: Leading stock exchange BSE has said it will auction investment limits tomorrow, enabling foreign investors to purchase corporate bonds worth over Rs 8,300 crore.

The auction will be conducted on BSE's ebidxchange platform from 1530 hrs to 1730 hrs, after the close of market hours, the exchange said in a circular.

The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in the debt up to the limit purchased.

"Live bidding session for allocation of debt investment limits (worth Rs 8,314 crore) for FII/FPI/ sub-accounts shall be conducted on November 24, 2017 on exchange's 'ebidxchange' platform," BSE said.

2:01 pm Data Mining: The government is continuing the process of data mining of deregistered companies and so far, bank details have been gathered for nearly 50,000 such entities, Union minister P P Chaudhary said today.

Amid the clampdown on the black money menace, names of more than 2.24 lakh companies have been struck off from the records and over 3 lakh directors have been barred from directorship for their associations with such firms.

The minister of state for corporate affairs said that based on details gathered from banks, around 50,000 deregistered companies deposited and withdrew about Rs 17,000 crore during demonetisation.

Data mining is continuing with respect to the struck-off entities, Chaudhary said, adding that artificial intelligence could be used to identify illegal activities of companies.

1:48 pm  Auto sales: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today said its flagship scooter brand Activa has crossed 20 lakh unit sales mark in just seven months this year.

The company sold 20,40,134 units of the Activa from April to October 2017, HMSI said in a statement.

Activa, which was launched in 2001, had taken seven years to cross the first 20 lakh unit milestone in 2008, it added.

HMSI Senior VP Sales and Marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria said Activa continues to lead as the highest selling two-wheeler of India.

HMSI had launched 102cc automatic scooter Activa in 2001 and sold 55,000 units in the first year itself. The brand crossed 10 lakh unit mark in December 2005.

1:34 pm Drug approval: Drug firm Zydus Cadila today said it has received approval for the US health regulator to market Tadalafil tablets, used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, in the American market.

The company has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Tadalafil tablets USP in the strengths of 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg, Zydus Cadila said in a statement.

The drug is indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, it added.

The product would be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad.

1:24 pm Europe seen lower: European equities are poised to open lower on Thursday following a mixed closed in the U.S. and expected lower trading flows due to Thanksgiving.

The FTSE 100 is seen down by 4 points at 7,401; the DAX is set to start lower by 37 points at 12,972; and the CAC 40 is set to open lower by 6 points at 5,347, according to IG.

In Asia, markets were mostly lower after Federal Reserve minutes showed that concerns over inflation persist despite a probable rate hike in "the near term." U.S. markets are closed for Thanksgiving.

1:10 pm Market Check: Rangebound moves have continued on the benchmark indices, with the Nifty hovering around 10350-mark.

The 30-share Sensex is down 38.94 points at 33522.61, while the Nifty is down 12.40 points at 10329.90. The market breadth is positive as 1289 shares advanced against a decline of 1149 shares, while 126 shares were unchanged.

BHEL, Infosys and Bharti Infratel were the top gainers, while Adani Ports, Dr Reddy's Labs and Hindalco were the top losers.

12:50 pm Stock in focus: Aegis Logistics gained over 6 percent intraday on Thursday after UBS initiated coverage on the sock with a buy call.

The global research firm has set a target price of Rs 280 and sees an upside potential of 20 percent.

UBS believes that the company will benefit from surge in LPG demand and growing dependence on imported LPG. It expects LPG demand to record an 11% CAGR and imports a 16% CAGR for FY17-22.

12:37 pm Buzzing: PC Jeweller share price rallied more than 5 percent intraday after Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage with buy rating on PC Jeweller, citing strong earnings growth hope on value migration to organised players.

The research house sees 36 percent potential upside in the stock at a target price of Rs 490 per share.

PC Jeweller, India's second-largest Jewelry Retailer with a strong presence in the North and wedding jewellery, is expanding aggressively to leverage the ongoing value migration.

Motilal Oswal sees an enormous opportunity unfolding in Indian jewellery as a result of value migration towards organised players. Among all consumer categories, jewellery has the largest share of the unorganised segment, both in absolute terms (at Rs 1.4 trillion) and percentage terms (at 70 percent).

It feels the value migration to organised players is so strong that Titan and PC Jeweller are expected to report by far the highest EPS CAGR over FY17-20 in consumer and retail universe.

12:27 pm Infosys in Focus: Pravin Rao is likely to continue as CEO of Infosys and the key focus is on stability, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting unnamed sources.

Deliberations on succession at Infosys are continued but there is no final decision yet on the same.

Ashok Vemuri is out of the race for CEO while BG Srinivas is unlikely to consider returning to Infosys.

Non-executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani and board of directors would prefer an internal candidate for the CEO position.

Ashok Vemuri is currently a CEO of Xerox BPO, Conduent and BG Srinivas is currently CEO of PCCW Group.

12:21 pm Market Outlook: India has seen the most active period of reforms in financial as well as well as in the operational space over the past 18 months but the earnings recovery is still uncertain.

After six quarters of slowdown, an investment recovery is underway – though translating this recovery into a corporate earnings revival remains uncertain, Manishi Raychaudhuri and Abhiram Eleswarapu of BNP Paribas Securities said in a note.

India's earnings estimates have drifted down in 2017, and continue to do so. Unless earnings estimates recover, valuations, already at a premium, could appear egregious, they say.

The key silver linings are a likely acceleration in capex, as infrastructure experts pointed out, and recent cyclical pick-up in most high-frequency variables such as auto sales, electricity, consumption and railway freight.

The fiscal deficit situation still looks foggy, as the net tax collections remain indeterminate post-GST implementation and recent changes in rates, said the BNP Paribas report.

12:14 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks were mildly higher amid consolidation in noon, with the Nifty trading above 10,350 level.

Index heavyweights Infosys (up 2.65 percent) and Reliance Industries (up 1.3 percent) were pushing market higher but ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank capped gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 67.12 points at 33,628.67 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 22.40 points at 10,364.70 while the broader markets continued to outperform.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. About 1,482 shares advanced against 888 declining shares on the BSE.

12:06 pm Prabhu on exports: The commerce and industry ministry is chalking out a "proper" business plan based on market research in its bid to promote exports of goods and services, Union minister Suresh Prabhu said today.

The commerce and industry minister said a proper market segmentation is the need of the hour to understand the potential of domestic goods and services.

Taking note of the potential of regions such as Russia and Latin America, he said "we are working on a strategy for each of the markets. I am in the process of preparing a proper business plan based on market research".

The segmentation will shed light on the possibility of increasing penetration of products and services, he said at the India luxury summit here.

Prabhu pointed to the huge demand in luxury items in the
international market.

11:57 am Management interview: Dixon Technologies posted a strong operational performance in the first half as well. The goods and services tax (GST) disruption seems to have tapered off.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Atul Lall, MD of Dixon Technologies (India) said the company had huge issue of destocking pre-GST but things are back to normal now.

He further said that the order book continues to be healthy and the current run rate of performance is sustainable.

Talking about price, he said we have seen some increase in prices of LED televisions and washing machine due to GST.

On business front, he said we have added some new clients this quarter.

We saw topline growth at 30-35 percent CAGR over the last 5 years, said Lall.

According to him, lighting and consumer electronics are the main driver to company's growth.

11:45 am Save money through technology: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said direct transfer of government benefits using technology, bank accounts and biometric identifier Aadhaar has helped save USD 10 billion in subsidies.

Addressing the Global Conference on Cyber Space here, he said technology breaks barriers and has led to efficient service delivery, governance and improved access to education and health.

The government, he asserted, is committed to empowerment through digital access.

Use of JAM trinity of Jan Dhan accounts, mobile numbers and Aadhaar has helped save USD 10 billion in subsidies by plugging leakages, the Prime Minister added.

11:35 am Buzzing: CLSA has initiated coverage with a buy call on Kansai Nerolac, with a target price of Rs 600 per share, implying potential upside of 24 percent. The stock gained more than 2 percent.

The company has a high leverage to capex revival which augurs well at this point for it, CLSA said, adding the margin is expected to sustain though input prices are on an uptrend.

"We do not see significant risk to peak margins," it said.

The research house expects price hikes, improvement in revenue mix and operating leverage to sustain margin.

It expects 16 percent revenue CAGR over FY17-19 and 17 percent EPS CAGR over FY18-20, driven by price hikes, operating leverage and cost savings.

11:15 am Management interview: Thomas Cook is selling 5.42 percent stake in its subsidiary Quess Corp via Rs 600 crore offer for sale. This will bring the promoter holding in Quess Corp down to 75.38 percent from 81.52 percent.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Madhavan Menon, Chairman & MD of Thomas Cook said there is no intention to sell further stake in Quess Corp.

Talking about business, he said tourist season is picking up and forward bookings have seen a significant growth.

On Quess Corp front, he said we restricted floor price to Rs 800 because wanted to honour Quess' qualified institutional placement (QIP) investors.

We originally invested in Quess Corp at Rs 132 per share, said Menon.

11:02 am Drug Launch: Biopharmaceuticals company Biocon has launched KRABEVA, a biosimilar Bevacizumab.

The drug is used for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and other types of lung, kidney, cervical, ovarian and brain cancers, in India.

KRABEVA is the second key oncologic biosimilar product from Biocon's global biosimilars portfolio to be launched in India, in order to address the unmet patient need for affordable biological therapies.

The product is being offered to patients at an MRP of Rs 24,000 for 100 mg / 4 ml vials and Rs 39,990 for 400 mg / 16 ml vials.

KRABEVA is being launched post successful completion of phase III clinical trials and approval of company's marketing authorisation application by the Drug Controller General of India.

10:48 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks traded mildly higher in morning, with the Nifty getting back above 10,350 amid consolidation while the broader markets gained strength

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 39.85 points at 33,601.40 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 15.90 points to 10,358.20.

The Nifty Midcap index gained 0.4 percent and the BSE Smallcap rose nearly a percent. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

10:35 am Oil Price Oil prices eased today, with US crude dipping away from two-year highs reached the day before, but the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline and a drawdown in fuel inventories continued to bolster markets despite worries over rising output.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at USD 57.89 a barrel, down 0.22 percent, from their last settlement, but still close to 2015-highs of USD 58.15 a barrel reached on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at USD 63.15 per barrel, 0.27 percent, below their last close.

10:15 am Market Outlook: Rajesh Palviya, Head – Technical & Derivatives Analyst of Axis Securities said, "Given the sharp rise in October 2017, we expect the market to consolidate in the next two months. Important events lined up are state elections and their outcome which is expected to be major event infusing volatility in the market,"

If the ruling party at center performs better than expectation, it could be a big positive trigger for the market to breach the previous high and taking it to new high levels towards 10700-10800, he feels.

Unfavorable state election result would be sentiment dampener taking it to lower towards 10,100-10,000 levels, he said.

He further said US Fed meeting is scheduled in mid-December 2017; though the market has already factored in rate hike it would closely monitor the commentary for future actions.

10:05 am Mahindra's US plant: Indian automobile giant Mahindra's new manufacturing plant in Detroit with an investment of USD 230 million is an illustration of the India-US economic partnership, the Trump administration has said.

"We see this investment as another illustration of the important economic and business partnership between India and the United States," Tom Vajda, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs told PTI, after Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra opened its new manufacturing plant in Detroit.

With an investment of USD 230 million, the Mahindra plant has created some 250 new jobs in Detroit, which is now just emerging out of the long economic recession after the 2008-09 collapse of the major American car manufacturing companies including Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

9:55 am Rupee Trade: The rupee today spurted 12 paise to 64.80 against the US currency after a rush of dollar supply.

This was mostly because banks and exporters increasingly unwound their dollar bets.

The US unit came in weak against some currencies overseas. Domestic stock markets opening firm also supported the rupee, forex market participants said.

Yesterday, the rupee had ended marginally lower by 3 paise at 64.92 against the US currency due to fresh spells of dollar demand from corporates amid global crude oil woes.

9:42 am Fundraising: State-owned lender United Bank of India said it has received market regulator SEBI's approval for issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,000 crore by way of institutional placement.

The Kolkata-headquartered bank had in January informed the bourses it planned to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP), rights or public issue.

The lender had raised Rs 127.49 crore through sale of shares to qualified institutional investors in May.

The bank approved allotting over 5.49 crore shares to qualified institutional buyers at issue price of Rs 23.22 per share, it had said in a regulatory filing.

9:38 am SEBI Approval: Market regulator Sebi has approved Bank of India's (BoI) proposal to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), the state-owned bank said today.

"...Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)... permitted the Bank to raise capital by way of issue of equity shares through Qualified Institutional Placement, subject to the receipt of the approval from the government of India," BoI said in a filing to BSE.

Sebi has also permitted the bank to achieve minimum public shareholding pursuant to QIP, the filing said.

News Live: IT, ITeS companies jittery over Rs 10,000cr tax demand, says report

9:30 am Stake Sale: Integrated travel and travel related financial services player Thomas Cook India said its board approved a fund raising plan of Rs 600 crore by divesting 5.42 percent stake in its subsidiary Quess Corp.

The company said the stake sale will be carried out through an offer-for-sale route. It has fixed a floor price of Rs 800 per share.

The company said the move is to meet Sebi regulations that require promoters to bring down their stake to 75 percent. Post-dilution, the combined promoter shareholding in Quess Corp (of Thomas Cook India and Ajit Isaac, CMD & CEO, Quess Corp) would be 75.38 percent.

9:20 am Earnings: Technical textiles manufacturer Garware-Wall Ropes (GWRL) posted 6.9 percent growth in profit after tax at Rs 28.2 crore for the quarter ended September 30, compared to the same period last year.

The company's PAT stood at Rs 26.3 crore in the corresponding period of FY17, GWRL said in a release issued here.

Net sales, however, declined by 8.9 percent to Rs 206 crore in the second quarter of FY18, compared to Rs 226.1 crore in the same period of FY17.

"In the second quarter, domestic fisheries contributed to a large proportion of the overall sales. As has been informed in previous months, we have been seeing a short-term disruption in our domestic business on account of GST implementation, more particularly in the fisheries sector," GWRL CMD Vayu Garware said.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks opened mildly higher on Thursday but immediately erased those gains to trade flat. Investors closely watch crude oil prices movement and other global cues due to lack of domestic cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 23.63 points at 33,537.92 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 4.80 points to 10,337.50.

About 719 shares advanced against 409 declining shares on the BSE.

Bharti Airtel, Bosch, Bharti Infratel, Infosys and Power Grid were early gainers.

Dr Reddy's Labs, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Zee Entertainment and Axis Bank were early losers.

ICICI Prudential Life, HDFC Standard Life and SBI Life were under pressure, falling 2-4 percent.

Quess Corp plunged 6 percent as Thomas Cook (up 4.5 percent) is selling some stake in the company.

PC Jeweller, VIP Industries and ACE gained 2-4 percent.

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