Sensex, Nifty end flat ahead of Fed meet outcome; midcaps dive

02 May 2018

3:30 pm Market Closing: The market closed flat after rangebound session, as investors await Federal Reserve meeting outcome due tonight.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 16.06 points at 35,176.42 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 21.40 points to 10,718.

Vedanta, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, HUL and SBI were under pressure.

ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained up to 4 percent.

Nifty Midcap index was down 302 points.

Century Textiles, Kwality, Jindal Steel & Power, SAIL, Marico, Hindustan Zinc, Jet Airways, NIIT Technologies, Indian Bank, OBC, Canara Bank, Balrampur Chini, Dhampur Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar, IRB Infrastructure, Just Dial and Gati fell up to 10 percent.

Kansai Nerolac, Equitas Holdings, Cyient, Ujjivan Financial, Fortis Healthcare, Lemon Tree Hotels, Godrej Industries and ICICI Prudential Life gained up to 6 percent.

3:15 pm Results: FMCG major Marico has reported net profit growth of 7.2 percent year-on-year at Rs 183.2 crore for the quarter ended March 2018, backed by double digit revenue growth.

Profit in corresponding period of last fiscal was at Rs 170.9 crore.

Revenue from operations during the quarter increased 11.7 percent to Rs 1,480.1 crore compared to Rs 1,324.6 crore in same period previous fiscal.

Operating profit or EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) declined 6.1 percent to Rs 252.3 crore and margin contracted 320 basis points to 17.1 percent compared to corresponding quarter last fiscal.

3:01 pm Coal India's April Target: State-owned CIL produced 44.8 million tonnes of coal in April, missing the target by 2 MT.

Its output target of for the month was 46.83 MT, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has said.

The company's offtake in April was at 50.97 MT against the target of 56.75 MT.

CIL accounts for over 80 percent of the domestic coal output. Its output in the 2017-18 fiscal was 567.37 MT, missing the target by 33 MT.

With an assessment suggesting that the current trend may not warrant pursuing the projected coal output target of 1 billion tonnes by 2020 by the company, the government last month indicated revising it.

2:54 pm Market Update: The market remained rangebound amid March quarter earnings reports, and ahead of Federal Reserve meeting outcome tonight.

Metals, technology stocks and ICICI Bank were under pressure while HDFC twins, ITC and Reliance Industries continued to support the market.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was off day's high, up over 3 percent after stable March quarter earnings while Hero Motocorp was down 2 percent after Q4 numbers slightly miss analyst expectations.

2:45 pm IPO: GR Infraprojects has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise an estimated Rs 1,800 crore through an initial public offering.

The IPO comprises fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 500 crore besides an offer for sale of up to 11,225,343 equity shares by the existing shareholders, including promoters, according to the draft papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

According to merchant banking sources, the IPO is expected to fetch Rs 1,800 crore.

2:35 pm Market Update: The benchmark indices erased morning gains with Nifty turned negative in the afternoon trade.

The Sensex rose 66.47 points at 35226.83, and the Nifty fell 1.10 points to 10738.30. About 949 shares have advanced, 1622 shares declined, and 134 shares are unchanged.

All the sectoral indices trading negative except FMCG. Midcap and smallcap index fell 1 percent in afternoon trade.

2:25 pm Hero Motocorp Q4 nos: The company has reported net profit at RS 967.40 crore and revenue at Rs 8564 crore for the quarter ended March 2018.

2:20 pm Earnings: Welspun Corp reported Q4 net loss at Rs 7.6 crore against profit of Rs 68.6 crore.

The comapny recommended a dividend at the rate of 10 percent per equity shares of Rs 5 each.

2:15 pm Axis Bank clarifies on acquisition:Axis Bank has called media reports about Kotak Mahindra Bank's plans to acquire it 'factually incorrect and speculative'.

2:10 pm HUL Q4 on May 14: A meeting of board of directors of Hindustan Unilever will be held on May 14, 2018, to consider the audited financial results for the financial year ended March 31, 2018 and to recommend final dividend, if any, on equity shares for the said period.

2:01 pm Europe Update: European markets were higher as investors kept their focus on earnings and monitored an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

Germany's DAX gained 1 percent and Britain's FTSE rose 0.6 percent.

Market expectations suggest that there will be no new rate hikes in the US, but analysts will be looking for indications as to whether that will happen shortly.

1:50 pm SEBI on InterGlobe: Sebi is examining the sharp plunge in shares of InterGlobe Aviation, parent of IndiGo, hours before it announced the resignation of its president Aditya Ghosh, officials said.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is probing a more than 6 per cent plunge in the country's largest domestic carrier's shares price on April 27.

Hours after the market close that day, the airline announced the resignation of Ghosh at 7.56 pm. While his resignation as president is effective from July 31, Ghosh quit as a director of the company with effect from April 26, a day before the announcement was made.

As per the information available with BSE, the exchange disseminated the company's filing within 0.05 seconds of its receipt.

Sebi is examining whether there was any delay on part of the company in making the disclosure. Besides, the regulator has already asked exchanges to collate the share price data to examine any possible breach of the insider trading rules, the officials said.

1:45 pm Market Update: The market gained strength in afternoon, following positive European stocks and ahead of Federal Reserve rate decision due tonight.

HDFC twins, Reliance Industries, ITC and Kotak Mahindra Bank led the rally, but correction in metals, technology and ICICI Bank capped gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 161.37 points to 35,321.73 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 29.90 points at 10,769.30.

1:35 pm Earnings: Century Textiles share price fell more than 1.5 percent despite good set of earnings in Q4.

Profit for the quarter surged 159.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 108.7 crore and revenue from operations grew by 4.4 percent to Rs 2,087.3 crore.

Operating profit jumped 29.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 280.8 crore and margin expanded 200 basis points to 10 percent in March quarter.

1:27 pm Buzzing: PC Jeweller informed the exchanges that its board will meet on May 25 to consider a proposal to buyback its shares. Despite this, the stock continued its losing streak.

The stock lost 24 percent intraday today to hit a 52-week low of Rs 110.10 on the BSE and shed 63 percent in 8 consecutive sessions since April 20, 2018.

"A meeting of the company's board of directors will be held on May 25 to consider a proposal to buyback fully paid-up equity shares of the company," the company said in its filing. The board will also consider and approve the audited standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter/financial year-ended March 31, it said.

The stock on Monday had fallen 23 percent from the day's high as the share buyback proposal failed to allay concerns over rumours of a promoter stake sale.

A share buyback proposal suggests the promoter feels the value the market is ascribing to the underlying business is lower than what it should be, Akash Jain of Ajcon Global said.

1:17 pm Lasa Starts Production: Lasa Supergenerics said production

has resumed as usual at its Mahad Unit, post the major fire that was reported last week, in Mahad MIDC.

The Company has not suffered any operational loss and loss to life or injury also all the hard assets are intact with no major impact.

1:05 pm ICICI Bank appoints New Independent Director: ICICI Bank said its board has appointed Radhakrishnan Nair as an additional (independent) director of the bank for five years.

The appointment is subject to the approval of shareholders, the private sector lender said in a regulatory filing.

Nair (63) is also an independent director of three subsidiaries of the bank - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, ICICI Prudential Trust and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership. He is also a director at several other companies.

12:52 pm Market Update: The market continued to be volatile in afternoon as investors await Federal Reserve rate decision due tonight.

Sugar stocks gained up to 4 percent after the Cabinet Committee approved subsidy for sugar mills.

Metal and PSU Bank indices fell more than 2 percent while Kotak Mahindra Bank extended rally, rising nearly 6 percent after stable quarterly earnings.

ICICI Bank extended losses to nearly 3 percent while HCL Technologies also fell further to nearly 5 percent after earnings slightly miss analyst expectations.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 73.11 points to 35,233.47 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 9 points at 10,748.40.

12:47 pm Sugar Stocks in focus: Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini, Dalmia Sugar, Dhampur Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar, EID Parry, KM Sugar Mills, Kothari Sugars, Mawana Sugars, Rana Sugars, Triveni Engineering, Ugar Sugar and Uttam Sugar rallied up to 4 percent after the Cabinet Committee has approved subsidy for sugar mills.

12:29 pm Ramco Systems in focus: Western Australian member owned retail bank, P&N Bank (Police and Nurses Limited) has signed an agreement with global enterprise software provider Ramco Systems to launch a digital HR transformation with Ramco HCM integrated with Global Payroll.

Ramco will implement its award-winning end-to-end HCM solution across all P&N Bank branches in Western Australia, including its Head Office and customer support centre in Perth.

12:16 pm Contract Win: Mastek has received a contract to provide strategic DevOps capability for the Home Office Biometrics (HOB) Programme.

As part of the HOB Programme contract, Mastek will develop robust and resilient solutions that comply with law enforcement and immigration user requirements. Users of this service may include those in law enforcement, immigration, Border Force and HMPO staff who need to use biometrics in any number of situations and locations including custody suites, mobile

locations, borders, passport offices and visa application centres.

12:08 pm Moody's on Banks' NPAs: Moody's Investors Service said that the final stage of a multi-year initiative by RBI to push banks to recognise problem assets more accurately will reduce profitability for the sector in the near term, but produce benefits over the longer term.

While this push will increase the already-high non-performing assets (NPAs) ratios and provisioning burdens for India's banks, and strain their profitability in the near term, cleaner balance sheets in the long run will be credit positive for the sector, Moody's said in a statement.

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) rules are credit positive because they provide a clearer, time-bound process for resolving stressed assets and will prevent a future buildup of problem loans in the system, it said.

11:55 am Manufacturing PMI: Indian factory growth accelerated in April on strong domestic demand and output, a business survey showed, while price pressures were subdued in a comforting sign for the central bank as it seeks to temper inflation without hurting the economy.

The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, rose to 51.6 last month from March's 51.0, as predicted by a Reuters poll and above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction for a ninth straight month.

11:50 am Crude Oil Update: Oil prices rose, lifted by concerns that the United States may re-impose sanctions on major exporter Iran, although soaring US supplies capped gains.

Brent crude oil futures were at USD 73.23 per barrel, up 0.14 percent, from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 0.49 percent, at USD 67.58 per barrel.

11:40 am Market Update: The market continued to consolidate around previous closing levels as investors globally await Federal Reserve meeting outcome due tonight.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 10.51 points at 35,170.87 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 11.90 points to 10,727.50.

The Nifty Midcap underperformed frontliners, falling half a percent while Nifty IT, Metal and PSU Bank indices are down 1.5-2 percent.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest gainer among Nifty50 stocks, rising 5 percent after stable earnings in March quarter while HCL Technologies fell nearly 4 percent after earnings slightly miss analyst expectations

11:25 am Drug Approval: Strides Shasun said its wholly owned subsidiary Strides Pharma Global Pte Limited has received final approval for Cinacalcet

Hydrochloride tablets from the United States Food & Drug Administration (US FDA).

Cinacalcet Hydrochloride Tablets is a generic version of Sensipar tablets of Amgen Inc.

According to IQVIA data, the US market for Cinacalcet Hydrochloride tablets is approximately USD 1.8 Billion.

11:15 am Rupee Update: The rupee depreciated 7 paise to 66.73 against the US dollar on fresh demand for the greenback from importers and banks ahead of US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meet outcome.

Dealers attributed the rupee's fall to fresh demand for the US dollar and sustained foreign fund outflows.

On Friday, the rupee had gained 9 paise to close at 66.66 on dollar-selling by exporters and a stellar rally in local equities.

Forex market remained closed on Monday and Tuesday on account of 'Buddha Purnima' and 'Maharashtra Day', respectively.

11:05 am Buzzing: Shares of InterGlobe Aviation fell more than 3 percent ahead of its March quarter earnings which is scheduled to be announced later in the day.

In a regulatory filing, the company had said that a meeting of the board of directors of InterGlobe Aviation is scheduled to be held today to consider the approval of audited standalone financial results of the company for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2018.

On April 27, IndiGo announced that Ghosh would step down as President and is likely to be replaced by one of its former executives Gregory Taylor. It further said that Rahul Bhatia, a promoter of the company, has been appointed as the interim CEO.

10:55 am Allcargo Approves Development of Logistics Park: Allcargo Logistics informed exchanges that the board has approved development of the logistics park in Haryana, connected to Dedicated Freight Corridor and a rapidly growing National Capital Region.

Initially, the company would set up warehouse(s) and Inland Container Depot(s) through special purpose vehicles companies viz. Allcargo Multimodal Private Limited and Allcargo Inland Park Private Limited, being wholly owned subsidiaries of the company.

10:43 am Market Update: The market continued to be rangebound amid weak Asian cues. Technology, FMCG, metals stocks and ICICI Bank were under pressure while auto stocks, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank continued to support the market.

Nifty IT, Metal and PSU Bank indices were down more than 1 percent.

HCL Technologies was top loser among Nifty50 stocks, falling more than 3 percent after earnings slightly miss analyst expectations while Ashok Leyland fell 1 percent despite stellar April sales performance

10:30 am Auto Sales: Ashok Leyland share price fell up to 2 percent intraday despite April sales grew by 79 percent year-on-year to 12,677 versus 7,090 units.

Medium & heavy commercial vehicle sales increased 98 percent year-on-year to 8,968 units and light commercial vehicle sales shot up 45 percent to 3,709 units in April.

10:18 am Market Update: Benchmark indices wiped out early gains following correction in Asian stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 35.64 points at 35,124.72 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 17 points to 10,722.40, dragged by technology and banking & financials stocks.

10:08 am USFDA Approval: Cipla has received final approval for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Phenylephrine Hydrochloride injection from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

Phenylephrine Hydrochloride Injection USP, 50 mg/5 mL (10 mg/mL) and 100 mg/10 mL (10 mg/mL) Pharmacy Bulk Package, is an AP-rated generic equivalent of Avadel’s Vazculep.

The drug is indicated for the treatment of clinically important hypotension resulting primarily from vasodilation in the setting of anesthesia.

The products are manufactured at the company’s Goa plant.

10:02 am Results Date: Jindal Steel & Power informed exchanges that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on May 9, 2018 to consider and approve, the audited financial results of the company, for the quarter/ year ended on March 31, 2018, both on standalone and consolidated basis.

9:56 am Fortis Clarification: While clarifying on a media report saying Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh hold majority stake in RHT Health Trust, the company said it categorically denied the statement and confirmed that as on date Malvinder and Shivinder do not hold any share.

9:45 am Order Win: NBCC share price gained 1 percent after it has received letter of appointment from Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India for the construction of Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centres (MGCC) in nine (9) African Countries namely Niger, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Liberia, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Togo and Gabon amounting Rs 2,000 crore.

9:41 am Market Update: The market is trading mildly higher amid consolidation and weakness in Asian stocks. Auto, infra, select banks stocks and Reliance Industries supported the market while technology stocks were under pressure after HCL Tech earnings.

HCL Technologies is the biggest loser with more than 3 percent loss after Q4 earnings slightly missed analyst expectations while Auto index was up 1 percent after strong April sales.

InterGlobe Aviation and Jet Airways were under pressure after IOC hiked jet fuel prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 48.72 points at 35,209.08 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 6.60 points to 10,746.

9:32 am Rim Sales: Steel Strips Wheels achieved total rim sales of 12.82 lakh in April 2018 against 11.50 lakh units in April 2017, representing a growth of 12 percent.

The growth in April was all round segments, the company said which expects this to continue going ahead with firm schedule indication 1O-11 percent volume growth.

The tractor and truck segments volume sales running at record high levels, it said which expects to maintain that going ahead.

In terms of value, the company has achieved gross turnover of Rs 211.79 crore in April 2018 against Rs 115.73 crore in April 2017, thereby recording a growth of 83 percent.

9:22 am Results Date: Akzo Nobel India informed exchange that a meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2018 to consider the audited financial results for the year ended March 31, 2018 and recommend Dividend for the said financial year, if any.

9:18 am Fortis Deal: The Manipal-TPG alliance said it is "evaluating" its bid for Fortis Healthcare after IHH Healthcare and Munjal-Burmans raised their respective offers on Tuesday, the last day for submitting binding bids.

Manipal-TPG still have one more chance to get back into the bidding race as the agreement they signed with Fortis has a right-to-revise clause.

IHH raised its bid by 9.4 percent to Rs 175 per share, compared to its earlier quote of Rs 160 per share. The Munjal-Burmans raised their bid by 7.2 percent to Rs 172 per share, from Rs 160 earlier. Munjal-Burmans have offered to invest Rs 1800 crore directly without seeking due diligence.

KKR backed Radiant Life Care has put in its bid valuing Fortis at Rs 165 per share.

9:15 am Market Check: Benchmark indices opened higher despite weakness in Asian stocks, backed by auto sales data and strong GST collection data.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 116.70 points at 35,277.06 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 30.50 points to 10,769.90.

Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries and L&T gained up to 3 percent.

Wipro, HUL, HCL Technologies and Hindustan Zinc lost up to

Nifty Midcap was up 12 points and Nifty Bank gained 80 points.

Fortis Healthcare, Container Corporation, Transformers & Rectifiers, Arvind Smartspaces, Munjal Showa, Ceat and Dabur India gained up to 8 percent while Lanco Infratech, HDIL and Jet Airways were under pressure.

9:07 am Auto Sales: Bajaj Auto has reported strong set of sales for the month of April 2018, with the total sales rising 26 percent year-on-year to 4.15 lakh units against 3.29 lakh units in year-ago month.

Total motorcycle sales increased 19 percent to 3.49 lakh units while total 3-wheeler sales jumped 83 percent to 65,551 units compared to year-ago.

Total domestic sales rose 29 percent to 2.29 lakh units while total exports were the highest ever on monthly basis, growing by 22 percent to 1.85 lakh units YoY.

9:05 am Earnings: IT services company HCL Technologies' fourth-quarter profit rose 7.46 percent sequentially to Rs 2,230 crore, meeting analysts' estimates.

Analysts polled by Reuters, on average, expected the company to report a net profit of Rs 2270.6 crore for the quarter under review, along with a revenue of Rs 13,199.1 crore.

The company reported a revenue of Rs 13,178 crore, 2.88 percent higher than in the December quarter. It said that its constant currency revenue is expected grow by 9.5-11.5 percent in FY19.

HCL Technologies also said that it expects full year operating margins in the range of 19.5-20.5 percent, the same as last year's forecast.

9:04 am Technical Recommendations: We spoke to HDFC Securities and here’s what they have to recommend:

Marico: BUY| Target: Rs 365 | Stop loss: Rs 312 | Return 10%

IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd: BUY| Target: Rs 325 | Stop loss: Rs 250 | Return 15%

Crompton Consumers: BUY| Target: Rs 260 | Stop loss: Rs 217 | Return 10%

9:03 am Results Today: Hero Motocorp, HCL Technologies, Welspun Corp, Siemens, Tata Power, Marico, InterGlobe Aviation, Century Textiles and Ajanta Pharma will announce quarterly earnings today.

9:02 am Stocks in news: Fortis Healthcare: Received a letter from Munjal's Office and Burman's Office with a proposal to invest in the company Received revised offer from IHH Healthcare Berhad with a proposal to invest in the company

Cipla receives final approval for Phenylephrine Hydrochloride Injection

Maruti Suzuki April total sales up 14.4% at 1.72 lakh units against 1.51 lakh units in April 2017

Mahindra’s auto sector sells up 22% at 48,097 vehicles during April 2018

Mahindra to establish Ag Tech Center at Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center

Tata Motors sells 53,511 units in April 2018 against 28,844 units April 2017

Eicher Motors total motorcycle April sales up 26.7% at 76,187 units versus 60,142 units

9:01 am Market Check: Benchmark indices were strong in pre-opening trade despite weakness in Asian stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 327.85 points to 35,488.21 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 116.30 points or 1.08 percent at 10,855.70.

PC Jeweller gained a percent on short covering. Dabur India rose 1.5 percent.

HCL Technologies corrected 5 percent after rallying 7 percent in pre-0pening.

The S&P 500 edged higher on Tuesday after comments from a Trump administration official on trade with China and the Mexican economy minister on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement provided cause for optimism, said a report.

Asian equities held steady while the dollar traded near a four-month high as investors await the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy statement for clues on the future pace of US monetary tightening, it said.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed, while Japan's Nikkei eased 0.2 percent and South Korea's KOSPI slipped 0.3 percent.