Sensex, Nifty and Bank Nifty end at record closing highs; metals, FMCG gain big

27 Jul 2018

Market at Close: Equity benchmarks have ended the day on an extremely strong note, with the Sensex rising over 350 points, while the Nifty was well above 11,250-mark.

The Sensex is up 352.21 points or 0.95% at 37336.85, and the Nifty up 111.10 points or 0.99% at 11278.40. The market breadth is positive as 1,638 shares advanced, against a decline of 956 shares, while 178 shares are unchanged.

All sectoral indices ended the day on a good note, with maximum gains among metals, FMCG and auto names. The Nifty Midcap index was higher by a percent.

ITC, Tata Motors, and IOC were the top gainers, while HUL, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers.

Nagarjuna Fertilisers Q1 net loss narrows: Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals has minimise the net loss in the quarter ended June 2018 (Q1FY19). The company's Q1 net loss was at Rs 1 crore against loss of Rs 4.7 crore, in the same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue of the company was up 4 percent at Rs 900.5 crore against Rs 862.4 crore.

The operating profit or EBITDA rose 25.7 percent at Rs 95 crore and margin was at 10.5 percent.

At 14:48 hrs Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals was quoting at Rs 13.77, up Rs 1.19, or 9.46 percent.

Earnings reaction: Westlife Development posted profit at Rs 11.6 crore for the quarter ended June 2018. The growth was driven by revenue as well as operational performance with double digit same-store-sales growth.

The company had posted a loss of Rs 2.7 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue from operations increased sharply by 30.2 percent to Rs 341.7 crore compared to Rs 262.4 crore in same period last fiscal.

At 14:30 hrs Westlife Development was quoting at Rs 384.45, up Rs 36.50, or 10.49 percent.

Equitas Holdings Q1 profit doubled: Non-banking finance company Equitas Holdings' first quarter profit grew by 127 percent year-on-year to Rs 35.4 crore, driven by fall in provisions. Profit in the year-ago period stood at Rs 15.6 crore.

Revenue from operations increased 19.7 percent to Rs 543.4 crore compared to Rs 454 crore in corresponding period last year, backed by loan growth of 27 percent to Rs 8,926 crore YoY.

Buzzing: Shares of IL&FS Transportation Networks gained 19 percent as company announced rights issue worth Rs 3,000 crore.

The company board at its meeting held on July 27, approved the proposal for issue of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to the existing shareholders on a right basis upto Rs 3,000 crore, subject to all applicable statutory and regulatory approvals.

The company board meeting is scheduled to be held on August 13, to consider and approve the standalone financial results of the company for the quarter ended June 30, 2018.

At 13:52 hrs ILandFS Transportation Networks was quoting at Rs 42.90, up Rs 6.30, or 17.21 percent on the BSE.

Market Update: Bullish momentum has continued well into the afternoon session on Friday, as the Sensex has maintained its 300-pt lead, while the Nifty is trading above 11,250. Metals and FMCG have continued to hold the market’s upmove, while midcaps too have seen a sharp surge. ITC and Tata Motors are the top gainers, while Power Grid, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy’s and HUL were the top losers.

MF update: Invesco Mutual Fund has revised the benchmark of Invesco India Credit Risk Fund to CRISIL Composite AA ShortTerm Bond Index with immediate effect, the fund house said in an addendum.

Earlier, the open-ended debt scheme was benchmarked against the CRISIL AA Short Term Bond Index.

All other features of the scheme will remain unchanged.

Buzzing: Shares of Biocon gained more than 8 percent on the back of strong numbers declared by the company in the quarter ended June 2018.

The company beat analysts’ estimates by posting a 47 percent jump in net profit at Rs 120 crore in the first quarter ended June 2018. The growth was led by strong performance of biologics and research services segments.

The profit was also helped by a low base in Q1FY18 due to supply chain disruption caused by GST rollout. The company reported a net profit of Rs 81 crore in the year-ago period.

Total revenue for the quarter under review grew 21 percent to Rs 1,192 crore in the April-June period, Biocon said in a statement.

Idea-Vodafone merger update: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approved the merger of Vodafone India (VIL) and Vodafone Mobile Services (VMSL) with Idea Cellular.

The merger is now subject to National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, passing the dissolution order of VMSL and VIL, which is expected shortly.

At 10:59 hrs Idea Cellular was quoting at Rs 59.25, up Rs 2.30, or 4.04 percent.

Market Update: Equity benchmarks have extended their gains post the strong opening seen on Friday morning. The Sensex is up over 300 points, while the Nifty is around 11,250-mark.

The Sensex is up 324.65 points or 0.88% at 37309.29, and the Nifty up 82.40 points or 0.74% at 11249.70. The market breadth is positive as 1,288 shares advanced, against a decline of 568 shares, while 98 shares are unchanged.

ITC, SBI, and Hindalco are the top gainers, while Yes Bank, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy’s and Yes Bank have lost the most.

ITC gains 5%: Shares of ITC gained over 5 percent on Friday morning as investors cheered the company's strong financial results for the June quarter.

Cigarette-to-soap maker ITC reported 10.08 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit at Rs 2,819 crore for the first quarter of FY19.

The rise in the bottom line was driven by growth in its non-cigarette businesses on the back of a favourable base and improved realisations from cigarettes.

During the review period, net sales stood at Rs 10,874 crore, up 9.20 percent on year, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first quarter stood at Rs 4202.1 crore. EBITDA margin was 39.3 percent for the quarter.

Market Opens: It’s a strong start to the market on Friday morning, with the Sensex and Nifty opening at a fresh record high and crossing 11,200 for the first time.

The Sensex is up 216.83 points or 0.59% at 37201.47, while the Nifty is up 62.00 points or 0.56% at 11229.30. The market breadth is positive as 342 shares advanced, against a decline of 87 shares, while 44 shares are unchanged.

All sectoral indices are trading in the green, with Nifty Metal and Nifty FMCG leading the gains. Surge in ITC as well as Hindalco are boosting these indices. In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap index is up half a percent.

Shares of Hindalco are trading 7 percent higher after it announced its acquisition of Aleris post market hours on Thursday. ITC is also trading higher by 3 percent on the back of good June quarter numbers.

Rupee opens: The Indian rupee opened flat at 68.65 per dollar on Friday versus previous close 68.66.

Rupee continued to consolidate in a narrow range and volatility for the pair is expected to remain low ahead of preliminary GDP number that will be released from the US, said Motilal Oswal.

On the domestic front, focus will now shift to the RBI policy meeting that is scheduled next week. Expectation is that the central bank could hold rates unchanged but hawkish comments from the governor would be slightly supportive for the currency.

Market at Pre-open: Equity benchmarks have hit fresh milestones in pre-opening session, with the Nifty hitting a record high and above 11,200-mark. The Sensex pre-opening trend is also at a fresh record.

At 09:02 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 98.90 points or 0.27% at 37083.54, and the Nifty up 72.90 points or 0.65% at 11240.20.