Sensex falls 135 points dragged by metal, auto and pharma

24 Jul 2019

Market close: Indian indices continue its downtrend on the fifth consecutive day on July 24 with Nifty finished below 11,300 level.

At close, the Sensex was down 135.09 points at 37,847.65, while Nifty was down 60 points at 11,271. About 834 shares have advanced, 1588 shares declined, and 153 shares are unchanged.

UPL, Adani Ports, Indiabulls Housing, Eicher Motors and IndusInd Bank were some of the major losers on the Nifty, while gainers include Zee Entertainment, Asian Paints, HUL, HDFC and HCL Technologies.

Among the sectors, metal index slipped over 2 percent, followed by auto, energy, infra, IT and pharma. Midcap index was down 1.5 percent, while Smallcap index shed over 1 percent.

Jubilant Foodworks Q1:

Jubilant Foodworks, the operator of Domino's Pizza has reported marginal fall in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 2019. The company's Q1FY20 net profit was down 0.9 percent at Rs 71.5 crore against Rs 72.1 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Revenue of the company was up 10 percent at Rs 949.1 crore against Rs 863.2 crore.

Asian Paints Management

"The decorative business segment in India registered a high double digit volume growth and delivered strong performance across regions. The automotive coatings JV (PPG-AP) business was effected by the severe slowdown being witnessed in the automobile industry. Even the industrial coatings JV (AP-PPG) business was impacted by demand slowdown. Benign raw material prices, however, supported the margins for the entire coatings business," KBS Anand, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints said in a company's BSE filing.

Gold Update: Gold prices rose on Wednesday as escalating tensions in the Middle East drove investors towards the safe-haven metal, while possible progress in Sino-US trade negotiations, and a stronger dollar limited the metal's gain.

Market Update:

Benchmark indices are trading at day' low level with Nifty below 11,250, while Sensex slipped over 250 points.

At 11:42 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 258.78 points or 0.68% at 37,723.96, and the Nifty down 94.50 points or 0.83% at 11,236.50. About 623 shares have advanced, 1417 shares declined, and 108 shares are unchanged.

Stocks at 3-Year Low

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1 percent) and Eicher Motors (down 4 percent) are trading at three-year low while JSW Steel was at 2-year low, down nearly 4 percent.

HDFC snapped three-day losing streak, rising 1.5 percent.

SBI Life Hits Record High, Crosses Rs 800 mark

SBI Life Insurance Company shares crossed Rs 800 level for the first time, rising 4 percent intraday after reporting strong growth in June quarter which prompted brokerages to stay bullish on the stock.

Citi has buy call on the stock and raised price target to Rs 1,000 from Rs 850 as annualised premium equivalent (APE) growth was at 41 percent YoY and VNB margin was healthy.

"Operational trends remained strong. SBI Life has enough headroom to grow its protection business. Company's continued focus on protection should drive VNB margins higher," the brokerage said, adding it factored in higher APE growth of 27 percent in FY20 versus 18 percent earlier.

Rupee recovers: After a weak start the Indian rupee has recovered from the low, but trading marginally lower at 68.98 per dollar against previous close 68.94.

HDFC Life hits fresh 52-week high: Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company rallied nearly 5 percent intraday to hit a fresh 52-week high of 532.90 on July 24. Global brokerage houses raised price target sharply after stellar earnings performance in Q1.

Buzzing: Shares of JK Paper rose 2 percent on July 24 after company reported consolidated Q1 net profit jumped to Rs 127.11 crore versus Rs 95.19 crore, while revenue fell to Rs 713.06 crore versus Rs 795.01 crore, YoY.

Market Update: After a flat start, benchmark indices are trading lower with Nifty below 11,300 dragged by selling in metal and auto stocks.

At 09:37 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 94.84 points or 0.25% at 37887.90, and the Nifty down 44.70 points or 0.39% at 11286.30. About 540 shares have advanced, 719 shares declined, and 47 shares are unchanged

Crude Update: Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending gains after an industry group reported a much bigger than expected drop in US inventories, while the US Navy said it may have downed a second Iranian drone last week.

Market opens: Benchmark indices are trading flat with positive bias in the early trade on July 24 with Nifty around 11,350.

At 09:17 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 75.48 points or 0.20% at 38058.22, and the Nifty up 18.80 points or 0.17% at 11349.80.

Torrent Pharma, Zee Entertainment, L&T, HUL, Yes Bank, UPL, ONGC, Bajaj Finserv, Coal India, Tata Steel are some of the major gainers on the indices in the early trade, while losers are Maruti Suzuki, Cipla, BPCL, ICICI Bank, Dr Reedy's Lab and M&M Financial.

Among the sectors, metal, FMCG and infra are witnessing buying, while IT stocks are under pressure.

Rupee Opens: The Indian rupee declined in the early trade on Wednesday. It has opened lower by 15 paise at 69.09 per dollar versus previous close 68.94.

Market at pre-open: Benchmark indices are trading mixed in the pre-opening session on July 24.

At 09:02 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 43.84 points or 0.12% at 38026.58, and the Nifty down 18.10 points or 0.16% at 11312.90.

Credit Suisse on HUL

Maintain neutral rating, target raised to Rs 1,880 from Rs 1,850 per share

Adjusted PAT up 12% YoY, marginally below estimates

Revenue growth below par while margin expansion stronger than expected

CLSA on HUL

Outperform rating, target cut to Rs 1,880 from Rs 1,950 per share

Margin strategy came to the fore with double-digit earnings growth

Home care continues to show impressive margin gains

HSBC on HUL

Maintain buy rating, target at Rs 2,020 per share

Overall, results were respectable given the demand conditions

Company expects demand to start reviving in H2FY20

Morgan Stanley on HUL

Equal-weight call, target at Rs 1,630 per share

Reported 5% volume growth vs our 6% estimate

Margin expansion of 150 bps higher than our estimate of 90 bps

Citi on HUL

Maintain neutral call, target cut to Rs 1,850 from Rs 1,867 per share

Business model has ample levers to flex, to ensure a steady outcome

CLSA on Zee Entertainment

Retain a buy rating with target of Rs 515 per share

Subscriptions jump; ad growth slump; promoters stake sale days away

Results exceeded estimates, led by 47% jump in domestic subscriptions

Credit Suisse on Zee Entertainment

Maintain neutral call, raises target to Rs 400 from Rs 390 per share

Posted a strong quarter with EBITDA 10% above estimates

Subscription growth largely driven by the new tariff order

Morgan Stanley on Zee Entertainment

Underweight call, target at Rs 370 per share

Ad growth weak but offset by better subscription revenue

Adjusted net profit broadly in-line with our estimate

Nomura on L&T

Maintain buy call, target cut to Rs 1,725 from Rs 1,745 per share

Working capital build likely transient

Guidance has been retained as prospects remain robust

CLSA on L&T

Maintain buy rating, target at Rs 1,730 per share

Inflows surprise in a tough macro

Results a mixed bag; while it surprised on new orders, execution slowed

Morgan Stanley on L&T

Overweight call, target at Rs 1,786 per share

Decent numbers in a challenging quarter

Infra execution positive & 200 bps rise in working capital is negative

CLSA on Torrent Pharma

Outperform rating, target cut to Rs 1,690 from Rs 1,800 per share

Q1 results operationally in-line

Higher other income drove a 12% PAT beat

Nomura on Torrent Pharma

Maintain buy call, target raised to Rs 1,855 from Rs 1,778 per share

Q1 ahead of our estimates; price increase in India key positive

Valuation of 25.4x FY21e P/E is at a premium to peers

Morgan Stanley on M&M Financial

Overweight call, target at Rs 545 per share

Bad loans rose sharply on seasonality & Q4FY19 recovery

Higher provisions cause a big PAT miss

Morgan Stanley on Mindtree

Underweight call, target at Rs 705 per share

L&T likely to announce new CEO on August 2

Jeferries on Kajaria Ceramics

Buy rating, target cut to Rs 720 from Rs 730 per share

Robust volume growth amidst demand concerns

Co is gaining market share as industry was flattish in Q1

Morgan Stanley on SBI Life

Overweight call, target at Rs 850 per share

Strong growth with higher margins drive VNB growth of 50% YoY

Citi on SBI Life

Buy rating, target raised to Rs 1,000 from Rs 850 per share

APE growth at 41% YoY, VNB margin healthy

Operational trends remain strong

Citi on HDFC Life

Upgrade to buy from sell, target raised to Rs 600 from Rs 390 per share

Stock can still do well on the back of VNB CAGR of 39% over FY19-21

Co expects product mix to get more balanced with growth in Par & ULIP improving

CLSA on HDFC Life

Maintain buy rating, target raised to Rs 610 from Rs 490 per share

Managing investment risk & rebalancing its book paramoun

Asia stocks cautious on trade talks: Asian shares nudged higher on Wednesday amid hints of progress in the Sino-US trade saga, while the dollar hit two-month highs on the euro as investors wagered on a dovish outcome from the European Central Bank's coming policy meeting.

Wall Street ends higher: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq approached record highs on Tuesday, lifted by upbeat quarterly reports from Coca-Cola and United Technologies and on optimism the United States would resolve its trade conflict with China.

SGX Nifty: Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the broader indices in India, a gain of 3 points or 0.03 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 11,328-level on the Singaporean Exchange.