KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Closing Bell
Indian equity benchmarks swung between gains and loss through the session before closing marginally higher.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended the session little changed at 49,765 while the NSE Nifty gained 0.2% to 14,894. JSW Steel Ltd and Bajaj Finserv Ltd. were the biggest boosts to Nifty. Both the key indices have gained all four sessions this week.
Twelve out of the 19 sector sub-indices compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, led by a gauge of automobile makers. On the flip side, the S&P BSE Metal index was the star of the trading day, up 5.2%. (read more about it here)
Investors were buoyed by plans for another round of stimulus in the U.S. and the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates lower, raised the prospect of more inflows into emerging markets. Sentiment toward local companies also improved as the nation’s biggest conglomerate to global giants stepped in to help ease India’s coronavirus crisis.
Bank Of Maharashtra Q4 Net Income Rs 165 Crore
Bank of Maharashtra reported net income for the fourth quarter of Rs 165 crore vs. Rs 57.57 crore YoY.
- Gross non-performing assets 7.23% vs. 7.69% QoQ
- Provisions Rs 1,310 crore vs. Rs 250 crore QoQ
- Interest income Rs 3,100 crore, +10% YoY
- Interest expense Rs 1,710 crore, -3.9% YoY
- Other income Rs 1240 crore vs. Rs 390 crore YoY
Bajaj Auto Q4 Net Profit Meets Estimates
- Net income Rs 1,332 crore, +2% YoY, estimate Rs 1,310 crore (Bloomberg Consensus)
- Revenue Rs 8,600 crore, +26% YoY, estimate Rs 8190 crore
- Total costs Rs 7,140 crore, +27% YoY
- Other income Rs 284 crore, -46% YoY
- Ebitda margin 17.7% vs. 18.4% YoY
- Cash and cash equivalents Rs 17,690 crore
- Ebitda Rs 1,524 crore, +21% YoY, estimate Rs 1,450 crore
- Dividend per share Rs 140
Options Watch
- Bajaj Finserv options volume 2.6x the 20-day average, with 15,477 calls changing hands vs 5,792 puts
- Stock up 5.8%, volume 2.3x the 20-day average for this time of day
- Hindustan Unilever options volume 1.8x the average, with 29,048 calls vs 9,335 puts
- Stock up 0.7%, volume 1.1x the average
- Bajaj Finance options volume 1.8x the average, with 52,995 calls vs 30,438 puts
- Stock up 3.7%, volume 2.1x the average
- Nifty 50 options volume 1.5x the average, with 12.4 million calls vs 12.4 million puts; gauge up 0.2%
- Cost of hedging as measured by the 90/110, one-month skew ranks in the 95th percentile over the past year
- India VIX Index up 3.1%
Chart Of The Day: The Bajaj Twins
Hindustan Unilever Q4 Net Income Beats Estimates
Hindustan Unilever posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted by a consumption boom early this year -- a period of relative calm before a deadly second wave started devastating the country.
- Net income Rs 2,140 crore, +41% y/y, estimate Rs 1,970 crore (Bloomberg Consensus)
- Revenue Rs 12,132 crore, +35% YoY estimate Rs 11,733 crore
- Ebitda up 43% at Rs 2,957 crore Vs Rs 2,065 crore (Bloomberg Est Rs 2835 crore)
- Margin at 24.4% vs 22.9% (Bloomberg estimate: 23.1%)
- Total costs Rs 9,430 crore, +30% YoY
- Other income Rs 110 crore, -59% YoY
- Volume +16%
- Dividend per share Rs 17
Read the full earnings report here
Sterlite Tech Q4 Net Income Beats Estimates
Sterlite Tech reported net income for the fourth quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
- Net income Rs 124 crore, +54% y/y, estimate Rs 113 crore (range Rs 100 crore to Rs 124 crore) (Bloomberg consensus)
- Revenue Rs 1,480 crore, +28% y/y, estimate Rs 1,472 crore (range Rs 1,410 crore to Rs 1,554 crore)
- Other income Rs 16.45 crore
- Total costs Rs 1,330 crore, +23% y/y
- Ebitda Rs 273 crore, +21% y/y, estimate Rs 2.65 crore (range Rs 250 crore to Rs 283 crore)
- Dividend per share Rs 2
- Order book of more than Rs 10,700 crore
Nifty Auto Worst Performing Sectoral Index
Rupee Gains For A Fourth Day In Longest Streak In Month
The Indian rupee advances to its strongest level in more than three weeks along with other Asian currencies after the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its growth-supportive stance.
- USD/INR fell 0.4% to 74.0825 after declining to 74.0475, the lowest since April 7
- Global funds buy net Rs 766 crore of India stocks Wednesday: NSE
- They sold Rs 218 crore of sovereign bonds under limits available to foreign investors, and withdrew Rs 25 crore of corporate debt
- State-run banks sold Rs 1,220 crore of sovereign bonds on April 28: CCIL data. Foreign banks sold Rs 1,630 crore of bonds
“No news is good news as far as the market is concerned because it means the Fed will remain accommodative for the near future,” says Kunal Sodhani, assistant vice president, global trading center at Shinhan Bank
Reliance Climbs For A Fourth Session In A Row
Shares of the Mukesh Ambani flagship company rose 2.4%, before paring some of the gains. The stock has jumped over 6% so far this week, set for its biggest weekly advance since mid-September.
The nation’s most valuable company by market capitalisation, which is due to report January-March earnings on Friday, is expected to jump by more than two times year-on-year to Rs 13,704 crore in the quarter ended March, according to the consensus of analysts’ estimates tracked by Bloomberg.
A rebound in the company’s retail arm is also expected to cushion the parent’s financials.
Click here to read the full report
Nifty Bank Index Loses Over 800 Points From Day's High
The NSE Nifty Bank index dropped as much as 0.8% after rising 1.67% in opening trade as investors booked profit after a four-day rally.
Tata Steel Leads Rally In Metal Index On China Boost
Indian steelmakers rallied amid rising domestic prices and a decision by China to scrap tariffs on certain steel products and raw materials.
“China’s decision to cut import tariffs on steel to zero is a strong signal that the country is ready to import steel,” JPMorgan Analyst Pinakin Parekh wrote in a note. The world largest steel producer wants to curb iron ore consumption amid skyrocketing prices that have hurt domestic businesses while benefiting foreign suppliers such as Australia.
J.P.Morgan on Indian Steelmakers
- Sharp surge in trade prices, export realisations and import prices mean companies could increase HRC prices by Rs 6000-7000 per tonne in May-June.
- While we estimate that steel production at larger mills has not been impacted much, similar to last year's lockdown there has been a material impact on the smaller IF/EAF based mills
- We continue to see large consensus earnings upgrades, and for Tata Steel and SAIL, larger than forecast net debt reduction.
Opening Bell: Sensex, Nifty Open More Than 1% Higher
India equity benchmarks rose, in line with most peers in Asia, as plans for another round of stimulus in the U.S. and the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates lower, raised the prospect of more inflows into emerging markets.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.3% to 50,375 while the NSE Nifty gained 1.2% to 15,044. Both the indices have gained 1% for all four sessions this week. All 19 sector sub-indices compiled by BSE Ltd. climbed, led by a gauge of metal companies. HDFC Bank Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. were the biggest boosts to Sensex.
Sentiment toward local companies also improved as the nation’s biggest conglomerate to global giants stepped in to help ease India’s coronavirus crisis.
The market breadth was firmly tilted in favour of the bulls. About 1,592 stocks advanced, 563 declined while 105 remained unchanged on the BSE Ltd.
Also Read: Power Grid InvIT IPO: All You Need To Know
Good morning!
Asian stocks rose Thursday and U.S. equity futures extended gains, buoyed by robust earnings from technology heavyweights and the prospect of further stimulus to fuel the recovery from the pandemic.
India's SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for April delivery, expiring today, rose 0.9% to 14,975.00, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6%.
In an address to Congress, President Joe Biden laid out a $1.8 trillion social-support plan. The package of tax credits and domestic priorities -- including child care, paid family leave, and tuition-free community college -- would be funded partly by the largest tax increases on wealthy Americans in decades.
The dollar slid further after the Federal Reserve signalled it’s not ready to consider scaling back policy support. Treasuries rallied in U.S. hours after the central bank said it will continue with asset purchases and described inflation pressures as likely “transitory.”
Elsewhere, crude oil extended gains on a confident demand outlook from OPEC+, despite the threat from India’s Covid-19 crisis.
Back home, Biocon, SIS may react as the companies reported quarterly results after the market closed Wednesday. Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Ambuja Cements, Exide are among the companies scheduled to report earnings Thursday. Foreign investors sold net Rs 1,110 crore of stocks on Tuesday, according to the NSDL website.
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