Asian stocks were mixed at the open, shrugging off the biggest advance in U.S. shares in almost four weeks Friday as the country’s jobless rate hit an 18-year low.
The dollar drifted from a recent high. Equity benchmarks in Japan fluctuated and gained in Australia. Hong Kong futures climbed alongside S&P 500 Index futures. The MSCI Asia Pacific declined for a second consecutive week last week.
The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.22 percent to 10,690 as of 7:05 a.m.
Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of the article!
Global Cues
- U.S. stocks logged their biggest advance on Friday in almost four weeks after the country’s jobless rate hit an 18-year low.
- The dollar finished higher while Treasury yields flattened out as the market assessed the impact of America’s inconclusive trade talks with China.
Europe Check
- European shares rose to cap a sixth straight week of gains as the common currency declined and U.S. stocks advanced after a jobs report.
Asian Cues
- Topix index fell 0.1 percent as of 9:09 a.m. in Tokyo.
- S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7 percent.
- Hang Seng Index futures gained 0.7 percent.
- Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent. The S&P 500 closed up 1.3 percent Friday, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.7 percent.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
- Nafta talks resume in Washington Monday. The negotiators are expected to push for a final deal, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said talks could drag on for months.
- Chinese trade data due Tuesday.
- Australian annual budget Tuesday.
- Malaysia holds a general election Wednesday.
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday.
- Bank of England policy decision Thursday.
- Deadline set by President Trump on whether to stick with with 2015 Iran nuclear accord or pull out and reimpose sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation.
- Walt Disney, Petrobras, Marriott, Toyota, Ambev, Deutsche Telekom, Sun Life Financial, Nvidia, Brookfield Asset Management, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Panasonic, Banco do Brasil, Nissan, Thomson Reuters, Sysco, Tyson Foods, SoftBank, Siemens and 21st Century Fox are among many companies announcing earnings.
- South Korean markets are closed for a holiday.
Commodities Check
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.1 percent to $69.81 a barrel, the highest in more than three years. It increased 1.9 percent on Friday.
- Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,316.01 an ounce.
- LME copper was little changed at $6,826 a metric tonne on Friday.
Indian ADRs
Stories You Might’ve Missed
- It’s Nikola Vs Tesla in $2 billion truck lawsuit!
- China's about to give global finance the chance of a lifetime
- Karnataka elections: Five issues that will matter
- Buffett talks earnings, trade, Wells Fargo at Berkshire Meeting
- Government likely to notify 8.55 percent interest on EPF for FY18 this week
- The gambler who made $1 billion after cracking horse-racing code
- FPI outflow hits 16-month high in April
Nifty Earnings To Watch
- ICICI Bank
Other Earnings
- Exide Industries
- Firstsource Solutions
- Inox Leisure
- Pfizer
- Talwalkars Better Value Fitness
- Tata Chemicals
- Tata Coffee
- Tata Investment Corporation
- Vijaya Bank
- Zee Learn
Earnings Reaction To Watch
Avenue Supermarts Q4 YoY
- Revenue up 22.5 percent at Rs 3,809.9 crore
- Net profit up 73 percent At Rs 167.1 crore
- EBITDA up 41.7 percent At Rs 294.4 crore
- Margin At 7.7 percent versus 6.7 percent
Nocil Q4 YoY
- Revenue up 44.5 percent at Rs 276 crore
- Net profit up 143 percent at Rs 51 crore
- EBITDA up 113 percent at Rs 84 crore
- Margin at 30.4 percent versus 20.7 percent
SQS India Q4 QoQ
- Revenue up 9 percent at Rs 76 crore
- Net profit up 82 percent at Rs 10 crore
- EBIT up 57 percent at Rs 11 crore
- Margin at 14.5 percent versus 10 percent
- Other Income of Rs 3.8 crore in current quarter
Wockhardt Q4 YoY
- Revenue up 18 percent at Rs 1,018 crore
- Net loss of Rs 155 crore versus net loss of Rs 175 crore
- Other income of Rs 56 crore in base quarter
Deepak Nitrite Q4 YoY
- Revenue up 19.5 percent at Rs 393 crore
- Net profit down 5 percent at Rs 20 crore
- EBITDA up 21.25 percent at Rs 48.5 crore
- Margin at 12.3 percent versus 12.2 percent
Indo Count Industries Q4 YoY
- Revenue down 13 percent at Rs 406 crore
- Net profit down 45 percent at Rs 27 crore
- EBITDA down 6 percent at Rs 42 crore
- Margin at 10.3 percent versus 9.5 percent
Great Eastern Shipping Co Q4 YoY
- Revenue up 3 percent at Rs 769 crore
- Net loss of Rs 418 crore versus net loss of Rs 34 crore
- EBITDA down 95.5 percent at Rs 7 crore
- Margin at 0.9 percent versus 20.8 percent
- Other income down 64 percent at Rs 46 crore
- Total expenses up 21 percent at Rs 1074 crore
BASF India Q4 YoY
- Revenue up 5.5 percent at Rs 1,344 crore
- Net profit up 53.5 percent at Rs 66 crore
- Other Income of Rs 11 crore in current quarter
- EBITDA down 18 percent at Rs 100 crore
- Margin at 7.4 percent versus 9.6 percent
Stocks To Watch
- Sources close to Lupin say U.S. FDA to start inspection of the drugmaker’s Nagpur plant from May 7
- UltraTech submits fresh offer of Rs 7840 crore For Binani Cement. The lenders are expected to meet on Monday to discuss UltraTech’s new bid (Economic Times)
- PC Jeweller prepones buyback date to May 10 from earlier announced May 25
- Aurobindo Pharma launches $1.6 billion bid to buy Novartis’ generics unit (Mint)
- Infosys approves Rs 13 crore of annual performance equity grant for MD and CEO Salil Parekh
- L&T IDPL transfers stake in five units to IndInfravit Trust
- Fortis Healthcare receives revised offer from Manipal Healthcare. The hospital chain operator has appointed Arpwood Capital to advise on sale bids. Shareholders, meanwhile, approve acquisition of RHT Health Trust assets.
- MRF, JK Tyres, Ceat: Tyre companies raise prices up to 3 percent on back of rising input costs
- NHPC receives CERC nod to undertake interstate trade in electricity across the country
- Bodal Chemicals to acquire land at PCPIR, Dahej from GIDC for future expansion and new projects
- Airtel says talks on Bain BV listing at exploratory stage
- Glenmark Pharma says clinical trials at Malpani Hospital suspended
- Blackstone buys Indiabulls asset in Tamil Nadu for Rs 900 crore (ET)
- Welspun Gets demand notice of Rs 179 crore for tax, interest, penalty for FY10 and FY11
- Vakrangee appoints A. P. Sanzgiri & Co as auditors for FY17-18 to fill in casual vacancy
- Cadila Healthcare says Zydus gets final approval from FDA for Succinylcholine Chloride
Bulk Deals
Career Point
- KIFS Enterprise sold 1.05 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 125.09 each.
Gitanjali Gems
- Morgan Stanley France SAS sold 6.67 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 2.8 each
Elpro International
- IGE (india) Private Limited bought 9.94 lakh shares or 0.7 percent equity at Rs 58.85 each.
- Cresta Fund Ltd sold 10 lakh shares or 0.7 percent equity at Rs 58.85 each.
Trading Tweaks
- JBF Industries shifted to T group and placed under additional surveillance.
Insider Trades
- Rajesh Exports promoter Rajesh Mehta acquired 9,789 shares on May 3.
- Kwality Ltd promoter Sanjay Dhingra acquired 10 lakh shares on May 3.
Rupee
- Rupee ended lower at 66.87 per dollar versus Thursday’s close of 66.65.
Top Gainers And Losers
F&O Cues
- Nifty May Futures closed trading at 10,658.7 with a premium of 40.5 points versus of 26.9 points
- All series- Nifty & Bank Nifty open interest (OI) unchanged
- India VIX ended at 13.2, up 2 percent
- Max OI for May series call at 11,000 strike price call option, OI at 57.9 lakh shares, down 3 percent
- Max OI for May series put shifts to 10,500 strike price put option, OI at 48 lakh shares, up 7 percent
F&O Ban
In ban: Balrampur Chini, IRB Infra, Jet Airways, Just Dial, PC Jewellers
New in ban: Balrampur Chini
Out of ban: None
Only intraday positions can be taken in stocks which are in F&O ban, incase of rollover of these
Put-Call Ratio
- Nifty PCR at 1.48 versus 1.50
- Nifty Bank PCR at 1.31 versus 1.59
Stocks Seeing High Open Interest Change
Brokerage Radar
Credit Suisse on Ambuja Cements
- Maintain ‘Underperform’; Cuts target price to Rs 202 from Rs 220
- Q1CY18 results weak on both volume growth and cost trend
- Cost pressure only partly visible in Mar 2018; More to come
- Rupee depreciation to further worsen the cost pressure
- Cut CY18/19 EPS estimates by 17/8 percent to build lower cement prices and higher cost
Macquarie on Ambuja Cements
- Maintain ‘Neutral’; Cuts target price to Rs 242 from Rs 300
- Q1CY18 in-line; Lower volumes offset by lower cost
- Volume growth to return to 4-5 percent in CY18-19 due to capacity constraints
- Lower than mean valuations to limit downside
Antique on NIIT Tech
- Maintain ‘Buy’; Raises target price to Rs 1,210 from Rs 1,000
- Q4 results significant beat; Revenue/EBIT growth best in peers
- Robust outlook for FY19 backed by healthy deal pipeline
- Company expects double digit revenue growth
- Trading at discount to peers; Risk reward compelling
Motilal Oswal on CESC
- Maintain 'Buy'; Raised target price to Rs 1,440 from Rs 1,408
- Unlocking through demerger
- Distribution and generation - combined greater than the current market cap
- Spencers - focus turning to growth; Target to increase margins to 5 percent
Citi on Petronet LNG
- Maintain 'Buy' with target price of Rs 310
- Stock trading at 10 percent off our bear case of Rs 195
- At current levels, risk-reward is attractive
- Investors nervous on start-up of Mundra Regas Terminal & FSRU by H-Energy at Jaigarh
- Believe Mundra could get to 30 percent utilisation