Asian stocks advanced after an upbeat assessment on the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell comforted investors wary of a blowout in protectionism.
Equities climbed in Japan, Australia and South Korea at the open, while futures signaled a firmer start in Hong Kong. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, traded 0.4 percent higher at 11,065 as of 7:05 a.m.
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BQ Live
Here’s a quick look at all that could influence equities today.
U.S. Market Check
- The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record high as a recovery in technology shares emboldened investors and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated his upbeat assessment of the economy.
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 2.86 percent.
Europe Market Check
European stocks posted a small gain after reversing earlier declines as U.S. shares pushed higher on expectations the Federal Reserve won’t hike rates too aggressively.
- The euro slipped 0.4 percent to $1.1664.
- The British pound dropped 0.9 percent to $1.3115.
- Italian 10-year yields fell 11 basis points to 2.47 percent.
- Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.35 percent.
Asian Cues
- Japan’s Topix index rose 0.8 percent.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent.
- South Korea’s Kospi index was up 0.9 percent.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were up 0.5 percent.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent.
- Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell three basis points to 2.63 percent.
- The Japanese yen fell 0.1 percent to 112.99 per dollar, trading around its weakest since January.
- China’s yuan fell 0.1 percent to $6.7279.
Commodity Cues
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4 percent to $67.78 a barrel.
- Brent crude traded 0.5 percent lower at $71.79 per barrel.
- Gold was little changed at $1,227.64 an ounce. Earlier it fell more than 1 percent.
Shanghai Exchange
- Steel snapped two-day losing streak; up 0.4 percent.
- Aluminium traded flat.
- Zinc snapped six-day losing streak; up 0.5 percent.
- Copper traded lower for second day; down 0.5 percent.
- Rubber traded higher for second day; up 0.2 percent.
Stories That You Might’ve Missed
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- Commercial courts and the ease of deciding cases.
- Vicious farm cycle: can’t repay loans, don’t get crop insurance cover.
- U.S. to make more drugs easily available, cutting role docs play.
- Bitcoin surges after breaking back through $7,000 level.
- Goldman Sachs ushers in new era as Solomon takes CEO reins.
- Ex-Googler set to join China's top 25 richest with tech IPO.
- The secret rooms hotels don’t tell you about.
- Tokyo wants people to go to work earlier to ease train crush.
- A guide to the key players in Pakistan’s coming election.
- Mckesson, cardinal health must face New York Opioid suits.
- Trump retreats and says he accepts U.S. Finding Russia meddled.
- Reliance Jio tops 4G download speed in May; Idea’s upload rate is the highest.
- Amazon recovers from Prime Day stumble with soaring sales.
- Trump or cheap Iran oil: Dilemma facing fastest growing oil user.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
- Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin today
- Earnings season continues, with reports due from companies including: Morgan Stanley, American Express, Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Unilever and IBM.
- Euro-zone inflation data for June is expected on Wednesday to show the annual rate inched higher to 2 percent.
Stocks To Watch
- IDBI Bank board seek government’s view on LIC’s proposal to buy 51 percent stake.
- HDFC Bank to allot 3.9 crore shares to parent HDFC at Rs 2174.09 per share.
- PNC Infratech bagged order worth Rs 1,157 crore for highway project in Karnataka.
- 5Paisa Capital board approved 1:1 rights issues at Rs 80 per share.
- Kridhan Infra JV won Rs 222.6 crore order for highway project.
- Tejas Networks implements 100G DWDM network for MCM Telecom in Mexico.
- Rolta India signed pact to implement revised restructuring of bonds.
- Kansai Nerolac completed acquisition of 55 percent stake in RAK Paints Bangladesh for Rs 41.5 crore.
- Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, PNB, IOB in focus as government may infuse Rs 11,396 crore in five state-owned banks, says government official. Capital to be used by banks to pay interest due on AT1 bonds.
Nifty Earnings To Watch
- Ultratech Cement
Other Earnings To Watch
- Bandhan Bank
- GHCL
- JK Tyre
- JM Financial
- Mahindra CIE Automotive
- Mastek
- Mindtree
- NIIT Tech
- Reliance Communications
- Sasken Technologies
Earnings Reaction To Watch
Zee Entertainment (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 15 percent at Rs 1,772 crore.
- Net profit up 31.5 percent at Rs 326 crore.
- Ebitda up 17 percent at Rs 565.6 crore.
- Margin at 31.9 percent versus 31.4 percent.
Rallis India (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 30 percent at Rs 573 crore.
- Net profit up 22 percent at Rs 55 crore.
- Ebitda up 22 percent at Rs 83.5 crore.
- Margin at 14.6 percent versus 15.5 percent.
Nucleus Software Exports (Q1, QoQ)
- Revenue up 2 percent at Rs 113 crore.
- Net profit up 3.5 percent at Rs 17.6 crore.
- Ebit up 21 percent at Rs 17 crore.
- Margin at 15 percent versus 12.6 percent.
Sintex Industries (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 34 percent at Rs 925 crore.
- Net profit up 11 percent at Rs 39 crore.
- Ebitda up 43 percent at Rs 110 crore.
- Margin at 11.9 percent versus 11.2 percent.
5Paisa Capital (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 4.1 times at Rs 9.1 crore.
- Net loss of Rs 5.6 crore versus net loss of Rs 6.2 crore.
- Ebitda loss of Rs 6.7 crore versus a loss of Rs 6.9 crore.
Crisil (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 7 percent at Rs 436 crore.
- Net profit up 15 percent at Rs 77 crore.
- Ebitda up 5 percent at Rs 108 crore.
- Margin at 24.8 percent versus 25.2 percent.
Jindal Stainless (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 56 percent at Rs 3,147 crore.
- Net profit at Rs 91 crore versus Rs 41.5 crore.
- Ebitda up 50 percent at Rs 375 crore.
- Margin at 11.9 percent versus 12.4 percent.
Tata Sponge Iron (Q1, YoY)
- Revenue up 49.1 percent at Rs 260.9 crore.
- Net profit at Rs 45.6 crore versus Rs 30.6 crore.
- Ebitda up at Rs 60.2 crore versus Rs 38.7 crore.
- Margin at 23.1 percent versus 22.1 percent.
8K Miles Software Services (FY18 versus FY17)
- Revenue up 61 percent at Rs 849 crore.
- Net profit up 64 percent to Rs 172 crore.
- EBIT up 56 percent to Rs 267 crore.
- Margin at 31.5 percent versus 32.4 percent.
Indian ADRs
New Offerings
- TCNS Clothing Co. IPO at Rs 714-716 a share opens; close on July 20. (More details here)
- HDFC AMC IPO price band set at Rs 1,095-1,100 per share; offer ope July 25, close July 27.
Bulk Deals
- Aksharchem: BNP Paribas Arbitrage sold 43,448 shares or 0.5 percent equity at Rs 500.14 each.
- PC Jeweller: Well Management sold 37.45 lakh shares or 0.9 percent equity at Rs 85.43 each.
Who’s Meeting Whom
- PSP Projects to meet Emkay Global Financial Services on July 18.
Insider Trades
- Waterbase promoter KCT Management Services Pvt Ltd acquired 46,056 shares from July 11–12.
- MEP Infra promoter A J Tolls Pvt Ltd acquired 2.20 lakh shares from July 13–16.
- Sadbhav Infra promoter Sadbhav Engineering Ltd acquired 3.68 lakh shares from July 13–16.
Trading Tweaks
- M.M.Forgings Limited ex date for 1:1 bonus
Money Market Update
- Rupee closed at 68.46/$ on Tuesday from 68.57/$ on Monday.
- Sovereign bonds rise with yields at 7.4 percent, lowest levels since May.
F&O Cues
- Nifty July Futures closed trading at 11,023.7 premium of 15.7 points versus 7 points.
- July series: Nifty open interest up 2 percent; Bank Nifty open interest up 3.5 percent.
- India VIX ended at 12.8, down 1 percent.
- Max open interest for July series at 11,000 Call (open interest at 35.3 lakh, down 11 percent).
- Max open interest for July series at 10,800 Put (open interest at 46.5 lakh, up 13 percent).
F&O Ban
- In ban: Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Jet Airways.
Only intraday positions can be taken in stocks which are in F&O ban. There is a penalty incase of a rollover of these intraday positions
Put Call Ratio
- Nifty PCR at 1.68 versus 1.62
- Nifty Bank PCR at 1.15 versus 0.73
Fund Flows
Brokerage Radar
CLSA on ITC
- ITC has become the second-largest FMCG firm in India.
- Meaningful profits still some time away.
- Hurdles: Aggressive launches, steep learning curve in personal care and tough retail environment for apparels.
- FMCG forms 13 percent of price target; could be higher on peer multiples.
BoFA-ML on Zee Entertainment
- Maintained ‘Underperform’ with a price target of Rs 532.
- June quarter was largely inline with estimates.
- Marketing on "Zee5" will pick in current quarter.
- Zee would grow at the rate higher than industry in 2018-19.
- Underperform as valuations high in context of growth and limited clarity on traction of Zee5.
Edelweiss on Federal Bank
- Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 130.
- June quarter earnings show sustained buildup in operating.
- rhythm along with normalisation of asset quality.
- Core profitability gaining momentum and becoming more predictable.
- June performance reinforces our view that FB is on course to deliver return of assets and return of equity of 1 percent and 13 percent by March 2020.
HSBC on L&T Infotech
- Initiated ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 2,100, implying a potential upside of 13.5 percent from current levels.
- Strong brand, ability to penetrate large accounts and large deal wins support strong growth.
- Expect organic revenue to grow above industry average CAGR of 15 percent over FY18-21.
- Expect margins to improve by 250 basis points, led by operational efficiency and INR depreciation
- Better organic growth warrants higher valuation.
Macquarie on Ashok Leyland
- Maintained ‘Underperform’ with a price target of Rs 113.
- June quarter’s operating income was below estimates.
- Volume growth drives margin improvement.
- Domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle market share at three-year low.
- Underperform on near term demand uncertainty, high competitive intensity and expensive valuations.
Citi on Glenmark Pharma
- Maintained ‘Neutral’ with a price target of Rs 640.
- Received approval of gWelchol suspensiona - $73 million brand in the U.S.
- Competition is difficult to predict.
- Market share gains key to track.
- Execution in the U.S. is key to sustained recovery
Citi on Shriram Transport Finance
- Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,580.
- SHTF sees asset quality improving gradually with gross NPA ratio declining.
- Expect net interest margins to sustain despite rise in yields.
- Merger with Shriram City Union a possibility.
- Expect 18-20 percent growth rate; can achieve 18 percent RoE in two years.
JPMorgan on ONGC
- Maintained ‘Overweight’ with a price target of Rs 265.
- Fears of subsidy, acquisition of GSPC's KG block, impending HPCL merger led to de-rating.
- Formal restructuring refining and petchem assets would be a positive.
- Net beneficiary of rupee depreciation and higher domestic gas prices.
- Higher cess is more likely than an explicit subsidy.
- Stock lacks immediate catalysts; believe risk-reward favourable for long term.