Stocks To Watch: Allcargo Logistics, Bharti Airtel, Future Consumer, Gati, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Vodafone  

Asian stocks extended a global equity rally after an emergency U.S. spending bill to combat the impact of the coronavirus added to signs of support from policy makers around the world.

Equities in Japan and Australia opened more than 1 percent higher, with regional shares set for a fourth day of gains. U.S. futures dipped. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.09 percent to 11,236.50 as of 6:55 a.m.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.

Here are the stocks to watch in today’s trade:

• Allcargo Logistics received SEBI approval for its open offer to acquire 26 percent stake in Gati. The company is set to acquire 3.17 crore shares at Rs 75 per share and to increase its stake in Gati by up to 46.83 percent. The company said in a media statement that it has already deposited Rs 238 crore in an escrow account as per SEBI norms and the open offer expected to be launched in the month of March and closed by April. This action marks the completion of the acquisition process which was initiated on Dec. 5, last year.
• IL&FS Group: NCLAT dismissed Deloitte, BSR & Co. and IL&FS’ independent director’s appeal against NCLT order allowing their impleadment in oppression and mismanagement case.
• HDFC reduced its retail prime lending rate on housing loans by 5 basis points, which will under effect from March 9.
• IndusInd Bank to consider raising funds via debt on March 9.
• HDFC Bank has reconstituted search committee to identify the next managing director. Renu Karnad has been appointed in the afore-mentioned committee. The bank said that Aditya Puri shall continue to act as an advisor to the committee. The search committee reconstituted owing to the cessation of Keki Mistry’s directorship from the board.
• Deepak Nitrite: Board approved investing $7.71 million or Rs 56.4 crore for a stake up to 20 percent in its Oman arm. The target company is setting up a project to manufacture chlor-alkali and downstream products.
• Future Consumer said out of the total 46.28 percent stake the promoters have in the company, 91.02 percent of those share are encumbered as in March 4.
• Religare Enterprises said that it has extended the long stop date to March 20 for the proposed sale of its two arms to TCG Advisory Services.
• Andhra Bank has allotted 11.1 crore shares at Rs 18.01 per share to the Government of India on a preferential basis. Post this allotment, the Government’s holding has increased to 88.25 percent in the Bank.
• SBI Life Insurance’s board approved re-appointment of Sanjeev Nautiyal as the managing director and the chief operating officer of the company with effect from March 10, subject to approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and members of the company.
• Max Financial Services’ Board approved Mitsui Sumitomo to acquire 21.87 percent stake in the company through a share swap, in order to simplify the shareholding structure of the Group. The transaction is expected to be concluded by June 2020.
• Maruti Suzuki said that it has partnered with HDB Financial Services to provide car loans.
• Reliance Industries acquires 100 percent stake in Shri Kannan Departmental Store Pvt. Ltd. for a consideration of Rs 152.5 crore. SKDS currently operates 29 stores across Coimbatore and nearby areas with a retail area of over 6 lakh sq. ft.
• GAIL India, Oil India: The government has detached public sector undertakings from a Supreme Court order that sought Rs 1.47 lakh crore from telecom companies as adjusted gross revenue dues, according to Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre's reply in Parliament.

Offerings

• SBI Cards and Payment Services IPO subscribed 15.5 times. Retail investors subscribed 1.77 times. Institutional investors subscribed 56.66 times.
• Antony Waste Handling IPO gets 9 percent demand on the first day of sale.

Pledged Share Details

• Uflex promoter group Flex International revoked pledge of 2.45 lakh shares on March 2
• JSW Steel promoters created pledge of 33 lakh shares from Feb. 28-March 3
• JSW Energy promoters created pledge of 1.2 crore shares from March 2-3
• Future Retail promoter Future Corporate Resources created pledge of 21.86 lakh shares from March 2-3

(As Reported On March 4)

Trading Tweaks

• Tata Chemicals record date for demerger
• Thomas Cook ex-date for share buyback
• Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, Uttam Value Steels, HLE Glascoat to move into ASM Framework
• KSS, Technofab Engineering, Mcleod Russel, Siti Networks to move into short term ASM Framework
• Alok Industries, Dish TV price band revised to 10 percent
• Jain Irrigation Systems (DVR), Aanchal Ispat, LKP Securities price band revised to 5 percent

Who’s Meeting Whom

• Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers to meet Elara India on March 5
• Shaily Engineering Plastics to meet Investec Capital on March 6
• Eicher Motors to meet Capital International, Fidelity Group and other investors from March 5-6
• Somany Ceramics to meet Investec Capital on March 5
• HPL Electric and Power to meet Prudent Equity on March 5

Insider Trading

• Electrosteel Castings promoter G.K. Sons sold 3.5 lakh shares on March 2
• Filatex India promoter Gunjan Bhageria acquired 1.25 lakh shares on March 3
• Greenply Industries promoter group S.M. Management acquired 1 lakh shares from March 3-4
• Axis Bank promoter United India Insurance acquired 55,000 shares from March 2-3
• LT Foods promoter Raghuvesh Holdings acquired 94,000 shares on March 3
• Persistent Systems promoter Rama-Purushottam Foundation sold 1.82 lakh shares from Feb. 17-18

(As Reported On March 4)

Futures & Options

Index Futures

• Nifty March futures closed at 11,247.1, discount of 3.9 points versus 8.5 points
• Nifty March futures open interest up 4.5 percent, adds 6.4 lakh shares in open interest
• Nifty Bank March futures closed at 28,753, premium of 99.3 points versus 46.7 points
• Nifty Bank March futures open interest up 3 percent, adds 36,700 shares in open interest

Options

• Nifty PCR at 1.15 versus 1.20 (across all series)

Nifty weekly Expiry: March 5

• Max open interest on call side at 11,500 (25 lakh shares)
• Max open interest on put side at 11,000 (17.5 lakh shares)
• open interest addition seen in 11,500C (+7.4 lakh shares), 11, 400,C (+5.4 lakh shares)

Nifty Monthly Expiry: March 26

• Max open interest on call side at 12,000 (26.4 lakh shares)
• Max open interest on put side at 11,000 (28.9 lakh shares)

Stocks In F&O Ban

• Yes Bank

Brokerage Radar

Citi on HDFC Bank

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,600.
• Market share gains to drive growth and asset quality outlook.
• Bank to prioritise sustainable deposit garnering over margins.
• Increase in consumer leverage is manageable.

Citi on ICICI Bank

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 650.
• Retail and SME to drive growth; high coverage comforting.
• No green shoots in corporate; cut benefits to be modest.
• Cautious on telecom and macro.

Credit Suisse on L&T

• Maintained ‘Neutral’; cut price target to Rs 1,325 from Rs 1,460.
• Retain cautious view; valuation support inadequate given weak macro.
• Believe that growth levers are weak; growth assumptions would face continuing challenges.
• Public sector spending momentum has slowed; debatable whether L&T will achieve year’s guidance.

Kotak Securities on Dalmia Bharat

• Upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Add’; maintained price target at Rs 1,050.
• Gaining scale without adding leverage; good proxy to play consolidation in East markets.
• On track to reach 37 MTPA capacity from current 26 MTPA in two years.
• Concerns on treasury overblown; attractive valuations make risk-reward favorable.

Nirmal Bang on Embassy Office Park REIT

• Initiated ‘Accumulate’ with a price target of Rs 468.
• Strong fundamentals already priced in; expect strong demand growth to continue.
• Benign interest rate environment and revenue growth to help in cap rate contraction.
• Strong sponsors and experienced managers give additional comfort for revenue growth.