Sensex, Nifty Gain Most In 2-Weeks; FMCG Index Sole Loser

Indian shares climbed the most in nearly two weeks after a two-day decline, led by automakers, metal producers and information technology companies.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.5 percent to 28,301 while the NSE Nifty advanced 0.6 percent to 8,778. Barring the Nifty FMCG Index (-1.3 percent) and Nifty Media Index which was little changed at close, all other sectoral indices on the NSE advanced.

The market breadth too was encouraging with buyers outnumbering the sellers by a wide margin. About 994 stocks advanced, 350 declined and 42 remained unchanged on the NSE.

Shares of the drug maker rose as much as 18.3 percent to Rs 424, just shy of its 52-week high, after its Moraiya facility cleared a U.S. FDA inspection with “no observations”.

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The Indian mutual fund industry witnessed a net inflow in January 2017 of Rs 3,700 crore in equity schemes, much lower than the Rs 9,200 crore net inflow in December 2016, due to a 56 percent month-on-month jump in redemptions.

A report by brokerage Motilal Oswal attributes the higher redemptions to investor nervousness ahead of the Union Budget 2017, presented on February 1. But a 5.5 percent increase in equity assets under management, in January versus December, made for the highest rise in the last 10 months.

To read the full report, click HERE

The rupee depreciated 7 paise to 66.97 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on fresh demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

Dealers attributed the rupee's fall to fresh demand for the U.S. currency from importers, but a higher opening in the domestic equity markets and dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas capped the losses.

Yesterday, the rupee had extended gains for the second straight day by moving up another 3 paise to close at 66.90 per dollar on sustained selling of the U.S. currency by banks and exporters.

PTI

Dr Reddy's Laboratories stock fell the most since November 9, after the U.S. district court of New Jersey ruled that the drug maker’s proposed palonosetron hydrochloride 0.25 mg/5 ml product infringes on patents held by Helsinn Healthcare.

The company said it will pursue an appeal in due course.

State Bank of India stock rose 1.3 percent to Rs 272.5 as of 9:30 a.m., after the cabinet approved the lender’s merger with three of its associates and two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries.

As part of the scheme of arrangement, shareholders of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur will receive 28 shares of SBI for every 10 shares held, SBI had said in a notice to the stock exchanges in August.

Shareholders of State Bank of Mysore will get 22 shares of SBI for every 10 shares held. The same ratio will apply to shareholders of State Bank of Travancore.

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, and State Bank of Travancore all gained between 4 and 5 percent.

Also Read: Cabinet Approves Merger Of SBI With Its Five Subsidiaries

Indian markets opened higher, despite weak cues from Asia. The Nifty 50 Index opened around the 8,740-mark, while the S&P BSE Sensex Index traded 60 points higher in early trade.

The Tata Consultancy Services stock was the best performer on the Nifty after the company announced plans to consider a share buyback on February 20. Other information technology stocks including Infosys and Tech Mahindra also rose as analysts said TCS’ move may prompt its peers to consider rewarding shareholders.

Also Read: TCS Rises On Plan To Consider Buyback On February 20

• Bajaj Auto: All products BS-IV compliant from Jan.
• Gammon India: Quarterly loss 205.3m rupees vs 1.19b loss
• Sagar Cements: Raises 1.73b rupees via QIP issue
• State Bank of India: India approves proposal to absorb five units
• Tata Steel: Workers vote to accept U.K. pension reforms, PA says
• Bharti Airtel: Raised to buy at ICICIdirect
• CESC: Cut to sell from accumulate at Elara Securities
• Coal India: Cut to neutral versus buy at Goldman
• Natco Pharma: Cut to sell at Religare Capital

Offerings

• Shriram Transport sells Rs 700 crore 2020 masala bonds
• Power Finance also plans to sell Rs 500 crore 15year bonds
• India’s Nabard to sell Rs 500 crore three-year bonds at 6.7 percent
• Aditya Birla Housing to sell 3-year rupee bonds at 8.05 percent
• LIC Housing plans to sell Rs 500 crore 18-month bonds
• Aditya Birla Finance to sell 3-year rupee bonds at 7.9 percent
• India’s Tamil Nadu state to sell Rs 14,000 crore UDAY bonds February 20

• India in talks to sell missiles to Vietnam (Reuters)
• Base metals trade mixed as focus on Escondida mine talks, Yellen
• India total food grain output seen climbing to 271.98 million tonnes
• India to buy 33 million tonnes wheat from farmers 2017-18
• Iranian crude exports to India soar as Europe flow eases
• India January crude imports fall 3.8 percent YoY to 17.45 million tonne
• Trump may help India IT companies focus on local market: Ambani
• India January exports rise 4.32 percent YoY to $22.1 billion
• India to change rules to auction 100 offshore mineral blocks
• RBI to hold reverse repo auctions February 16
• Nasscom sees FY17 growth at 8.6 percent versus view of 8-10 percent

Good Morning!

The Nifty futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange, an early indicator of Nifty’s performance in India, was little changed at 8,756.

Asian shares took a breather in early trade, and U.S. Treasuries climbed after five straight days of declines, as investors weighed the prospects of an interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve as early as next month. Data this week also showed factory price increases accelerated in China.

Evidence of firming U.S. inflation had spurred bets that the economy can withstand higher interest rates as it waits for stimulus from the Trump administration. The dollar slipped against most major currencies.

The odds for a rate hike at the March meeting rose to 42 percent from 30 percent two days ago, according to futures rates tracked by Bloomberg.

U.S. stocks rose for a seventh straight day, giving the S&P 500 its longest run of gains since 2013. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.52 percent to close above 20,600, led by gains in banks and healthcare stocks.

Oil prices inched lower to $53 per barrel on continued worries over a global supply glut after U.S. stockpiles rose for the sixth week. Stockpiles climbed by 9.53 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. At 518.1 million barrels, U.S. inventories are at the highest level since 1982.

Gold climbed for a third day, gaining 0.2 percent to $1,236 an ounce.