Sensex, Nifty End At Fresh Record Closing Highs

Indian equity benchmarks closed trade at fresh record high as investors piled on bullish bets on lack of any meaningful concern.

The S&P BSE Sensex climbed nearly 1 percent to 29,910 – a record closing for the 30-share index. It is now just 114 points away from its all-time high of 30,024 it made same period two years ago.

Not to be outdone, the NSE’s Nifty 50 index too clocked its best intraday as well as closing levels. The 50-share index gained 0.7 percent to 9,242 – a fresh record closing and 2 points shy from its intraday high.

All sectoral indices, barring the technology and telecom gauges, advanced on the BSE. The S&P BSE Capital Goods index gained nearly 3.5 percent, the most since May 2016, led by engineering giant Larsen and Toubro.

The market breadth was dominated by the bulls with three stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined on the NSE.

Emami Infrastructure Trades Higher For Second-Straight Day

• Stocks gains as much as 17.6 percent on Monday
• Had gained 20 percent on Friday
• Volumes are at 14 times the previous 20-day average
• The real estate developer has a market cap of Rs 238 crore

Rising for the second straight session, gold prices inched up by another Rs 20 to Rs 29,270 per 10 grams. Silver fell however by Rs 250 to Rs 42,400 per kg due to reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Traders said increased buying by local jewellers at the domestic spot market to meet the ongoing "Navratra" demand kept gold prices higher but a weak trend overseas capped the rise.

Globally, gold fell by 0.31 per cent to Rs 1,245.30 an ounce and silver by 0.49 per cent to $18.13 an ounce in Singapore.

(PTI)

Shares of power transmission company jumped as much as 9.6 percent, the most since December 6, 2016.

Company gets order from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam to construct, own, operate and maintain three transmission projects in the state of Rajasthan.

Volume at 5.2 times its 30-day average. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high.

Advani Hotels & Resorts Hits Upper Circuit

• Shares locked at upper circuit of 20 percent
• The stock is at over two-year high
• Volumes at 43 times the 20-day average
• The hotels operator is valued at Rs 310 crore
• Delta Corp Ltd. holds 35.45 percent in the company
• D-Mart promoter Radhakishan Damani holds 3.76 percent

Shares of software maker fell as much as 1.6 percent to Rs 1,006. Co-founder NR Narayana Murthy again criticized Infosys’ board, this time over a pay hike to Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao.

Full story: Murthy Questions Pay Hike To Infosys’ Chief Operating Officer

• Stock has risen just once in past seven sessions.
• Trading volume almost same as the 20-day average.

• Fortis Healthcare has 40 lakh shares change hands in two block deals
• Marico has 19 lakh shares change hands in a block deal

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

After posting their best quarter in five years, rupee bond sales by Indian companies are set to retreat in the three months to June, if history is any guide.

Issuance from businesses in Asia’s third largest economy is seen declining to as low as 1.13 trillion rupees ($17.4 billion) this quarter, according to IDFC Bank Ltd., down from 2.01 trillion rupees sold in the three months to March.

To read the full story, click HERE

Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries surged as much as 4.5 percent, the highest intraday gain since May 2008.

Telecom unit Reliance Jio Infocomm has converted 7.2 crore customers from free to paid subscription, it said in a press release.

Trading volume was 11 percent of the 20-day average; stock gained 8.8 percent last month compared with 2.4 percent rise in benchmark Sensex index.

Shares of the drug maker dropped as much as 16 percent to lowest since July 2014 after its Goa plant received six Form 483 observations from the U.S. FDA, the company said in a filing on March 31.

The drug regulator issues Form 483 after an inspection to express its concerns on manufacturing practices. Companies that receive its observations are required to respond in writing with a corrective action plan and implement the same quickly.

If the company fails to meet the regulator’s expectations, a warning letter may be issued.

From Indoco Remedies Concall:

• Warning letter pertains to issue of leakages in the product Latanoprost
• As per U.S. FDA advice, company is in the process of appointing cGMP consultants.
• Will submit response to the warning letter within stipulated 15 days.
• Revenue exposure of plant under warning to U.S. is Rs 75 crore
• Total U.S. business is Rs 110 crore
• Number of ANDAs pending from plant III is 9
• Number of ANDAs pending from plant II is 18

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to a five-month high of 52.5 in March from 50.7 in February.

A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while one below 50 points toward contraction. March's reading marked the above-50 level for the third consecutive month.

"Rates of expansion in factory orders and production accelerated again, encouraging some companies to scale up their input buying and take on additional workers," said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.

"Looking ahead, production volumes are likely to rise further as businesses will seek to replenish their stocks," the economist said. "Indeed, we saw a marked drop in inventories of finished items, alongside a stronger degree of confidence towards the year-ahead outlook for output."

(Nikkei & IHS Markit)

Shakti Pumps Rallies On High Volumes

Shakti Pumps India Ltd. gained as much as 16.6 percent, its highest intra-day jump since March 2, 2016.

• Volumes are over five times its 20-day average.
• The Relative Strength Index is near 84, which indicates that the stock may be overbought.
• The manufacturer and exporter of submersible water pumps and electric motors has a market cap of Rs 400 crore

Continuing its uptrend, the rupee firmed up 0.1 percent to 64.76 against the U.S. dollar in early trade.

Weakness in the dollar against other currencies overseas supported the rupee, forex dealers said. Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market influenced the rupee uptrend, they added.

On Friday, the rupee had gained 7 paise to close at a fresh 17-month high of 64.85 on bouts of dollar selling from banks and exporters.

Shares of Jet Airways, SpiceJet and InterGlobe Aviation gained between 1 to 2 percent.

Price of jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel was reduced by Rs 2,811 per kilo litre, or 5.1 percent, to Rs 51,482 per kl with effect from April 1, Indian Oil said in a release dated March 31.

Jet fuel is one of the biggest costs for airlines and a reduction in prices is likely to boost airline companies’ profitability.

Shares of real estate firm fell as much as 20 percent to Rs 4.46.

Unitech’s Managing Director Sanjay Chandra and his brother Ajay Chandra were sent to police custody on Saturday, for allegedly not developing a real estate project in Gurugram despite receiving funds from customers.

Trading volume at 6.6 times its 30-day average.

Bajaj Auto Ltd.’s sales dropped for the fourth time in five months even as exports improved.

Total sales for the month of March dropped 11 percent to 2,72,197 vehicles compared to 3,05,080 vehicles in March 2016, the company said in an exchange filing. The bike maker struggled in the domestic market, with sales declining 17 percent to 1,69,279 units.

Exports remained positive for the second straight month, rising one percent to 1,02,918 units compared to 1,01,519 units last March.

Shares of United Spirits, Associated Alcohol, Radico Khaitan fell nearly 5 percent each after Supreme Court’s ban on liquor sales along highways.

The ban will not only impact the revenues for the liquor companies but impact as much as Rs 20,000 crore of revenue from liquor for state governments, brokerage CLSA wrote in a note.

Indian shares began the new fiscal year on a positive note, with a key benchmark making a new all-time high, led by automakers following robust March sales.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.4 percent to 29,757, while the NSE Nifty rose as much as 0.5 percent to 9,220. The market breadth was in the favour of buyers, with about 4 stocks gaining to every 1 stock that declined.

All the sectoral indices gained except the S&P BSE Realty index, which was down about 0.31 percent. S&P BSE Auto (+0.8 percent) and S&P BSE BankEx (0.4 percent) led the gainers.

Also Read: Auto Stocks Rally On March Sales; Bajaj Drops

Looks like there is no stopping for the Indian rupee.

The currency, which rallied 4.7 percent against the dollar in three months ended March, the best first quarter since 1975, is expected to continue its advance even today following its Asian peers.

Currencies in Asia have gained after New York Fed President William Dudley on Friday said there was no need to rush to boost interest rates.

Bonds, on the other hand, are seen range-bound in today's session ahead of RBI's monetary policy that is due this week, which will be watched out for central bank's commentary and steps on liquidity.

The activity may be lackluster today also because tomorrow is a public holiday.

• Radico Khaitan, United Spirits: The Supreme Court upheld its earlier order banning liquor sale in hotels and restaurants, or liquor outlets, within 500 metres of state and national highways.
• Automakers: Likely to react to their March sales numbers.
• Unitech: Managing Director Sanjay Chandra and his brother Ajay Chandra sent to police custody till April 3.
• JSW Steel: To restructure holding structure of subsidiaries.
• Magma Fincorp: Sold non-performing assets worth Rs 679 crore.
• Indoco Remedies: Receives warning letter from the U.S. FDA about the 2 observations at Verna plant in Goa.
• MBL Infrastructure: Bankers evaluating options for debt resolution process.
• Vikas EcoTech: Polypropylene manufacturing plant destroyed in a fire at the Shahjahanpur manufacturing facility in Rajasthan.
• Oil Refiners: Petrol prices cut by Rs 3.77 per litre while diesel prices cut by Rs 2.91 per litre.

For a complete list of stocks to watch, click HERE

• Reserve Bank of India raises FPI investment cap in G-secs and SDLs from April 1
• India exceeds fiscal 2017 disinvestment target with record proceeds
• India February key industries’ output rises 1 percent year-on-year
• India April-February fiscal deficit at 113.4 percent of fiscal 2017 target
• India will build nine more tunnels in Kashmir: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

• India has $646 billion of unmet infrastructure needs, says Jaitley
• India expects peak power demand of 165 GW this summer (PIB)
• SGX, Tullett Prebon start LNG Spot Index for Mideast, India
• Forex reserves rise $1.2 billion to $367.9 billion in week to March 24: RBI
• Canada secures extension for pulse exports to India, says government
• Global funds sell Rs 296 crore of local stocks; domestic funds buy Rs 1,500 crore on March 31: Provisional data
• U.K. Chancellor and central banker in India this week “to bang the drum for British business”

Also Read: PM Modi Inaugurates India’s Longest Road Tunnel

• Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he wants India’s help to conclude Asia trade deal
• India stressed asset sales total $24 billion over three-four years, says ICICI CEO
• Indian Oil cuts domestic jet fuel prices by 5.2 percent in Delhi

Did You Know? : In Most Indian States And UTs, You Can Be Arrested For ‘Looking Poor’

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The Singapore traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of Nifty’s performance in India, edged higher by 0.2 percent to 9,215.

Asian shares gained after a report showed confidence among Japan’s large manufacturers improved for a second consecutive quarter. Markets in China and Taiwan are closed for holidays.

Also Read: Japanese Corporate Sentiment Improves on Better Profits

Oil prices rose above $50 a barrel as Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said the production cuts implemented this year are bringing the market to balance.

On Friday, the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.2 percent on Friday, dragged lower by financial stocks. The index gained 5.5 percent in the three months ended March 31, its strongest quarterly performance since the last quarter of 2015.

Investors seeking new triggers for market moves are now looking towards a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump starting on Thursday, with the U.S.-China trade deficit at the top of the agenda. The U.S. non-farm payrolls will follow on Friday.

Investors in India will also watch out for the Reserve Bank of India’s policy decision on April 6. The central bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged.