Nifty Holds 9,300 In Best Week Since March; ITC Falls

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Indian shares declined for a second straight session as investors booked profits in recent outperformers, but the indexes posted their best weekly gain in six on earnings optimism.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.37 percent at 29,918, while the NSE Nifty declined 0.41 percent at 9,304. Both the indexes gained nearly 2 percent this week, their best performance since mid-March.

Among the sectoral indices, S&P BSE Realty index dropped 1.8 percent while S&P BSE Technology index shed 0.7 percent

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of losers, with about 5 stocks declining to every 4 stocks that advanced.

India financial markets will remain shut on Monday for a public holiday.

• Shares of Tata Teleservices jumped as much as 20% to Rs 8.30
• Delhi High Court approved Docomo-Tata settlement on $1.2 billion suit
• Court rejected RBI's objection to the above settlement

• Shares of the tyre-maker fell as much as 2.6%, the most since March 28.
• Q4 net income Rs 66.3 crore versus estimate Rs 80.2 crore
• Q4 revenue Rs 1,640 crore versus estimate Rs 1,540 crore

• IPO oversubscribed on final day
• IPO gets 550% demand for shares offered at 1pm

• Stock up as much as 5.5% to Rs 99.50, most since February 2017
• Q4 net income Rs 257 crore vs estimate Rs 226 crore
• Dividend at Rs 0.90 per share

Shares of the state-owned lender gained as much as 6.4 percent to Rs 169.90, highest since December 2015.

Union Bank gets board approval to raise Rs 6,350 crore in 2017-2018 through public issue, it said in a regulatory filing.

Volume 3.2 times its 30-day average.

• Dhunseri Investments locked in the 20% upper circuit, and is currently at its lifetime high
• Trading volumes stand at 10.8 times its 20-day average
• The investment management firm has a market cap of Rs 148 crore
• The stock has gained nearly 40% in the last 1 month.

• Nifty -0.55% at 9,291; Sensex -0.52% at 29,873
• ITC -2.4%; Indian Oil Corp. -2.3%
• S&P BSE Midcap index +0.31%; S&P BSE Smallcap index +0.28%

• S&P BSE Metal Index up 2.5%, most since March 16
• Vedanta (+4.5%), JSW Steel (+3.2%), Hindalco Industries (3.1%)
• Top performing sectoral gauge on the BSE

A gauge of the country’s top 10 drug makers swung between gains and losses, after declining in the previous two sessions.

The Nifty Pharma index is one of the worst performers so far this year, bogged down by regulatory and pricing concerns. Also, adding to the list of concerns for the export-oriented firms was the rupee’s rally to near 21-month high.

Nifty Pharma index was unchanged after losing little over 4 percent in two weeks.

Meanwhile, India’s drug pricing authority, the NPPA has notified ceiling prices of eight scheduled formulations under the DPCO 2016 [Drugs (Prices Control) Amendment Order, 2016] and revised prices of another five formulations.

Drugs whose ceiling prices were fixed included vancomycin (antibiotic) and Etoposide (anti cancer drug).

Shares of the private sector lender declined as much as 1.2 percent to Rs 906, most since April 2017.

Kotak Mahindra to buy 26 percent stake of unit Kotak Life from South Africa-based investment firm Old Mutual Plc.

The deal is for Rs 1,290 crore, it said in a regulatory filing.

Kotak Life is jointly owned by Kotak Mahindra and Old Mutual of South Africa in 74:26 ratio.

Shares of the state-owned firm jumped as much as 10.1 percent to their highest level since August 2013.

ITDC signed an agreement for the transfer of equity stake in its joint venture subsidiaries.

For a list of stocks that are moving the market, clik here

The rupee weakened by 4 paise to 64.20 against the U.S. dollar on increased month-end demand for the American currency from importers at the Interbank Foreign Exchange.

“The rupee has bounced back twice below 64 levels. The U.S. Dollar has slightly become stronger globally after Trump tax reforms which is building expectations of huge fund flows in U.S,” said Abhishek Goenka, founder and chief executive officer at India Forex Advisors.

The rupee had eased from a 21-month high to close 5 paise lower at 64.16 against the dollar in Thursday's trade on fresh demand for the American currency from importers.

“The rupee may retrace till 64.35 levels intraday and bonds may also fall further and yields will inch towards 7 percent soon. The inflows might slowdown in May which is generally a weak month for rupee also. The forward premiums have increased to 6-7 paise on importers demand,” said Goenka

(With inputs from PTI)

• Rajesh Exports (+1.1%)
• Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (+1.7%)
• Thangamayil Jewellery (+1.8%)
• PC Jeweller (+0.8%)
• Gitanjali Gems (+0.6%)

• Nifty -0.52% at 9,293; Sensex -0.49% at 29,883
• ITC -2.5%; HDFC Bank -1.6%
• S&P BSE Technology index 0.7%, S&P BSE Realty index -2.2%

• TVS Motor: 15.8 lakh shares change hands in single block
• HDFC: 24.8 lakh shares change hands in a block
• Fortis Healthcare: 11.5 lakh shares change hands in a block

*Buyers and sellers were not immediatley known

Shares of the cement maker gained as much as 9.2 percent to Rs 129.20, highest since March 2016.

Madhya Pradesh government allotted cement grade limestone mining lease to Prism Cement for 50 years, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Volume at 26.5 times its 30-day average volume.

• Hatsun Agro: (+2.3%): Q1 net income Rs 43.3 crore vs loss Rs 16.8 crore last year
• Indiabulls Real Estate (-6.1%): Q4 revenue down 26%
• Indiabulls Ventures (-0.9%): Q4 net income Rs 54.1 crore vs Rs 2.37 crore
• Kokuyo Camlin (+1.7%): Q4 profit up 21% to Rs 2.9 crore
• Motilal Oswal (-3.3%): Q4 net income Rs 90.2 crore from Rs 47.2 crore
• Nirlon (+8.9%): Q4 net income Rs 10.6 crore vs loss Rs 11.4 crore
• Ujjivan Financial (-4.2%): Q4 net income Rs 19.4 crore vs estimate Rs 23.3 crore

• Shares down as much as 3.4% to Rs 1,082, lowest since March 2017
• Q4 profit missed estimates due to a high base effect
• Sales declined 11% to Rs 931 crore

Also Read: Biocon Misses Estimates As Profit Falls Due To High Base Effect

Indian shares declined for a second straight session, dragged down by pharmaceutical firm Biocon on lower-than-expected earnings while weak Asian cues also weighed on sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.29 percent to 29,946, while the NSE Nifty shed 0.34 percent at 9,310.

Among the sectoral indices, S&P BSE Technology index fell 0.39 percent while S&P BSE Realty index declined 0.70 percent.

The market breadth was, however, skewed in the favour of gainers, with about 6 stocks advancing to every 4 stocks that declined.

• Kotak Mahindra Bank: Lender to buy out entire 26 percent stake in joint venture Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd.
• Hatsun Agro Products: Board of directors approved raising funds up to Rs 500 crore through QIP subject to shareholder approval.
• DCB Bank: Raised Rs 379 crore through QIP.
• Indraprastha Gas: Proposed to increased FII limit to 30 percent.
• Jindal Steel and Power: To raise Rs 600 crore via private placement of debentures.

For a complete list of stocks, click HERE

The treasury head of India's largest bank, C. Venkat Nageswar in an interview said that the lender has become more cautious on its bond investments as he is surprised by the hawkish minutes of the central bank’s latest policy meeting.

He predicted the 10-year yield to range between 6.80 percent and 7.10 percent till September. He expects benign cash conditions and demand from yield-hungry foreign investors to provide support to bonds.

Later today, RBI will auction Rs 15,000 crore of government bonds, in which bankers will be gauging the demand for the benchmark 10-year paper.

Foreign inflows in the country's debt and equity markets, have helped the rupee gain against the dollar for the fifth straight month. Scotiabank expects the currency to appreciate further beyond 64 in the coming sessions.

• NSE to introduce F&O contracts of 16 new securities from Friday
• Brigade Enterprises to consider QIP and issue price
• Union Bank of India to discuss the capital plan for 2017-18
• Global funds sold Rs 182 crore of local stocks; domestic funds bought Rs 233 crore on Thursday: Provisional data

Also Read: Having reached record highs, will the markets pause or correct here?

Good Morning!

The Singapore traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of Nifty’s performance in India, was little changed at 9,360.

Asian shares were mixed in early trade, while dollar strengthened as investors awaited U.S. growth data to assess the health of the world’s largest economy. U.S. economy is projected to expand at a 1 percent annualised rate in the first quarter, the weakest pace in a year, according to a Bloomberg survey.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed after climbing for six straight sessions. The Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 Index closed near all-time highs on Thursday, boosted by strong corporate earnings.

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In Europe, ECB President Mario Draghi showed growing enthusiasm about the state of the euro-area economy, while cautioning that inflation pressures remain too weak to contemplate paring stimulus. The Bank of Japan kept its policies unchanged while lowering its inflation forecast, underscoring that any exit from its monetary easing remains far away.

Oil climbed back above $49.20 per barrel, but is still on course to close the month with losses, as expanding U.S. crude stockpiles offset efforts by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to counter supply glut.