Sensex Rises For Third Day, Nifty Settles Above 10,300

Indian equity benchmarks rose for third day in a row led by gains in ITC, HDFC, TCS and State Bank of India.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.62 percent or 205 points to 33,455.79 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.55 percent or 57 points to 10,322.25.

Sixteen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended higher led by the S&P BSE Information Technology Index's 1 percent gain. On the flipside, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.2 percent.

Shares of the Mumbai-based steel tube maker rose as much as 20.54 percent, the most in over three years, to Rs 371.25 after the company informed stock exchanges that its board will meet on Dec. 18 to discuss buyback of shares.

• Parag Milk Foods: The Pune-based dairy products maker rose as much as 12 percent, the most in over a year, to Rs 273 after it tied up with Taj Group to serve its products on international flights.
• IL&FS Engineering and Construction: The Hyderabad-based infrastructure construction company rose as much as 6.2 percent, the most in over a month, to Rs 53.65 after it won pipeline laying contract from GAIL India worth Rs 215.79 crore, IL&FS Engineering and Construction said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.
• Jet Airways: The Mumbai-based airline operator rose as much as 4.95 percent to Rs 698.80 after Edelweiss upgraded its rating on the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and raised its target price to Rs 822 from 548, indicating potential upside of 23.5 percent. Edelweiss is confident on strategic measures initiated by the new CEO to turnaround stressed financials.
• Omax Autos: The Gurugram-based auto component maker gained the most since in over a year on the back of strong Q2 results.
• Revenues up 11 percent at Rs 289 crore versus Rs 260 crore
• Net profit up 230 percent at Rs 3.3 crore versus Rs 1 crore
• EBITDA up 43 percent at Rs 14.6 crore versus Rs 10.2 crore
• Margins at 5.1 percent versus 3.9 percent

Shares of the Mumbai-based dairy products maker rose as much as 20 percent, the most in over a year, to record high of Rs 210.80 as it meets big institutional investors.

The company's management had informed stock exchanges on Friday that its management will meet various institutional investors.

The management is meeting institutional investors such as ICICI Prudential Life, Birla MF, Doric Capital, Kotak Mutual Fund, SBI Life Insurance, Invesco MF, ASK Investment Managers, M3 Investment, DSP Blackrock MF and IDFC MF.

Shares of the Pune-based dairy products company rose as much as 10.67 percent, the most in nearly six months, to Rs 269.70 after it partnered with the Taj Group to supply products on international flights, Parag Milk Foods said in a stock exchange notification.

Shares of the automobile companies were trading higher with the S&P BSE Auto Index rising 0.59 percent after data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data showed strong sales in month of November.

• Passenger car sales up 4.5 percent at 1.81 lakh units (YoY)
• Two-wheeler Sales up 23.5 percent at 1.5 lakh units (YoY)
• Commercial vehicle sales up 50.4 percent at 68,846 units (YoY)
• Total exports up 23.3 percent at 351,847 units (YoY)

• Tamil Nadu Newsprint: The Chennai-based newsprint maker rose as much as 8.89 percent, the most in nearly five months, to Rs 419. Trading volume was 10.9 times its 20-day average.
• Bajaj Holdings: The Pune-based investment company fell 0.73 percent to Rs 2,927. Trading volume was 4.8 times its 20-day average.
• Sudarshan Chemicals: The Pune-based chemical maker rose as much as 9.49 percent, the most in over two months, to Rs 398.60. Trading volume was 10.6 times its 20-day average.
• Deepak Fertilisers: The Pune-based fertiliser maker rose as much as 9.6 percent, the most in over two months, to Rs 424.95. Trading volume was 7.6 times its 20-day average.

• Indian equity benchmarks came off intraday highs but held on to gains on the back of buying interest seen in ITC, HDFC and Mahindra & Mahindra.
• The S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.27 percent or 89 points at 33,339 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.25 percent to 10,290.
• Mid cap shares also came off the highs as the S&P BSE MidCap Index turned flat, up 0.1 percent.
• Fourteen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the S&P BSE Healthcare Index's 0.8 percent gain.
• From the Nifty 50 basket of shares, 31 were advancing while 19 were declining.

Shares of the Mumbai-based vehicle maker came off day's low after it informed stock exchanges that it will increase passenger vehicles prices by Rs 25,000 each starting January.

Unitech has moved Supreme Court against NCLT order suspending company's board of directors. The stock came off intraday highs, up 11.6 percent at Rs 8.15.

• Supreme Court will hear Indian government's plea on Vodafone arbitration on December 12.

Shares of the paper manufacturers rose for second day in a row.

• Ruchira Papers rose 11.5 percent
• Shree Ram Newsprint rose 8.75 percent
• Star Paper Mills jumped 20 percent
• Genus Paper and Borad gained 6.58 percent
• Shreyans Industries rose 15.4 percent
• Padumjee Paper products gained 7.41 percent
• Sundaram Multi Pap gained 14.58 percent
• Padumjee Pulp and Paper rose 12.41 percent
• Balkrishna Paper Mills rose 7.68 percent
• Malu Paper Mills rose 10.79 percent
• Magnum Ventures rose 5.67 percent
• NR Agarwal Industries advanced 8.98 percent
• Rainbow Papers gained 3.92 percent

Shares of the Mumbai-based airline rose as much as 4.46 percent, the most since Dec. 5, to Rs 695.55 after domestic brokerage Edelweiss upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold'.

Edelweiss in a note said:

• Confident on strategic measures initiated by the new CEO to turnaround stressed financials.
• Focusing on sustaining growth via cost rationalisation and balance sheet improvement.
• Renewed focus on domestic market by adding 15 percent fuel‐efficient B737‐Max.
• Enhanced code share to lead to market share gain on international routes.
• Expect operational efficiencies to improve from the next financial year.

• Passenger car sales up 4.5 percent at 1.81 lakh units (YoY)
• Two-wheeler Sales up 23.5 percent at 1.5 lakh units (YoY)
• Commercial vehicle sales up 50.4 percent at 68,846 units (YoY)
• Total exports up 23.3 percent at 351,847 units (YoY)

Shares of the country’s biggest car maker rose as much as 1.39 percent to record high of Rs 9,167.

Morgan Stanley said the stock could reach Rs 14,400, a potential upside of nearly 60 percent from its Friday's close, as a best-case scenario. This was by far the highest price target put out by any brokerage tracking the stock, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of the Delhi-based real estate developer rallied for second day in a row, rising as much as 19.18 percent to Rs 8.70.

The shares have been on a tear after the NCLT allowed government to appoint 10 nominee directors on the board of the company and restrained current directors from acting as the board members.

Shares of the telecom companies were trading higher led by gains in Bahrti Airtel. The S&P BSE Telecom Index rose nearly 1 percent.

KDDL: The Chandigarh-based watch maker rose as much as 11 percent, the most since Nov. 23, to Rs 325.30.

• Revenue down 15 percent at Rs 100.7 crore.
• Net profit up 200 percent at Rs 1.5 crore.
• Ebitda up 8.5 percent at Rs 7.05 crore.
• Margin at 7.0 percent versus 5.5 percent.

Omax Autos: The Gurugram-based auto component maker rose as much as 11.5 percent, the most since sep. 12, to Rs 78.

• Revenue up 11 percent at Rs 289 crore.
• Net profit up 230 percent at Rs 3.3 crore.
• Ebitda up 43 percent at Rs 14.6 crore.
• Margin at 5.1 percent versus 3.9 percent.

Aegis Logistics: The Mumbai-based LPG distribution company rose as much as 6.35 percent, the most since Dec. 5, to record high of Rs 272.

• Revenue up 84 percent at Rs 1,241 crore.
• Net profit up 108 percent at Rs 52 crore.
• Ebitda up 46 percent at Rs 67 crore.
• Margin at 5.4 percent versus 6.8 percent.

Aurionpro Solutions: The Mumbai-based software developer rose as much as 5.2 percent, the most since Dec. 6, to Rs 190.

• Revenue up 1.9 percent at Rs 168.7 crore.
• Net Profit up 497 percent at Rs 13.7 crore.
• Ebitda up 110 percent at Rs 29.8 crore.
• Margin at 17.7 percent versus 8.6 percent.

Shares of the Max Hospital's holding company fell as much as 4.48 percent, the most in over two months, to Rs 128. The Delhi government on Friday cancelled the licence of Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, for alleged medical negligence including the twins case in which one of the babies was found alive after being declared dead by the doctors.

Shares of the Hyderabad-based infrastructure construction company rose as much as 6.2 percent, the most in over a month, to Rs 53.65 after it won pipeline laying contract from GAIL India worth Rs 215.79 crore, IL&FS Engineering and Construction said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.

• SREI Infra has 28 lakh shares change hands at Rs 100.65 per share in a single block on the BSE.
• NBCC has 73.3 lakh shares change hands at Rs 260.39 per share in a block.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Indian equity benchmarks moved higher led by gains in State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank.

The SP BSE Sensex rose 0.42 percent or 141 points to 33,393 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.43 percent or 44 points to 10,310. Gains were broad-based as the S&P BSE MidCap Index rose 0.44 percent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index advanced 0.62 percent.

All sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the S&P BSE Telecom Index's 1.44 percent gain.

• Rupee opens flat at 64.45 per dollar against Friday's close of 64.46.

• Nifty December Futures trading at 10,291.6, premium of 26 points versus 37 points.
• December Futures: Nifty OI up 3 percent , Bank Nifty OI down 12 percent.
• India VIX at 13.6, down 4.2 percent.
• Max OI for Dec series at 10,500 Call, OI at 56.2 lakhs, OI down 9 percent.
• Max OI for Dec series at 10,000 Put, OI at 86.8 lakh, OI up 1 percent.

• Aarvee Denims
• Andrew Yule
• APL Apollo Tubes
• ARSS Infra
• Associated Alcohol
• BF Utilities
• Centrum Capital
• Colgate Palmolive
• Lasa Supergenerics
• Mawana Sugars
• MT Educare
• Nandan Denim
• PBM Polytex
• Repro India
• V2 Retail

Omax Auto (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 11 percent at Rs 289 crore.
• Net profit up 230 percent at Rs 3.3 crore.
• Ebitda up 43 percent at Rs 14.6 crore.
• Margin at 5.1 percent versus 3.9 percent.

Global Vectra Helicorp (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 11 percent at Rs 99 crore.
• Net profit down 20 percent at Rs 3.6 crore.
• Ebitda down 18.5 percent at Rs 15.4 crore.
• Margin at 15.6 percent versus 21.2 percent.

KDDL (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue down 15 percent at Rs 100.7 crore.
• Net profit up 200 percent at Rs 1.5 crore.
• Ebitda up 8.5 percent at Rs 7.05 crore.
• Margin at 7.0 percent versus 5.5 percent.

Aegis Logistics (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 84 percent at Rs 1,241 crore.
• Net profit up 108 percent at Rs 52 crore.
• Ebitda up 46 percent at Rs 67 crore.
• Margin at 5.4 percent versus 6.8 percent.

Federal Mogul (Q2 YoY)

• Revenues up 4 percent at Rs 329 crore.
• Net profit up 8 percent at Rs 22.8 crore.
• Ebitda up 1 percent at Rs 50 crore.
• Margin at 15.2 percent versus 15.7 percent.

Kellton Tech Solutions (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 21.8 percent at Rs 184 crore.
• Net Profit up 11.1 percent at Rs 14.6 crore.
• Ebitda up 28.8 percent at Rs 26.7 crore.
• Margin at 14.6 percent versus 13.8 percent.

Aurionpro Solutions (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 1.9 percent at Rs 168.7 crore.
• Net Profit up 497 percent at Rs 13.7 crore.
• Ebitda up 110 percent at Rs 29.8 crore.
• Margin at 17.7 percent versus 8.6 percent.

Soril Holdings and Ventures (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue down 11.5 percent at Rs 42.7 crore.
• Net loss of Rs 18.8 crore versus net loss of 3.7 crore.
• Ebitda loss of Rs 0.6 crore versus Ebitda profit of Rs 10.2 crore.
• Margin at -1.4 percent versus 21.1 percent.

Sharda Motor Industries (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 17.1 percent at Rs 305 crore.
• Net Profit up 62.7 percent at Rs 20.3 crore.
• Ebitda up 5.7 percent at Rs 36.4 crore.
• Margin at 12.0 percent versus 13.2 percent.

IFGL Refractories (Q2 YoY)

• Revenue up 3.3 percent at Rs 199 crore.
• Net Profit down 46.8 percent at Rs 9.4 crore.
• Ebitda down 9.0 percent at Rs 26.8 crore.
• Margin at 13.4 percent versus 15.3 percent.

Blue Star

• SAIF India IV FII Holdings sold 17.4 lakh shares or 1.82 percent equity at Rs 800 each.

Rama Steel Tubes

• Bharti AXA Life Insurance bought 1 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 185 each.

Indoco Remedies

• FS INV ICVI Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Fund sold 10 lakh shares or 1.1 percent equity at Rs 266.04 each.

Sadbhav Infra

• Xander Investment Holding XVII sold 35.89 lakh shares or 1 percent equity at Rs 133.19 each.

Religare Enterprises

• Yes Bank sold 19 lakh shares or 1.1 percent equity at Rs 60.8 each.

Websol Energy System

• India Max Investment Fund sold 7.95 lakh shares or 3.2 percent equity at Rs 100.33 each.

Pincon Spirits

• Lively Equipment’s Suppliers sold 2.25 lakh shares or 0.5 percent at Rs 32.41 each.

Ruchi Soya

• Cresta Fund sold 36.91lakh shares or 1.1 percent equity at Rs 19.42 each.

Shilpi Cables

• Swiss Finance Corporation (Mauritius) Ltd sold 16.48 lakh shares or 1.5 percent equity at Rs 13 each.
• UBS Principal Capital Asia bought 16.48 lakh shares or 1.5 percent equity at Rs 13 each.

• Baring looks to sell up to 15 percent in Hexaware; PE firm may opt for multiple blocks deals (The Economic Times).
• Ultratech Cement to set up 3.5 mtpa integrated cement plant at Pali, Rajasthan with investment of Rs 1,850 crore.
• Delhi government cancels license of Max Hospitals Shalimar Bagh.
• Precision Camshaft to provide corporate guarantee of Rs 149 crore to Bank of Baroda on behalf of subsidiary.
• Sadbhav Infra signs maintenance contract worth Rs 150 crore with subsidiary.
• KDDL to invest Rs 20 crore in Ethos.
• Jyothy Labs to borrow Rs 400 crore and provide corporate guarantee of Rs 60 crore to one of its subsidiary.
• Tata Chemicals receives NCLT nod for sale of Ure and fertilizer business to Yara Fertilizers India.
• Punjab Chemicals to raise Rs 150 crore via equity/debt.
• IL&FS Engineering wins 216 crore pipeline laying contract from GAIL.
• Power Grid has entered into loan agreement with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for $100 million.
• Government to sell 67.50 lakh shares in NBCC at a discounted price of Rs 156.12 via OFS to employee. OFS to remain open from Dec. 28 - Jan. 05.
• CBI books Apollo Pharmacy, a unit of Apollo Hospitals, in a case of cheating and corruption. (PTI)

ICICI Direct on Narayana Hrudayalaya

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with price target of Rs 340.
• Blended model of affordability and high-quality services.
• Government drive on affordability favours company’s cost efficient, affordable model.
• Improvement in case mix to boost average realisation per operating bed.
• NH is well poised to thrive in the domestic healthcare delivery.
• Expect return on capital employed to improve to 19 percent by March 2020, compared to 12.5 percent clocked in the previous financial year.
• Expect revenue and net profit to grow at a compounded rate of 17 percent and 34 percent by March 2020.

Edelweiss Investment on GNA Axles

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with price target of Rs 455.
• Strong presence in exports and domestic market provides competitive edge.
• Cost reduction and new initiative to fuel the rise in topline and bottomline.
• Expect strong growth momentum in North America heavy truck market to drive exports.
• Healthy domestic demand scenario in M&HCV and OH to drive domestic business.
• Positives: healthy order book, focus on productivity improvement and limited capex.
• Triggers: healthy CV and tractor demand, cost reduction measure and plans to enter high realization SUV and LCV segment.
• Bull Case price target of Rs 505.

HSBC on Motherson Sumi

• Maintained ‘Buy’; raised price target to Rs 425 from Rs 376.
• Increased focus on innovation and integration.
• Expect innovation and cross selling to support business growth.
• Remain positive as it is well placed to benefit from increasing role of auto component suppliers.
• Innovative products on camera based technologies positions it for higher long-term growth.
• Recent fund raising to help for multiple acquisitions to achieve its 2020 goal.

Jefferies on Reliance Industries

• Downgraded to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Hold’; raised price target to Rs 790 from Rs 626.
• Ebitda may double to $20 billion by March 2023, much of that appears priced in.
• Expect refining margins to ease from the current fiscal highs.
• Capex to stay elevated led by telecom and E&P.
• Telecom ramp-up may be bumpier as ARPU/subscribers may not rise together.
• Return ratios to remain modest and net debt higher.
• Valuations are rich; Appears to have brushed off risks.
• Stiff hurdle for Reliance to outperform from here on.

Axis Capital on Tech Mahindra

• Maintained ‘Buy’; raised price target to Rs 605 from Rs 550.
• Management betting on integrated digital experience, interconnectivity through IoT, software transformation and network of the future.
• Financial performance bottomed out in the fourth quarter of previous fiscl.
• Expect revenue trajectory to witness slow and steady recovery.
• Margin improvement to drive earnings momentum over next four quarters.
• Expect $ revenue and net profit to grow at a compounded rate of 8 percent and 11 percent respectively by March 2020.

IDFC Securities on Jet Airways

• Maintained ‘Underperform’; raised price target to Rs 666.
• Better yields on domestic routes.
• Higher fuel cost and lower traffic/yields on Gulf routes.
• Downgraded operating income for the current financial year due to forex loss; Upgraded net profit for the current and the next financial year due to lower finance cost.
• Expect tepid fleet additions to restrict Jet’s growth by March 2019.
• High leverage and cash generation in the current and next financial year to fall short of scheduled debt repayments.

Edelweiss on Jet Airways

• Upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’; Raised price target to Rs 822 from Rs 548.
• Confident on strategic measures initiated by the new CEO to turnaround stressed financials.
• Focusing on sustaining growth via cost rationalisation and balance sheet improvement.
• Renewed focus on domestic market by adding 15 percent fuel‐efficient B737‐Max.
• Enhanced code share to lead to market share gain on international routes.
• Expect operational efficiencies to improve from the next financial year.

Morgan Stanley on Maruti Suzuki

• Maintained ‘Overweight’; raised price target to Rs 10,563 from Rs 9,102.
• Maruti is one of the most profitable car OEMs globally.
• End-market opportunity and superior return on capital employed justify premium valuation.
• Maruti a key beneficiary of coming turn in demand.
• Suzuki-Toyota alliance to help set Maruti up for electric vehicles.
• Expect earnings per share to grow at a compounded rate of 22 percent by March 2020.
• Bull case price target of Rs 14,400.

• Rs 40,000-crore development projects in limbo in Andhra
• Coal imports rise 40% on restocking demand in November
• Pay hikes may get fatter in 2018 after trimming of jobs in 2017
• Business confidence rises in October-December: CII
• Choose right privatisation process for Air India: IATA chief
• Infosys’ settlement move with SEBI fine: Mohandas Pai
• FPIs net outflow from equities at Rs 4,000 Crore in December so far
• Airtel to connect over 2,100 uncovered villages in North East
• YV Reddy sees GST, note-ban shocks lasting for two more years
• Global oil cuts can halt if market balances by June, Kuwait says
• Investors told to brace for steepest rate hikes since 2006
• Congress has been the creator of polarisation: Amit Shah in Gujarat

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India rose 0.24 percent to 10,314.

Stocks in Asia were mixed in subdued trading as investors deferred placing bets following the recent run-up to record highs and ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week. The yen fell to its lowest in a month.

Equity benchmarks fluctuated in Tokyo and were little changed in Sydney and Hong Kong. Volumes were at least 20 percent below their 30-day average on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average and the Kospi index.

Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:

• Fed policy makers are projected to raise the target range for their benchmark interest rate against a backdrop of continuing robust U.S. economic conditions, a vibrant labour market and forecasts for inflation to pick up.
• The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank also set monetary policy.
• Among top U.S. economic reports next week are consumer inflation and retail sales for December.
• European lawmakers continue to debate Brexit and weigh moves on the next step, while North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiators meet again.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3 percent to $57.19 a barrel.
• Gold lost 0.1 percent to $1,247.67 an ounce.